LOTD for June 30

As of June 21, the new rules makes it easier for people to board planes in the US without an ID. You no longer need a whole-body pat-down and a full luggage check…now, you fill out a form and they check you out with the public databases to verify your ID. Including an interview with a behavior-detection officer, the process is supposed to take just 6 minutes!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/27/AR2008062701309.html

This airless tire invention could literally be a life saver for our troops:
http://www.wisconsinidea.wisc.edu/profiles/Osswald/

Could Obama keep Defense Secretary Gates if he’s elected President?
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/baracks-defense.html

It is sad to read about how poorly run our search for Bin Laden has been. The special forces have been waiting for more than 6 months for permission from Washington. It is also sad to read about how all of the CIA’s top people are being put on Iraq and many people assigned to Bin Laden are recent trainees! The Iraq war has most of the CIA officers with field experience in the Islamic world, so the CIA resources apparently “didn’t have much to choose from” for Bin Laden:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/washington/30tribal.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214842151-5bjgRmQGzcchtYhh2SKt1Q

Scooter with a fancy air gun is going to be used by our Army in other countries:
http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1094725

Nice explanation of the new GI Bill. My Dad was able to afford to go to college due to the GI Bill, but these benefits seem like a big upgrade over the original GI Bill:
http://education.military.com/money-for-school/gi-bill/new-gi-bill-overview

The Taliban is once again forcing cellular networks to be shut off at night in parts of Afghanistan:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/30/taliban-aims-to-control-rural-phones/

Today is the Federal Agency deadline for IP V6:
http://www.hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6405

Spanish researchers have developed an acoustic cloak using metamaterials that will silence unwanted sounds. Ships might use this to avoid detection, but there are tons of commercial applications possible:
http://www.hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6407

The US and European Union are about to complete an agreement tol share their private data of their citizens with each other:
http://www.hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6404

Rumor is that Best Buy and Radio Shack will also sell the 3G iPhone:
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/340/C15649/

Amazing that iPhone users in Canada will have to sign THREE-YEAR contracts and will NOT be able to get unlimited data plans:
Article link

iPhone users in Canada are upset and they are petitioning Steve Jobs about this:
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/06/29/9000-canadians-petition-steve-jobs-for-iphone-rate-relief/

Amazing that 56% of people in the US who plan to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days plan to buy a 3G iPhone! This is also probably why the smartphone market has increased by 50% since the last study:
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/unprecedented-demand-for-apple-iphone-3g

Sprint’s stock shot upwards after Verizon’s President praised Sprint:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121478525265814623.html

The first commercial 16e network in the US is running at Jackson Hole, Wyoming:
http://www.alvarion.com/presscenter/pressreleases/153641/

The 12-17 year old market in the US appears to be saturated, which will slow the growth for the US cellular market:
Press Release

The hands-free cell phone law has been great for the sellers of bluetooth and other devices. I know that when we drove from Vegas to San Diego were constantly reminded about the change on July 1!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9979473-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

AT&T is moving its headquarters from San Antonio to Dallas…adding another huge telecom presence to the DFW area:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/DN-att_28bus.ART.State.Edition2.4d5475b.html

Chips from Qualcomm and Intel are directly competing for high-end smartphone and ultralight computer market:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-9979989-64.html?tag=rsspr.6242839&part=rss&subj=news

Looks like they are going to start enforcing the size limits on carry-ons. The airlines say that this is because of crowded overhead bins, but I think that it is no coincidence that they are doing this now that they charge for the first bag! Every carry-on bag that has to be checked in means more money for the airlines:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080630/news_1n30carryon.html

Microsoft stopped selling Windows XP. Customers now have to buy Vista to legally “downgrade” to XP:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/tech/20080629-1632-microsoft-xp.html

This man put up his life for auction on eBay (all of his belongings, a trial for his job, and his friendships) after getting a divorce and the winning bidder paid just under $400k:
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSSYD21931720080630?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Nintendo Wii sales are going so well that Nintendo decided to not bother with adding DVD playing capabilities to the Wii, despite talking about it since its launch in November 2006:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/30/nintendo-pushes-back-dvd-playing-wii-for-japan-again/

LOTD for June 28

Amazing that this dog was unhurt when a tornado picked him up!
http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/tornado.lifts.dog.2.743943.html

Only 6% of men now wear ties to go to work, and the number drops each year:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_9524535

Mother checks on why her 7-month-old daughter is crying at 1am…and finds a King Snake wrapped around the baby’s leg!
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/06/10/King_snake_found_in_babys_crib/UPI-37501213129955/

To prepare for the long period of darkness, this research base in Antarctica sure stocked up on condoms!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25054286/

It is sad how Naples has had no garbage collection for months! The mafia apparently made a ton from garbage collection and the politicians who are supposed to be fixing the problem are under investigation for taking bribes:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/03/italy.internationalcrime

Four of the five most conservative Supreme Court judges over the past 70 years are currently on the Supreme Court:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/05/12/ranking-the-politics-of-supreme-court-justices.html

New study found that red wine is even more effective against aging than was previously thought:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/04/health/research/04aging.html?ref=health

Parents who push their overweight kids to diet actually end up tripling their kid’s chances to be overweight 5 years later. A better course of action is to help their kids eat more healthily and to exercise:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24970815/

Research found that people who bottled up their feelings about 9/11 actually are feeling better off now than people who talked with others about their feelings due to 9/11:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/06/02/trauma-study.html

Toyota has developed a new fuel cell car that will be available in Japan this year…but will not come to the US for awhile. This is a hybrid between hydrogen and electricity:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/06/06/toyota.car.ap/index.html

LOTD for June 27

More on the classified assessment of how global warming challenges our national security:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625090302.htm

ESPN and the NFL have volunteered to be white space device testers for the FCC:
http://www.sportsvideo.org/portal/artman/publish/article_11458.shtml

Verizon is putting pressure on Vodafone to sell its 45% stake in Verizon back to Verizon. Interesting that Verizon can decide not to give out any dividends as a way to make Vodafone shareholders unhappy and make them want Vodafone to sell its Verizon stake:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cbeb15ca-43a5-11dd-842e-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html

Despite selling the most smartphones in its history in the past quarter, Palm had a huge loss–apparently Palm doesn’t make much at all on its popular Palm Centro:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-9978584-37.html

Hawaii is the first state to require solar water heaters in new single-family homes:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS01/806270384/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT

Apple filed a patent for solar cells on portable devices:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43404&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

With this device you can dance to charge your cell phone:
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9979040-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Even vegetarians are not safe from mad cow prions:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14210-even-vegetarians-may-not-be-safe-from-mad-cow-prions.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news10_head_dn14210

LOTD for June 26

Acoustic time reversal could allow wireless broadband communications under the sea:
Article link

Concern over whether or not nuclear weapons could go off like “popcorn”:
Article link

There is a big problem with the brain drain in the Pentagon, with the biggest need for systems engineers:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008015902_pentagon25.html

The military has to spend $100 bil or more to repair its equipment that is being worn out by the current conflicts…that money has to come from somewhere and might prevent the increase in size of the military because the Pentagon didn’t plan on the long and expensive war in Iraq:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2008-06-25-Military-repairs_N.htm

The Army announced big changes to the Future Combat Systems due to the criticism of the program, with the changes possibly making FCS even more expensive:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121442990574504841.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The main changes for FCS are to bring the near-term technology to the field as early as possible and to push back the long-term projects not as applicable to major battles are more applicable to current conflicts:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUKN2648567620080626

A forum member posted a comprehensive manual on how to make long-range missiles. Having this 118 MB manual on all of the militant Islamic forums is scary:
Article link

Report states that climate change could have made flooding as big a risk to the UK as terrorism is:
Article link

The Department of Energy announced $1.3 bil in funding for clean coal technology:
http://hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6389

Report states that major progress in technology is needed if the US is going to be able to affordably produce 25% of its electricity and motor vehicle fuel from renewable resources:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/rc-mpi062408.php

The first offshore wind farm in the US is being built off the coast of Delaware:
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080625&id=8828754

UC-Riverside physicists accidentally discovered how to control electron spin:
Article link

University of Illinois researchers say that they are close to being able to make an invisibility cloak:
Article link

France’s President is proposing a ban on ads on state-owned public TV. Instead of allowing ads on TV, he prefers to tax ISPs, telecom operators, and commercial TV providers:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43397&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

Clearwire is looking for partners to help it build its 16e networks in Europe:
http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=157504

Chrysler has an interesting option for their 2009 cars: you can turn them into wireless hot spots!
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/32047.php

Concern has been raised about people surfing the web while driving:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/06/chrysler-to-tur.html

Article link

Beijing is going to have a city-wide WiFi that will give free access during the Olympics:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/26/content_8441629.htm

Alltel is offering a nationwide Boingo-powered WiFi service, plus $70 per month for unlimited EVDO/WiFi access:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/26/alltel-rolls-out-boingo-powered-nationwide-wifi-service/

Man in wheelchair was charged with drunken driving:
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSEIC36032520080623?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

Yoga class takes place on both sides of the border in Tijuana and San Diego:
http://www.happynews.com/news/6232008/yoga-event-stretches-across-us-mexico-border-fence.htm

LOTD for June 25

The FAA made a Google Maps mash-up that shows the location of *every* US Military Base. And a user can zoom in on any base and see satellite imagery…is this something that the military really wants available to anyone?
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2008/06/every-us-military-base-identified-on.html

The US Military will spend $24 bil to arm cargo trucks, adding 2000 pounds per truck:
http://rfdesign.com/military_defense_electronics/news/military_arm_trucks_0625/index.html

The Defense Intelligence Agency is worried about terrorists and enemy countries being able to attack US satellites by 2020:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/the-defense-int.html

A second social scientist who was embedded with the military in Iraq was killed:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/second.html

The National Intelligence Council Chairman says that global warming may significantly tax US military readiness:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/we-judge-global.html

Florida residents believe that global warming will have dangerous impacts on their state:
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/pressreleases/20080624-broad.html

The Taliban made an estimated $100 mil from opium last year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7469194.stm

40 million people who are 65 years or older have their social security numbers printed on their Medicare cards. Social Security officials want those numbers removed due to identity theft concerns, but Medicare officials have refused:
Article link

Article about the push for medium and large trucks to get hybrid systems:
Article link

A third ethanol plant has been delayed due to the high price of corn and the low price of ethonal fuel:
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080625&id=8823418

80-story Dubai skyscraper has been designed with revolving floors to give a constantly changing view:
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080625&id=8821816

This commentator *really* went off about Motorola’s latest strategy announcement:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43382&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10

It appears that the 3G iPhone costs just $173 to make–so, Apple is making a killing since the phones sell for $199 and AT&T is paying them a $300 subsidy (plus a $100 royalty) per phone!
Article link

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147530/new_3g_iphone_costs_173_to_make_isuppli.html

Verizon is releasing the touch-screen LG Dare to compete with the iPhone:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2C2817%2C2321573%2C00.asp

Here is a photo of the LG Dare:
Photo

Article about why WiMAX is having trouble catching on with top-tier operators:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43379&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

Article about how GSM will eventually be replaced by WCDMA because WCDMA is cheaper to run. LTE’s spectrum variations are also discussed, which will impact LTE phone designs:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43371&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

Speculation about whether or not TD-SCDMA is ready to take off in China:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43370&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

Vodafone is disputing a $2 bil tax bill in India:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43368&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

T-Mobile has a new home phone service that will allow customers to make unlimited nationwide calls from their home phone for $10 per month. In test markets Dallas and Seattle T-Mobile found that 97% of their customers dropped their landline phone service since they took this offer:
Press release

Article about how H-1B Visas do not create jobs:
Article link

United Airlines plans to layoff 950 pilots, take early retirement from 600 flight attendants, and cut flights:
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1020206,united062308.article

1.4 bil people use the internet regularly this year and the number is expected to grow to 1.9 billion by 2012:
Press release

42-year-old Atlanta woman did not have air conditioning and decided to climb inside of her freezer…and she unfortunately died:
Article link

The Orange County Register going to outsource some copy editing and page layout work to India:
Article link

LOTD for June 24

H-1B opponents are challenging the Bush Administration for their extending the OPT period from 12 months to 29 months. Chen and a lot of my former students at Santa Clara used the OPT period to work in the US while they were here on student Visas, which I thought was a great option they had. I didn’t realize that it had gone from a year to 29 months for that work period…that is a big change!
Article link

Interesting that the high-tech job market is doing very well in metropolitan areas. High-tech salaries are well above the rest of the private sector jobs now:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25338933/

The University of Texas filed a lawsuit against the border fence being created by the Department of Homeland Security:
Article link

The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit by two environmental groups over the border fence:
http://hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6367

2 US troops were killed and 3 were wounded by an Iraqi council member:
Article link

Video of the stun glove that is also called the “taser glove” and allows the wearer to reach out and stun someone:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/video-the-stun.html

Pretty cool to read about how Northrop is creating “smart binoculars” to help soldiers see where danger is:
Article link

DARPA is looking for a new head of their Defense Science Office. The pay isn’t bad ($172k) and the projects will be very high-risk, high-reward types of cutting-edge research projects that would seem to be more interesting than the normal government PM job:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/darpa-hunts-for.html

Interesting discussion about DARPA’s hypersonic plane program and how it relies on the development of a pulse detonation engine (basically, an engine powered with explosions) to work:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/the-military-wa.html

Article about DARPA’s goal to have 1/3 of the Air Force be unmanned by 2010 and 1/3 of the soldiers removed from the Army’s ground vehicles by 2015:
Article link

Internal documents reveal that the Capitol Police are unprepared to deal with an attack on the US Capitol. Nearly half of the Capitol Police members are looking for other jobs due to the morale problem:
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/doubts-over-bomb-squad-2008-06-23.html

The head of the IAEA now says that Iran could have nuclear weapons in as quickly as 6 months!
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/iaea-chief-iran.html

New laser oscillator can make next-generation X-rays up to 100 million times brighter!
http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/9956

Robot is being created with 11 joints that will be able to climb vertically in oil, gas, and water pipes:
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/306797/Pipe-climbing+robot.htm

“Voice signatures” may be used soon to enable customers to do banking and other activities with their voices being part of the security process that verifies they are who they say they are:
http://www.itweek.co.uk/itweek/news/2219809/vcg-unveils-back-office-voice

Delta customers can pay $128 per year for speedier security lines:
http://hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6373

The first SIP-based WiFi camera is available, this makes remote video monitoring even easier:
http://rfdesign.com/next_generation_wireless/news/first_wifi_camera_0624/index.html

Nokia is planning to buy all of Symbian and make the operating system open source so that developers can add things for free. This will put Nokia/Symbian in direct competition with Apple/iPhone and Google/Android:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121429212225099409.html?mod=yahoo_hs&ru=yahoo

Google disputed yesterdays’ report that the Android launch was being delayed:
Article link

The weak economy has hurt the sales of cell phones:
Article link

Frost & Sullivan report is *very* negative towards WiMAX, saying that by next year operators will figure out that 16e cannot be considered a feasible mobile broadband access technology!
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208800127

It appears that Comcast for nationwide spectrum set aside for WiMAX femtocells as part of its Clearwire deal, and those femtocells are key to Comcast’s wireless strategy:
http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=157215&print=true

Apparently users with long fingernails have a big problem with the iPhone:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/06/the-fingernail.html

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/29052

Vets want $1 mil donated to a veterans charity for disproving the Swift Boat allegations:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/national/stories/DN-swiftboat_21pol.ART.State.Edition2.4deb74e.html

Amazing that the Beatles songs might be licensed to the games Guitar Hero or Rock Band before they ever show up on iTunes:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/digital-downloads/gaming/e3i2da171c37e1d75e2b73e0a4cc59a511d

Interesting blog entry about people who suffer from empathy deficit disorder. I think that I know someone like this that we’ve seen at some parties and activities…and I feel sorry for his wife:
http://dailydish.honadvblogs.com/2008/06/24/want-some-empathy-with-that-pity-party/

This 61-year-old guy who became famous for dancing at Kansas football games last year just got engaged to a 22-year-old Kansas coed. This is his 3rd marriage and they have only known each other for a little more than a month…I’ve read a follow-up article that talked about how the coed’s father is concerned about the situation and wants to set up a discussion between them and a third party to discuss the upcoming marriage:
http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/jun/16/university_celebrity_white_owl_gets_engaged/

LOTD for June 23

The Air Force has put out a call for metamaterial antennas, another example of defense interest in metamaterials:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/air-force-seeks.html

For years environmental groups have been warning that global warming could make global tensions worse and possibly result in new armed conflicts. Now the US Intelligence community appears to agree with them, as they have concluded that the changing weather patterns contributes to the creation of terrorist safe havens and could lead to conflicts between countries;
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/environmental-g.html

South Florida has figured out to have the iPhone to control one of the military’s most popular ground robots. All that is needed is a WiFi connection!
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/video-iphone-se.html

Ousted Air Force Secretary Wynne talked about how his conflicts with Defense Secretary Gates led to his firing:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/presidentbush/2008/06/ousted-air-forc.html

It is interesting how the Defense Threat Reduction Agency has been monitoring the webcam of a distillery in a remote Scottish location, and how they reacted when they found out:
http://www.computing.co.uk/computing-business/analysis/2219327/barrel-4025844

Article about how AT&T is the biggest beneficiary of the 3G iPhone price cut…but the article fails to mention that the iPhone price cut is due to the large subsidy that AT&T is paying on the iPhone!
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/technology-finance/e3i76a689103c1b2ad6591b1b41a69bc3bb

Looks like it costs AT&T $425 for every 3G iPhone sold–AT&T is subsidizing $325 of the price of the 3G iPhone *and* it is paying Apple a $100 royalty for each 3G iPhone sold. AT&T says that these subsidies mean that the deal will reduce earnings by 10 to 12 cents per share for the next 2 years but they hope to make a profit in 2010…but isn’t that when the customers will be finished with their contract and might be looking for another subsidized phone?
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43357&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

Web searches for porn by iPhone users has increased 5x in the past 6 months! A third of all iPhone users watch porn on their phones, for more than any other phone. The porn industry is now targeting iPhone users, with hundreds of porn websites created for iPhone users:
http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2219744/iphone-porn

The 3G iPhone is expected to present a huge opportunity for the porn industry. I didn’t realize that in Europe customers pay $50 per month to send text messages to actresses! With the 3G iPhone termed the “porn-friendliest phone” and with its ability to show video, that market opportunity is not being ignored by the porn industry:
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1815933,00.html

Google’s Android platform is having some trouble and the Android phone releases are being delayed:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121418837707895947.html

The FCC detailed their plans for free nationwide wireless broadband:
http://rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080620/FREE/842439156/1007

Portland, Riverside, Cuptertino, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and many other cities are losing the WiFi networks they had that were provided by the struggling MetroFi:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/muni/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208800014

Amazing that the Pentagon plans to spend $4 bil on robots by 2010:
http://hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6364

Pretty weird that environmentally-conscious Canada refuses to allow electric cars on their roads:
http://motoring.iafrica.com/newsbriefs/888793.htm

Researchers are looking at making plane wings out of glass instead of metal, avoiding metal fatigue:
http://hsdailywire.com/single.php?id=6360

Delta Airlines is experimenting with a cell phone boarding pass:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/messaging/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208800035

High gas prices have resulted in a weak market for muscle cars:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/automotive-travel/e3i76a689103c1b2ad633d936c3a21327ff

It is hard for me to imagine Microsoft without Bill Gates–but everybody has to retire eventually I guess:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25144466/

Amazing that the broadcast networks took in a record $9.23 bil during the upfronts, despite falling ratings and a tough economy:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/cable-tv/e3i789a49b060419d46f0594368ddbaf85f

Looks like the syndicated TV programs also did really well in their advertising sales. I didn’t realize that CBS controlled about half of all syndicated programming:
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/special-reports/upfront-special-reports/e3i76a689103c1b2ad6a9eae8f5bb25499a

Amazing how Speedo’s new swimsuit has changed the swimming world:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/sp_nm/olympics_swimsuits_dc_2

Article about how Google/Yahoo/Microsoft/AOL should get together to buy the Associated Press:
http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/06/forget-the-new.html

An NBC employee updated Tim Russert’s Wikipedia page with the news of his death before Russert’s family could be notified and before NBC could release the information themselves. That employee was fired:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/business/media/23link.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Man was sentenced to 6 months in jail for having sex with a metal table:
http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080621/NEWS01/806210304/1002

LOTD for June 22

Interesting that lead-exposed children have a MUCH higher chance of being arrested for violent crimes. Every 5-microgram increase in blood lead level at age 6 correlated with a 50% increase in violent crime later in life!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004442491_lead28.html

This guy was given a little gold cup from his grandfather, and he used the toy for target practice with his air gun when he was a kid. Now he’s 70-years-old and was moving so he got the cup appraised…it is worth about $1 mil!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080528/od_afp/lifestylebritainauctionhistory_080528122922

The designer of the Pringles can was cremated and part of his ashes were buried in a Pringles can:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/02/pringles.burial.ap/

Thoughts of our mortality results in overeating and overspending:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg19826583.900-thoughts-of-death-make-us-eat-more-cookies.html

This 101-year-old Florida woman got her driver’s license renewed for 3 years!
http://www.local6.com/news/16422372/detail.html

Rising food prices have resulted in increased sales of Spam:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gtF_r6YW589BUegKGbzv4jQP-g_AD90URO003

A spell check on a high school yearbook really messed up the last names of some unfortunate high school students:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24934403/

Since the TSA was formed in 2001 it has fired 200 employees accused of stealing. Apparently designer glasses in luggage are a big target for thieves:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/travel/elliott/5797824.html

Interesting to see this Gallup Poll about the differences between Democrats and Republicans. It is hard me me to believe that in 2008 only 41% of Republicans believe that the effects of global warming have already begun when in 1997 47% of Republicans felt that way! So, over the past 11 years, more Republicans have decided that global warming isn’t actually happening. In 1997 Democrats and Republicans actually shared the same views on global warming…but now it is a partisan issue:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/107569/ClimateChange-Views-RepublicanDemocratic-Gaps-Expand.aspx

Acidic water in the Pacific Ocean is threatening the Pacific Northwest’s shellfish industry and could decimate the marine life off the coast of Oregon and Washington:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/05/28/acid.seawater.ap/

Rising crude oil prices have made the forecast for the global airline industry to go from a projected profit of $4.5 bil to an estimated loss of over $6 bil at current oil prices!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLsE6_hpXu40&refer=home

LOTD for June 21

This might be useful for Lori and many others–nasal irrigation can help fight Spring allergies, possibly being even more effective than medication:
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=89402

Carlyle bought Booz Allen Hamilton for $2.54 billion. They are keeping the defense consulting group and spinning off the commercial consulting group. Some of the defense people I know are Booz Allen employees…I wonder if their e-mail addresses will change soon:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/support_services/article3947539.ece

Schools around the country have changed the minimum grade for a student that fails from 0 to 50:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-05-18-zeroes-main_N.htm

Indiana man drilled for oil in his backyard! He first found natural gas in his backyard that heated his home, then drilled deeper and found oil:
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8348967

Restaurant owner and security guard simultaneously tased each other during a dispute! Charges were dropped against the restaurant owner:
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2008/jun/17/charges-dismissed-hill-taser-case/

I didn’t know that 20% of marriages today are between first cousins. Interesting factoid that the risk of birth defects by first cousin couples is far lower than the risk of birth defects by women over 40:
http://www.slate.com/id/2064227/

This grosses me out for some reason. New York researchers created the world’s first genetically engineered human embryo. They made the embryos glow fluorescently:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/science/13embryo.html?em&ex=1210996800&en=c9c5325650a6bc46&ei=5087%0A

Research found that reading aloud to young children, especially before bedtime, stimulates all aspects of their development–motor skills, memory, emotional and social development:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,2279621,00.html

http://essexlibrary.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/the-importance-of-reading-aloud-to-children/

FAO Schwarz is opening 75 full size toy stores and 200 small toy stores inside of Macy’s:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/05/18/fao_schwarz_will_open_new_locations_in_macys/

This blogger points out the flaw in the study that concluded that raising cigarette prices makes smokers happier:
http://www.jackiesjungle.com/2008/06/10/do-higher-cigarette-prices-make-smokers-happier

A big explosion in China destroyed 20 fireworks warehouses and could lead to fireworks shortages for July 4:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/05/18/china_explosion_puts_july_4_displays_on_notice/

LOTD for June 20

Great job by the military to get their bases in Iraq to generate electricity from trash! This reduces the need for convoys to deliver fuel (those convoys are targets) and the 30x reduction in garbage reduces the need for garbage trucks (who are also targets) to be used:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/two-prototypes.html

The Pentagon’s budget includes $34 billion for classified programs:
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/06/secret-funding.html

Video of robotic arms folding a tiny origami bird:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/06/video-robot-arm.html

The rise in ocean temperature and sea level (between 1961 and 2003) is actually 50% higher than was estimated last year:
Article link

Google’s $20 mil moon rover prize has spurred a lot of teams to work on the project:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/06/20/google.lunar.xprize/index.html

Cupertino man who was born in China was the first person convicted in violation of the Economic Espionage Act of 1996:
http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/9940

Sprint says that the Clearwire WiMAX network will benefit public safety:
http://mrtmag.com/news/sprint-wimax-public-safety-0617/

Israel’s training exercise seems to be a rehearsal for bombing the Iran’s nuclear facility and their public display of the exercise seems to be intended to attract as much attention as possible:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/washington/20iran.html?_r=2&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

Sacramento is considering a tax on text messaging:
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/31936.php

Looks like a lot of senior people are bailing on Yahoo since their talks with Microsoft ended:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43351&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10

Wi-LAN just added Motorola, RIM, and UTStarCom to the list of companies that it is suing for patent infringement:
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/31943.php

Businesses aren’t convinced they should be moving from the Blackberry to the iPhone:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c5b80be2-3d95-11dd-bbb5-0000779fd2ac.html

Alcatel-Lucent’s CEO had boos and catcalls from the audience at their annual meeting:
Article link

By the end of this year the Internet is expected to pass TV as the biggest advertising medium:
http://web20.telecomtv.com/pages/?newsid=43350&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10&view=news

GM announces a $5 mil program at Carnegie Mellon to work on autonomous cars:
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080619&id=8802781

The CDC raised the number of salmonella cases due to tomatoes to 383, with the total continuing to grow:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ijaaf9rEEqJFRI_zJo1YK8TYcBFgD91COPEO1

Italy’s highest court says that Italy’s Military Police cannot have extra-marital affairs because that would sully the Carabinieri’s name:
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSL175396520080617?feedType=RSS&feedName=oddlyEnoughNews

This 12-year-old Canadian girl took her Dad to court about her Dad grounding her and the court sided with the girl, calling the grounding an excessive punishment! Why is a court actually ruling on a case like this? And this 12-year-old is posting photos of herself on dating sites, so I don’t really think the court should be trusting her judgement!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080619.wcurfew19/BNStory/lifeFamily/home