Who is the pet in our relatioship?

Biking Update - January 30, 2010

Well, it has been a while since my last posting of the graph. I had very little time for biking before and around Christmas, then caught a bad cold in early January. I have not been on the exercise bike or the outside bike in about 2 months. And between the Christmas dinners and travelling, I was not eating as well as I should have been. And you can definitely see it in the graph. Sigh. But I am back on the wagon, and hope to resume biking shortly. Hopefully the graph will again be closer to 205 than 215 lbs.

Voicemail's Interface

iPhone owners won't "get" this one.

State of the Union - Read/Watch it for Yourself

I missed the State of the Union address in favor of a little thing I like to call "real life." If you were like me, I figured you might like to read the transcript today to catch up on what the president has planned for the remainder of 2010. The video of the event is up on the White House Blog. And of course, you can always read the Republican response, too.

Mmmm... Technology...

A New Perspective on a Superhero

Revealed: the Apple iPad

The short version: 9.7" touchscreen tablet computer running a variant of the iPhoneOS. Wifi or Wifi+3G on board. Running a custom 1 GHz Apple A4 chip with 16, 32, or 64 GB flash memory. Runs iPhone apps without modifications. Includes a new iBookstore. Pricing from $499 to $829. Available in 60 days for Wifi, 90 days for 3g (which costs an added $14.95/month).

Is today the beginning of the iTablet Era?

Today, Apple reveals their "newest creation". No one knows for sure, but most rumors are predicting a Table Computer from Apple. A few minority sites are predicting new iPod Touches with cameras or a Verizon iPhone. Others are predicting the release of iPhoneOS 4.0, perhaps even a preview of the iPhone 4.0 hardware. Still others, a revamped iTunes Store selling magazines and books. No matter what, this is sure to be an interesting day. If you want to follow along with the announcements, Engadget is offering a liveblog. It is sure to be a day to remember, even if all Steve Jobs does was come onstage, announce a minor upgrade to AppleTV, and humiliate the tech press.

What's this "deal with the devil" that Pat Robertson was talking about?

I am no fan of Pat Robertson these days. While I respect his work to support and encourage Christians worldwide, his recent shows seem to do a lot to alienate non-Christians needlessly. One of the most egregious examples of late was his quote about Haiti after the earthquake.

"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," he said. "They were under the heel of the French ... and they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.'

"True story. And the devil said, 'OK, it's a deal,'" Robertson said. "Ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after another."

Why do I dignify this statement - at best, kicking a nation while it is down - with a Mod-Blog story? Because Mr. Robertson represents a lot of people, and he is referring to something that Haitians consider history. The Straight Dope took up the historical research, which points to both the points Mr. Robertson was reaching for and the facts he got clearly wrong.

The story goes that a houngan (voodoo priest) named Dutty Boukman held a meeting of black slaves and runaways at Bois Caïman in the mountains of the north to prepare to rise up against their oppressors. With the aid of an African-born priestess, they conducted a religious ceremony in which the group swore on the blood of a sacrificial pig, invoking the spirits of the forest and their ancestors, that they would live free or die. According to tradition, this was the catalyst for the Haitian revolution. Though Boukman was captured and beheaded, the revolt continued, and after much strife Haiti became an independent republic in 1804...Legend has it that Boukman offered a prayer at Bois Caïman in which he drew a distinction between the wicked god of the whites and the benevolent god of the blacks. Whether the prayer was actually uttered is debatable; nonetheless, it can be taken as a fair indication of the rebels' sentiments, namely, that they were aligning themselves with the forces of good. Clearly the idea they were bargaining with Satan was an interpretation by Christians, who figured our god is righteous, everybody else's god is evil.

It is foolish to take Mr. Robertson too seriously. He is a broadcaster and (arguably) a theologian. Not a historian. But when everyone is mocking someone, it is a good idea to see where he might be coming from.

Beau Biden Will Not Run for Senate in 2010

Beau Biden, the son of Vice-President Joe Biden, will not run to fill the seat in the United States Senate that his father used to occupym from Delaware. Biden who is currently the state's Attorney General will instead run again for that office. With Biden deciding not to run, Republican Congressman Mike Castle will be the favorite to win the seat in November. One can't help but wonder if Biden feels that November won't be kind to Democrats running for national office and would prefer to bide his time.

Happy Birthday, QuizWedge!

May today be a day of joy and fun, and may this upcoming year be one of achievement and contentment.

Lunchtime! #midwinter

Lunchtime! #midwinter
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Lower division quizzing begins. #midwinter

Lower division quizzing begins. #midwinter
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Some allusions are inevitable

Sunset 3

Sunset 3
Originally uploaded by nomad7674.

Are HTML5 Video betas specifically for the Apple Tablet?

If you're not a geek, the recent moves by YouTube to begin a beta of HTML5 videos quickly followed by Vimeo doing the same thing probably warranted nothing more than a feeling of "So what?"

HTML 5 is the newest specification for how web pages (and more) can be built for viewing in a web browser. One of the most significant changes for this new version is the handling of video and other rich media technologies. In the past, the only way to have video on the web was either to have users download video files and play them manually on their computer, or to use a technology like Adobe Flash or Java to play them in a custom-built module (this is how both YouTube and Vimeo do it today). In HTML 5, browsers will instead be capable of supporting specific video file types directly in the browser. Currently, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome all support some form of HTML 5 (Firefox does not support the new implementations of YouTube and Vimeo). By pushing video to the browser itself, we allow for more direct interaction with video, and a more efficient memory footprint for handling it, allowing better performance with less horsepower (and less battery required).

But it is especially significant that these changes are being released only a week before Apple is expected to announce a Tablet Computer. The iTablet or iSlate or whatever the name could have been designed to run MacOS X like a laptop or the iPhoneOS - and while MacOS X has a (memory and CPU hungry) implementation of Adobe Flash, the iPhoneOS has explicitly banned it. The fact that these moves are being made now may imply that Google (which has a long relationship with Apple and is likely to be on stage next week when the Tablet is announced) knows the Tablet will run iPhoneOS and thus will not support Adobe Flash. This may mean an end to Adobe's near-monopoly on rich interactive content on the web, and especially with regards to video. Which may change the Web more than you expect.

We live in interesting times.

Hamas recognizes Israel's Right to Exist

There are some sentences I never thought I'd read outside of Science Fiction. This is one of them.

Hamas has accepted Israel's right to exist and would be prepared to nullify its charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, Aziz Dwaik, Hamas's most senior representative in the West Bank, said on Wednesday.

Hamas, you may recall, has historically been dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state in its place. They have fired thousands of rockets into Israel and killed many, many innocent civilians. But now, in control of the Palestinian territories, they are realizing that there may be more to gain by accepting Israel and actually considering peace.

There is no way to know how long this will last. It may simply be a PR stunt to facilitate getting foreign aid. But previously, this was unimaginable. And who knows what will happen, once you have crossed the rubicon

Supremes reverse campaign finance limits for Corporations/Unions

In a move which is sure to offend Senator John McCain and transform political spending for the next cycle, the Supreme Court overturned a number of campaign finance reform provisions, and opened the way for corporations and unions to spend their capital to elect the politicians of their choice.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/campaign.finance.ruling/index.html?hpt=T1

This will be decried by many as a corruption of the process, but I think the justices are right on the philosophy here. Free speech is free speech always, not when it is convenient or matches what I want to hear.

Supreme Court Strikes Down Some of McCain/Feingold

The US Supreme court ruled today that parts of the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform bill is unconstitutional. The vote was a 5-4 vote along traditional Conservative/Liberal lines. It will be interesting to see how this changes the political landscape for the 2010 Congressional elections.

Solar Audiobibles Sent to Haiti

This may be one of the more original evangelistic approaches to the Haiti disaster. The group "Faith Comes By Hearing" is shipping 600 solar-powered audio Bibles, which can broadcast scripture up to 500 people. In a time of despair, they can offer hope to both the literate and illiterate.

And yes, to the cynics out there, this is being shipped AFTER the food, water, and medical supplies have already come into the country.

Only Norm MacDonald can get away with this

NYTimes brings back the Pay Wall

A few years back, Mod-Blog (or at least this contributor) began boycotting the posting of New York Times articles due to a new policy which put some of their most interesting content behind a firewall that customers had to pay for either by various means. Last year, we reversed that decision when they relented and brought back free access. Now, they are ready to resume the Pay Wall, and thus, Mod-Blog (or at least this contributor) is ready to resume the boycott.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/media/21times.html

The news that I care about can be gotten from many different sources. I appreciate the Times's desire to monetize their content directly rather than via ads, and affirm their right to do so. But I choose to exercise my rights to take my business elsewhere. I am sure CNN, FoxNews, and others will be happy to have us back.

6.1 magnitude aftershock hits Haiti

It may be the very definition of "kicking you when you're down", but a 6.1 magnitude earthquake has hit Haiti a week after the 7.0 earthquake ravaged the poor nation. Early reports are of much emotional impact, but little additional damage - it appears whatever was vulnerable was already destroyed by the first disaster.

Republican Scott Brown wins Mass. Senate Seat

It seems like so much of the politics surrounding Barack Obama is driven inexorably by history, defying expectations and stereotypes. His own rise to power dumbfounded critics - a relatively obscure junior Senator became president over a Hillary Clinton (the assumed nominee from the day she announced). Now, the Obama agenda is threatened by another wave of history as Republican Scott Brown has defeated Democrat Martha Coakley to win the senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. This seat has been held by a Democrat for for decades, and Massachusetts has not sent any Republican to the Senate since 1972 - two year before I was born.

Brown's victory was so sweeping, he even won in the Cape Cod community where Sen. Edward Kennedy, the longtime liberal icon, died of brain cancer last August.
"While the honor is mine, this Senate seat belongs to no one person, no one political party," Brown told his supporters Tuesday night. "This is the people's seat," he added to chants of "People's seat!"
Brown will become the 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate, which could allow the GOP to block the health care bill. Democrats needed Coakley to win for a 60th vote to thwart Republican filibusters.

Apple Event - January 27

The Apple Blogsphere has been abuzz for weeks with rumors about a "special event" in late January, which many posited would be the release venue for the new Apple Tablet Computer. Now Apple has sent out official invitations to the event (pictured below). Speculation about the event is running rampant, with FoxNews claiming confirmation that the main announcements will be an Apple Tablet Computer (perhaps called the "iSlate"), details about the iPhone 4.0, and iLife 2010. Whatever is coming, it is sure to be more exciting and notable than the annual Consumer Electronics Show which closed out recently, and failed to generate much buzz for new products (mostly because the tech journalists were breathlessly awaiting the next big thing from Apple).

Two Timing

Guilty as Charged

Focus on the Family to Run Super Bowl Ad

Focus on the family will run a Super Bowl ad featuring college football super star Tim Tebow. It is believed to be an anti-abortion message. Tebow's Mom was counseled to get an abortion while pregnant with him after contracting an illness during a missions trip. Tebow grew up to be the greatest college football player of the last 4 years. (Including winning the Heisman trophy in 2007)

Martha Coakley calls Curt Schilling a "Yankees Fan"

What a great way to endear yourself to Red Sox Nation. Say that one of their greatest heros is a Yankees Fan. Martha Coakley did this on the radio show "Nightside with Dan Rea". Coakley is running for the Senate in Massachusetts.

Big Bad-da-Boom!

A construction crew has been blasting the old foundation out next door all week. And I have been home, due to illess, so I was able to take a number of photos and videos of the process. The explosions are not what I would have expected from Hollywood or Mythbusters, but they are still quite fun to watch.

Why did "Global Warming" become "Climate Change"?

Because while "warming" can be easily disproved by showing the temperature heading in the "wrong" (i.e. colder" direction). But "climate change" simply states that temperatures over time will be variable - something that is guaranteed to happen. However, more and more both proponents and skeptics are wondering if we know anything substantive about climate science and its causes.

Of course, this does NOT mean that we should not be looking to change our technologies to less-polluting versions

Should we do nothing about our consumption of petroleum? No, we should use this window of opportunity to decrease our reliance on petroleum; not because of "climate change," but to deprive the oil-producing nations of money too many of them use to underwrite terrorism. This should satisfy both the global warming disciples and deniers and make America and Europe less dependent on nations that wish to destroy our liberty. But threats to liberty are not limited to some oil-producing nations; they can also be found in the British Parliament and in the American Congress.

Let's abandon quests for "philosophical purity" in the Copenhagen debate, and find common points of agreement like this.

Salvation Army in Haiti

If you are looking for another way to help out in Haiti, the Salvation Army is active in the country and is accepting donations for relief online. They have been working hard in the country for years, and are very aware of the unique needs of Haitians in this difficult time.

Thanks to Mod-Blog friend Shadowmom for reminding me about this option.

Ride the roads without touching asphalt?

I love the freedom of riding the open rides on my bike, but there are times when traffic makes it dangerous to be a lone rider with no metal around me.  A new proposed invention called "Kolelinia" would resolve this by allowing cyclists to ride above traffic by using ziplines and tightropes.  And the description appears to indicate it is safer than it sounds.  Click thru for the full story.

Posted via email from The Bike Nomad

Donations for Haiti

The Red Cross is taking donations for relief for the victims of the Haitian earthquake. You can donate on their website or text HAITI to 90999 (auto-donates $10, apparently, not sure how billing works).

Blogger from Haiti

I thought Mod-Blog readers might be interested in this blog from Haiti which is talking about the disaster there.

Thousands of people are currently trapped. To guess at a number would be like guessing at raindrops in the ocean. Precious lives hang in the balance. When pulled from the rubble there is no place to take them for care Haiti has an almost non existent medical care system for her people.

Earthquake in Haiti

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake ripped through Haiti yesterday, causing widespread destruction and death in a country where poverty and persistent political unrest had resulted in poor building standards. Photos from the scene are showing whole regions flattened, and the local authorities are saying hospitals can not handle the influx of wounded and dying.

Destroyed communications made it impossible to tell the extent of destruction from Tuesday afternoon's 7.0-magnitude tremor — or to estimate the number of dead lying among thousands of collapsed buildings in Haiti's capital.
The ornate National Palace crumbled into itself, the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission collapsed and swaths of rickety shacks lay in shambles. Clouds of dust thrown up by falling buildings choked Port-au-Prince for hours...
Associated Press journalists found the damage staggering even for a country long accustomed to tragedy and disaster.

Please be praying for the disaster-torn country. It remains to be seen if the Recession creates any difficulty raising relief money, but it is likely to put extra pressure on efforts to help.

Seriously

Health Reform empowers IRS

It was seen as a key victory for the average American when the IRS lost power under President George W. Bush. In the late 90s and 2000s, there were a number of high profile cases of abuse of power by the Internal Revenue Service which illustrated Conservatives fears of the unbounded power of agents. Now, as part of President Obama's desire to be the anti-Bush, it appears the pending Health Care Reform Bill is poised to return significant new powers to the IRS, as it will be the primary agency responsible to monitor American's purchasing of Health Insurance. Anyone who fails to purchase insurance under the new rules, will be paying their fines to the IRS.

Welcome back, Tax Man.

Malaysia churches firebombed over the name of God

Sometimes, in the effort to give others the benefit of the doubt, Westerners underestimate the differences between the thinking of Western democracies and the Islamic world. There is little that illustrates the difference between Western ideas of religious freedom and Islamic ideas of it than a rash of bombings in Malaysia against Christian churches. The reason? Doctrine? Culture? Historical gripes? Nope. It is over the use of the Malaysian name of God, which happens to match the Arabic "Allah".

Two more churches in Malaysia were firebombed Sunday, bringing the total to six since a court ruled that non-Muslims can use the word "Allah" as a term for God...In recent months, authorities in Malaysia have seized more than 20,000 Bibles because they refer to God as Allah.
The seizures have fed fears among minority groups, which see signs of encroaching Islamic fundamentalism in the predominantly Muslim but multiracial country.

As we confront Al Qaeda and other extremist Islamic groups, we need to keep in mind these differences in perspective.

It's a valid question to ask

Cool Tools: Google Flu Trends

Since I am currently suffering from a cold/flu/infection of some sort, I thought it was a good time to remind our readers about Google Flu Trends, a service which tracks the apparent increase in flu cases worldwide.

What have we come to?

From Townhall.com.

Warner Brothers denies DVDs to NetFlix until 28 days from Release

NetFlix has been a major success story for DVDs. While services like Blockbuster have withered and died, NetFlix has continued to grow and thrive by giving customers what they want - convenient DVD rentals and streaming video. And they did so without violating the property rights of the movie studios, or strengthening illegal downloaders or pirates in general. So how are the studios rewarding them? Warner Brothers is denying them DVDs until 28 days after release. The idea is that this will force consumers to buy DVDs that they otherwise would rent once from NetFlix.

The reality? This will drive more consumers to illegal download sites, and older movies. And will decrease the pressure to buy movies that otherwise would have stayed a long time in queue. Brilliant move, Warner Brothers.

Google releases the/a Google Phone

Despite claims that "Google will not compete with our vendors", today Google released the NexusOne, an Android-based phone endorsed and sold by Google (although made by HTC). This new device is designed to be the most advanced Android phone to date with AndroidOS 2.1, a 1 GHz processor, and 512 MB of active RAM (only 1.5 GB of storage space, though). It will be sold on Google's own site either unlocked or with plans from T-Mobile or Verizon (or Vodaphone overseas). Early reviews are fairly enthusiastic, though not without negatives, and have some tech journalists talking about abandoning the iPhone (although the fact that Google gave them out free may have influenced that decision). It may be the first phone to truly challenge the iPhone - although we were saying that about Droid only a month ago.

My own thought is a real competitor to the iPhone can only be a good thing for the market. We had hoped the Palm Pre would mount a real challenge, but sales have not kept up with expectations. We had hoped past Android phones would spur on Apple to excellence, but none have captured the public. And the less said about Windows Mobile and Nokia, the better. Here's hoping Apple and Google can truly drive a revolution in wireless phones and portable computing.

Irony, Thy Name is Minnesota

I love "unintended consequences" stories, but sometimes you come across a story where the outcome was entirely foreseeable and thus not truly "unintended". Take the case of Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, who defied the census and advised her constituents to do the same. Her reasoning was that the Constitution only required enumeration and no more from citizens.

What was the outcome? It appears that Minnesota will be losing a congressional seat from the census... and it is almost certain to be hers. Oops. Perhaps it is time to rethink the strategy. Then again, it is probably too late.

Procrastination as Self-Destruction

From The Doghouse Diaries.

Be alert, new banking fees are on the way

Most consumers are not aware of it, but the CARD Act of 2009 and the new Regulation E (which seeks to reduce Overdraft fees) are sure to have a significant impact on the way they do banking. These two regulatory changes are designed to cut down on practices which are consumer-unfriendly, but which contributed significantly to the bottom line. Without these options, be expecting banks to go out of their way to create and assess new fees to make up the lost revenue. Be especially mindful of inactive accounts which you may have forgotten, which banks may now start charging "inactivity" fees against.

Remember, your GPS is not infallible

I love GPS technology. Unlike the rest of my family, I have NO sense of direction and a mental block against remembering street names. So my Garmin Nuvi 780 (and the Navigon app on my iPhone) have saved me from any number of near-disasters trying to get from point A to point B. But I am almost an Information Technology professional, and therefore know any system is only as reliable as the worst programmer/engineer/tester working on it. So, I always remember to question the device and not assume it has more common sense than I do.

In Oregon, GPS systems can direct drivers to thousands of miles of Forest Service logging roads that lace the state's mountain ranges. In the winter, they are often plugged with snow.
On Christmas Day, a Nevada couple took one such road in Evinger's County and spent three days stuck. They were rescued when a break in atmospheric conditions allowed them to signal their coordinates to 911.
Three Portlanders and their small dog got into trouble Monday when their vehicle slid off a forest road as they were using GPS directions to a hot springs in the southern Willamette Valley. Lane County officials said the three and the dog were exhausted and mildly hypothermic after walking 17 miles without survival gear to get into cell phone range and call 911.
Griffin's family was rescued when friends and relatives used a GPS like Griffin's and duplicated the route they assumed the family had plotted. That led them straight to the family. The three had been stuck about 24 hours.

Remember, whenever possible, double-check the GPS route against the map, and be especially aware that the GPS has no idea about the capabilities of - or lack thereof - your particular vehicle.

One New Year's Resolution I Can Get Behind