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Posts Tagged ‘Slate Magazine’

9 Interesting Links From January 8th

January 9th, 2010 Greg Smith No comments
  • Gallup: America the ‘conservative’? / The Christian Science Monitor – CSMonitor.com – per pollster Gallup, the nation has grown only more polarized in the past year. By the end of 2009, 40 percent of Americans self-identified as conservative, up from 37 percent in 2008. Moderates clocked in at 36 percent, down from 37 a year earlier. And 21 percent of Americans self-identified as liberal, down a point from 2008.
  • Why cheap Chianti is often better than the expensive stuff. – By Mike Steinberger – Slate Magazine – Chianti is Italy's most famous wine, and—given its operatic recent history—it is arguably the most Italian of Italian wines. Back in the 1960s and '70s, Chianti was synonymous with plonk; it was the cheap, insipid Tuscan wine that came in straw flasks (fiascos, as they were aptly known) and was typically found, on these shores, in pizza joints with checkered tablecloths and jukeboxes.
  • First Rio Rancho Mayor Accused Of Sex Charges – Albuquerque News Story – KOAT Albuquerque – In February 1981, when Rio Rancho was a fledgling city, William Howden was its first mayor. Now, almost three decades later, Howden is accused of molesting his 7-year-old granddaughter.
  • Sheriff Joe Arpaio investigated by grand jury, officials confirm – Two Maricopa County executives said Thursday they will appear before a federal grand jury next week to testify about allegations that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and others in his office have abused their power.
  • Texas Gov. Rick Perry has toiled to steer clear of George W. Bush’s shadow | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News – "His populist, anti-government definition of himself is one that has more in common with Sarah Palin than it does with George W. Bush" by resonating with the emerging tea-party movement, said University of Texas political scientist Bruce Buchanan.
  • "Smart" ski tickets lead to more pass-fraud busts in Colorado – The Denver Post – Even though skiers do not need to remove their pass from their pocket, ticket checkers can review a host of data from each pass they scan, including a large photograph of the skier.
  • Intel Forced to Remove "Cripple AMD" Function from Compiler? – Agner Fog details this particularly nasty examples of Intel's anticompetitive practices quite well. Intel's compiler can produce different versions of pieces of code, with each version being optimised for a specific processor and/or instruction set (SSE2, SSE3, etc.). The system detects which CPU it's running on and chooses the optimal code path accordingly; the CPU dispatcher, as it's called.
  • I am a debunker of 9/11 conspiracy theories. AMA. : reddit.com – I'm a guy who sees a country that's become increasingly hostile to science from both the right (obvious) and the left (all-natural drugs, homeopathy, anti-vax).
  • Why didn’t I use pervious concrete for my driveway? – Fresh Dirt – Sunset.com – Pervious concrete is basically concrete without the sand. And the absence of sand creates a lot of void space. 15-30%. That is enough, according to the Pacific Southwest Concrete Alliance, for 3-8 gallons of water per minute to pass through each square foot. That is equal, says the Alliance, to 6,000 to 17,000 inches of rain per day. Even an El Nino won't produce more than that.
  • 10 Interesting Links From September 7th

    September 8th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments
    • Al Jazeera English – Asia-Pacific – Samoa set to switch road lanes – Drivers fear traffic chaos in Samoa as they prepare to switch from driving on the right-hand side of the road to the left. The small South Pacific nation of 180,000 people is set to change lanes on Monday, the first country to do so in nearly 40 years. The government has banned the sale of alcohol for three days and declared a two-day public holiday as a precaution, until people get used to the changes.
    • Al Jazeera English – Europe – Three guilty of UK plane bomb plot – The bombers intended to simultaneously destroy at least seven planes carrying over 200 passengers each between London's Heathrow airport and the United States and Canada in August 2006, prosecutors said. The suspected al-Qaeda plot led to a tight of security restrictions worldwide on the amount of liquids passengers could take on board aircraft.
    • Front Row Washington » Blog Archive » Obama to post White House visitor logs on the Internet | Blogs | – After early signs he might follow the lead of other presidents and keep his White House visitor logs secret, Barack Obama has decided instead he’s going to post it on the Internet.
    • Brain scan: Paranoid survivor | The Economist – EARLIER this year Andrew Grove taught a class at Stanford Business School. As a living legend in Silicon Valley and a former boss of Intel, the world’s leading chipmaker, Dr Grove could have simply used the opportunity to blow his own trumpet. Instead he started by displaying a headline from the Wall Street Journal heralding the recent takeover of General Motors by the American government as the start of “a new era”. He gave a potted history of his own industry’s spectacular rise, pointing out that plenty of venerable firms—with names like Digital, Wang and IBM—were nearly or completely wiped out along the way.
    • The elusive search for the sufficiently innocent criminal. – By Dahlia Lithwick – Slate Magazine – The state of Texas now has the opportunity to review Beyler's findings and conclude that it has carried out the "execution of a legally and factually innocent person."
    • Intel spent $877K lobbying government in 2Q – Forbes.com – Intel Corp., the world's No. 1 computer microprocessor maker, spent $877,000 on lobbying in the second quarter, according to recent disclosure forms.
    • Men lose their minds speaking to pretty women – Telegraph – The research shows men who spend even a few minutes in the company of an attractive woman perform less well in tests designed to measure brain function than those who chat to someone they do not find attractive.
    • List of inventors killed by their own inventions – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – This is a list of inventors whose deaths were in some manner caused by or related to a product, process, procedure, or other innovation that they invented or designed.
    • Man sentenced for selling bald eagle feathers – Authorities say a Dilkon man has been sentenced in federal court for selling 11 bald eagle tail feathers. Prosecutors say Cedric E. Salabye pleaded guilty in April to one count of a federal indictment charging him with selling eagle feathers in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. A U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix on Friday sentenced Salabye to five years of probation, six months of home confinement and 150 hours of community service.
    • Al Jazeera English – Asia-Pacific – China launches organ donor scheme – China is reportedly launching a new national organ donor scheme, aimed at reducing the health system's current dependence on body parts taken from executed prisoners. According to the China Daily newspaper, currently more than 65 per cent of organ donations come from executed convicts – a system that has been criticised as unethical and profit driven.

    10 Interesting Links From August 21st

    August 22nd, 2009 Greg Smith No comments
    • Pledge of Allegiance Upheld in New Mexico – As a response to this disappointing outcome, here are some reasons to abolish the Pledge:
      1.) Partially designed as a marketing scheme to sell flags.
      2.) Before 1942 the accompanying salute, the Bellamy, was suspiciously similar to that of the Nazis.
      3.) I'm told that "God" isn't supposed to be involved with the American government.
      4.) There is no liberty in being forced by a republic to swear loyalty to that republic.
      5.) Cultish.
    • Qwest ends "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" perk – The Denver Post – Qwest has eliminated a perk in which top executives were given tens of thousands of dollars each year to cover unreported expenses, the company disclosed in a filing today. A shareholder slammed the perk at the company's annual meeting in May, calling it "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" compensation.
    • Can the cocaine on dollar bills be used to track drug use around the country? – By Kim Gittleson – Slate Magazine – More than 90 percent of U.S. currency is contaminated with cocaine, according to a study presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society. The study's lead author told reporters that the rate had been 67 percent two years ago and that the increase may be due to a rise in consumption of the drug spurred by the economic downturn. Can dirty money really be used to track cocaine use?
    • The business of human smuggling in a Mexican border town. (1) – By Sacha Feinman – Slate Magazine – ALTAR, Mexico—I hadn't yet taken 10 steps off the bus when I made eye contact with someone for the first time. "Are you going north?" he hissed, walking quickly toward me. "Let's go. Let's go," he implored.
    • Driving instructor charged with DWI – An Albuquerque driving instructor faces DWI charges after a Rio Rancho Police officer found him so intoxicated at a crash site that he couldn’t even stand without holding onto his car.
    • www.KOB.com – Cops: Members of ‘Memphis Mob’ skipping town – In April, police arrested 45 members of the Memphis Mob—a criminal group that police say set up a drug pipeline that funneled crack cocaine from Albuquerque to Tennessee. Several members that were arrested on minor drug possession charges are now bonding out of jail, then leaving for Tennessee before more serious charges come their way, according to police.
    • 92 markets caught in manufacturing slide – New Mexico Business Weekly: – According to the report, Albuquerque has lost 3,300 manufacturing jobs. Detroit is the market that has been hit hardest by the manufacturing slump, largely because of the difficulties currently besetting domestic automakers. The Detroit area has lost 118,600 manufacturing jobs during the half-decade, 39.4 percent of its June 2004 total of 301,200.
    • www.KOB.com – Man indicted for simulated sex – with car – “Witnesses, including two children, told police that their attention was drawn to Brawner because his pants were around his ankles, he was swinging his arms in the air and shouting while he was ‘humping’ the trunk of his car,” Davis reports in a press release.
    • Verizon adds cell site in Rio Rancho – New Mexico Business Weekly: – Verizon Wireless has added a new cell site to improve service to customers in Rio Rancho. The site expands 3G high-speed wireless coverage in northern Rio Rancho, including the city center, and in the Mariposa Ranch community.
    • Mountain lion captured in eastern part of Denver metro area – The Denver Post – A Division of Wildlife officer tranquilized the animal, and it was relocated to the remote foothills on the west side of the metro region, where mountain lions more typically roam.

    10 Interesting Links From May 31st

    June 1st, 2009 Greg Smith No comments
    • Movie Awards Story | Exclusive: Shia LaBeouf Reveals ‘Transformers’ Villain The Fallen – Show Story | Headlines | MTV – "He is the king bee," LaBeouf told us recently as he discussed the Fallen, unveiling him to "Transformers" fans for the first time anywhere. "He's the patriarchal figure, he's the main dude. He's what all of this came from."
    • North Korean Economy Watch » North Korea Uncovered – (Google Earth) – This Google Earth project offers an extensive mapping of North Korea’s economic, cultural, political, and military infrastructures. Through the topic menu, users of this program have easy access to geographical information on North Korea’s agriculture projects, aviation facilities, communications, hospitals, hotels, energy infrastructure, financial services, leisure destinations, manufacturing facilities, markets, mines, religious locations, restaurants, schools, and transportation infrastructure. In addition to locations of economic interest, this map also displays anti-aircraft locations, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Northern Line Limit Line (NLL), incarceration facilities, political monuments, political residencies, military bases, and nuclear facilities.
    • Jeremy Clarkson Honda Insight 1.3 IMA SE Hybrid review | Driving – Times Online – It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more.
    • Are high ceilings a sign of wretched architectural excess or just good taste? – By Witold Rybczynski – Slate Magazine – Certain features are taken for granted in today's residential market: granite countertops, glass-walled showers, and, judging from this recent ad for a new Upper West Side condo, very tall ceilings. Not so long ago, 8-foot ceilings were the norm. What changed?
    • News : Rio Rancho police answer call to protect President – Rio Rancho Observer – Hosting the President of the United States is no light matter. There’s much work involved preparing for his arrival and ensuring his safety.

      The Rio Rancho Police Department feels it rose to the occasion last week as President Obama’s historic visit to Rio Rancho went off without a hitch.

    • Why our ‘amazing’ science fiction future fizzled – CNN.com – Forty years later, we're still waiting for those congestion-free highways — along with the jet pack, the paperless office and all those "Star Trek"-like gadgets that were supposed to make 21st-century life so easy.
    • Tempe-based Syntax-Brillian Corp. rises, falls fast – What each box really contained – and where the shipment was headed – is unclear to accountants, attorneys, investors and creditors looking into Syntax-Brillian's practices since the company filed for bankruptcy in July 2008. They say the peculiarity raises yet another red flag about how the company did business in its last years, when revenue soared.
    • Automating Twitter | Mac OS X | Macworld – Jason Snell recently explained how to use Applescript to automate the popular Twitter client Twitterific. But, with the help of some simple shell scripting, you can also send quick status updates directly to Twitter from within an Automator workflow.
    • The Evolution of House Cats: Scientific American – The findings suggest that cats started making themselves at home around people to take advantage of the mice and food scraps found in their settlements.
    • No. 2 Albuquerque, New Mexico – Kiplinger.com – Population: 819,576
      Income Growth: 7.8%
      Cost of Living Index: 98
      Median Household Income: $45,634
      Percentage of Workforce in Creative Class: 30%

      What Albuquerque wants, Albuquerque gets — and the city and state crave high-tech jobs, especially in the renewable-energy industry. So when Schott North America made overtures to many cities about hosting its flagship solar-panel plant, Albuquerque and New Mexico pounced.

    10 Interesting Links From May 11th

    May 12th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments

    10 Interesting Links From April 19th

    April 20th, 2009 Greg Smith No comments
    • Homegrown Evolution: Self Irrigating Planter Resources – Homegrown Evolution is up in San Francisco this weekend to do a talk about the world of self-irrigating planters (also known as SIPs or self-watering planters or a couple of other variations on that general verbiage). In our opinion SIPs are the food growing tool of the aspiring urban agriculturalist. Make or buy one of these things and vegetable container gardening is a breeze. No need to water your pots three times a day during the summer! For those who can't make our talk, and as a resource for those who can, we thought we would put all the Internet resources in one place in this here blog post.
    • Cool Tools: Littlbug Stove – The Littlbug is a well-made, elegantly-efficient wood-burning stove that's a great alternative to the propane stoves often relied upon during Scouting trips. The energy put towards producing, transporting and disposing propane stove canisters is a growing problem for those who spend time outdoors. A high-efficiency wood-burning stove makes practical, ethical sense — no need to haul around canisters, dispose of them, or put the burden on parks to go around collecting empties.
    • One man’s quest to honor America’s Saturn V rocket – Rocketry Planet – On April 25, 2009, history will be made. At Higgs Farm in Price, Maryland, Steve Eves will enter the history books as the person who flew the largest model rocket in history. The rocket will weigh over 1,600 pounds, it will stand over 36 feet tall and it will be powered by a massive array of nine motors: eight 13,000ns N-Class motors and a 77,000ns P-Class motor.
    • News : Students fare well at New Mexico Science fair – Rio Rancho Observer – Eleven Rio Rancho High School students fared well at the annual New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.
    • KOB.com – Rio Rancho police nab serial tagger – Rio Rancho police busted a serial tagger they say is responsible for thousands of dollars worth of damage.
      It was an attentive patrol officer that broke the case. The cop stopped 21-year-old Eric Perea for a traffic violation when he noticed a lot of cans of spray paint in the car.
    • New Way To Split Water Into Hydrogen And Oxygen Developed – The design of efficient systems for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, driven by sunlight is among the most important challenges facing science today, underpinning the long term potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable fuel. But man-made systems that exist today are very inefficient and often require additional use of sacrificial chemical agents. In this context, it is important to establish new mechanisms by which water splitting can take place.
    • The expanding invasion of the naked body scanners. – By William Saletan – Slate Magazine – When we first checked in on them two years ago, the scanners, which see through clothing, were being deployed at a single airport. A few months later, they were upgraded to millimeter-wave technology, which delivered similar images with even less radiation—"10,000 times less than a cell phone transmission," according to the Transportation Security Administration. At the time, TSA assured us that the scanners would be used only as a "voluntary alternative" to "a more invasive physical pat-down during secondary screening." Only a few passengers, the ones selected for extra scrutiny, would face the scanners. The rest of us could walk through the metal detectors and board our planes.
    • Albuquerque Lunch Restaurants Examiner: Wecks breakfast for lunch a winner – What I love about Weck’s is being able to get breakfast anytime. The other thing I love is when you ask for crispy hash browns that is exactly what you get. Unlike other places that when you ask you have a slight chance they will actually follow through.
    • The Official Site of Rio Rancho, NM – View Construction Progress – As construction takes place on the Hewlett-Packard (HP) facility located in the city's downtown City Center, a new photo will be added to this Web page each week which will show progress that has been made.
    • Yard Sale Treasure Map – A Yard Sale Planning Tool