"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."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.
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.
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.
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.
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.The Postmaster General has a number of plans to reduce costs in 2010, including closing facilities and possibly reducing or eliminating Saturday delivery.
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.
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.
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.
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...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.
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.
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...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?
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.
The U.S. Treasury Department accepts gifts, payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt. Just mail them to the attention of Department G, Post Office Box 2188, Parkersburg, West Virginia, 26106-2188. Make a note in the memo section that it is a gift to reduce the debt held by the public...One wonders how long the donations will be truly voluntary.
According to Treasury spokesman Kim Treat, people do send checks. In the last fiscal year they added up to a little over $3 million, which was the highest total since at least 1996.
Some include notes. Common reasons for donating include a sense of patriotism and immigrants expressing their thanks to the United States for giving them an opportunity, he said.
Overdraft policies at banks are always a tricky subject. When a customer tries to cash a check and goes over their funds, what should a bank do? If the bank refuses to honor the check, they are within their rights but the customer may miss their mortgage payment, car payment, rent, etc. If the bank does pay the check and charges a fee to cover it, that could further overdraw the account and lead to more debt. Different banks handle it different ways. Which confuses customers trying to understand how to play by the rules.A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows that three of U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd’s five Republican challengers would beat him if the election were held today.Change is in the wind. And not the "change" that President Obama ran on.
Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons would beat Dodd 49 to 38 percent, while Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment executive who says she is willing to spend $30 to $50 million of her own money on the race, would beat Dodd 43 to 41 percent. Also former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley would beat Dodd 47 to 40 percent.
The poll also says 54 percent of voters surveyed last week disapprove of the job Dodd is doing, up from 49 percent in September. Even more bad news for Dodd is that voters say 53 to 39 percent that he does not deserve reelection.
The solution I came up with was to sell her car, put the money in an interest-bearing account, and contract with a local cab company to have a taxi at Mom's assisted-living facility whenever she needed transportation. Instead of billing her, they would send me an itemized statement and add a 20 percent gratuity, so Mom wouldn't have to worry about tipping.
In addition, they also agreed to carry Mother's packages and groceries to her door, and if she'd be less than a half-hour at her destination, the cab would wait for her. The company even agreed to use only three drivers, so Mom could get to know them.
When I visited her for dinner soon after these arrangements were made, I learned she was the hit of her assisted-living facility! Other residents told me what a great idea the taxi service was. What I didn't realize at the time was that Mom was inviting everyone there to come with her -- her treat -- to department stores, the market, even the theater. Prior to this, few of them got out at night because of poor eyesight or fear of being alone.
Using the interest-earning account and realizing the savings of not having to pay car insurance, upkeep, gas, etc., nobody was out of pocket. Mother was safe, and she discovered many new friends where she lived.
According to Herodotus (484-425 B.C.), Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, sent 50,000 soldiers from Thebes to attack the Oasis of Siwa and destroy the oracle at the Temple of Amun. Alexander the Great had famously sought legitimization of his rule from the oracle of Amun in 332 B.C., but according to legend, the oracle would have predicted the death of Cambyses...After walking for seven days in the desert, the army got to an "oasis," which historians believe was El-Kharga. After they left, they were never seen again.
"A wind arose from the south, strong and deadly, bringing with it vast columns of whirling sand, which entirely covered up the troops and caused them wholly to disappear," wrote Herodotus.
As no trace of the hapless warriors has ever be found, scholars began to dismiss the story as a fanciful tale...Now, two top Italian archaeologists claim to have found striking evidence that the Persian army was indeed swallowed in a sandstorm. Twin brothers Angelo and Alfredo Castiglioni are already famous for their discovery 20 years ago of the ancient Egyptian "city of gold" Berenike Panchrysos.
Marion County sheriff's deputies said 18-year-old Heather Wolff, of Scotts Mills, was trying to avoid hitting a car driven by 30-year-old Brandon Steinke, of Salem, when she was thrown over the handlebars of her bicycle. Her head was run over by a rear wheel of the car.
Deputies said the bike helmet was crushed but Wolff was released from Salem Hospital shortly after the Wednesday night accident.
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-10-digit-dialing-notice,0,6343485.story
Don't wait until next Saturday, or you may find yourself unable to make that important phone call!
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/11/pelosi_breaks_pledge_to_put_he.asp
Let me be the first to say it. If there is a "Contract With America" document created for the 2012 election - a list of promises that Republican candidates will sign onto so voters KNOW what they are getting - number 1 on the list should be to make it LAW for bills to be posted for 24 to 72 hours before a vote (exceptions to be made for emergency measures like disaster relief and declaring war). It is sad that one of the few ideas I could support the president on has proven to be the same idea that has been cast aside most often.
http://republicanleader.house.gov/blog/?p=666
If this passes it will require that I opt out of any government-run insurance option for the sake of my conscience. Thanks a lot. This kind of thing is what has made it more and more difficult for me to ever cross party lines to support any Democrat, even though in many ways I am a moderate.
http://abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=8987651&pid=4380645
While President Obama has been publicly confident about the bill, the myriad of problems to be worked through have been daunting for legislators and the public. The fact is that we are looking to overhaul a problem 50 years in the making, and it will take time to pick and choose which parts to keep and which to throw out, especially since the Democratic Leadership has made it clear they have no interest in smaller bills which address only select parts of the problem.
