Thanks to all who died to make/keep us free!

How big is the Gulf Oil Spill *REALLY*?

This site lets you overlay the spill onto your own hometown or any address in the world. It is scary to realize just how large this thing has become.

New Jersey lauded for Bike-Friendliness

While I live in the Nutmeg State, I was born in New Jersey and the Garden State holds a special place in my heart.  That special place has only gotten warmer as I have grown to love cycling, due to the many great opportunities to ride my bike when I am visiting down there.  My trips to Wildwood, NJ are especially great for getting out on two-wheels. So, it was no surprise to see that New Jersey has been named the 8th best state in th Union for bicyclists.  And from what I have seen, things are only getting better!

Posted via email from The Bike Nomad

Irony Overload: WB Pirates Antipirate Tech

Truth is stranger than fiction, much to the chagrin of fiction writers. And you must look no further than Warner Brothers entertainment for proof. Who knew that piracy laws allowed recursion?

German firm Medien Patent Verwaltung claims that in 2003, it revealed a new kind of anti-piracy technology to Warner Bros. that marks films with specific codes so pirated copies can be traced back to their theaters of origin. But like a great, hilariously-ironic DRM Ouroborus, the company claims that Warner began using the system throughout Europe in 2004 but hasn't actually paid a dime for it.

Mod-Blog Empire Strikes Back

Thanks to Jib-Jab. Sorry, Wedge and Sean. Didn't have pictures that fit the templates. Click on the image below to see the movie.

Is the Windows Era over?

I have made no secret of my animus against the Windows operating system. I use it only at work these days - and am stuck on Windows XP for the most part. But I still find it hard to use the operating system without being constantly needled by its poor design, poor efficiency, and lack of respect for the user.

But now many are arguing that the end of the Windows Era is here with the rise of Google "in the cloud", Apple in the smartphone/iPad space, and HP's high-profile purchase of Palm for webOS. They predict that we are past the peak of the Microsoft mountain, and will be watching a slow slide to irrelevance in the next 10 years.

Microsoft lumbers along, avoiding risks, clinging to Office and Windows revenues. Meanwhile, companies without Microsoft's existing monopoly-bound customers drive change, and they are willing to take risks. The mobile-to-cloud service platform is to the PC what the PC was to the mainframe: It extends computational and informational utility to more people and places -- and for lower cost. The Windows era is giving way to the anytime, anywhere, on-anything era. The most dynamic innovations are occurring outside the Windows monopoly...
HP already has announced a WebOS-based tablet. HP's next, logical step is to release a laptop running WebOS. Losing HP is bad, but there may be more trouble coming. Sony is yet another traitor in the making. Last week, Sony announced plans to support Google TV by offering a television running Android. As part of a recent reorganization, Sony execs responsible for VAIO PCs are in charge of TVs. OS migration from Sony smartphone (the Xperia X10) or Google TV-based television to tablet or PC is logical next step. What about Dell, which already has adopted Android for smartphones? Windows is bloated and moribund compared to these lither mobile OSes pushing up into the PC market.

To be clear, the end of Microsoft's dominance does not necessarily mean the beginning of an Apple Computer era. Google is well-poised for dominance, there are a number of alternative OSes out there like webOS and Android, and with Linux it is becoming increasing cheap for anyone to start from scratch in inventing their own Operating System for their own custom device.

The few things I *DON'T* like about the iPad

A work friend asked me today if there was anything I did NOT like about the iPad.  Here were my thoughts, for those who thought I had nothing but praise for it:

 

1.  iWork apps are not truly independent.  The iWork apps are good, but they are not really well-designed to originate new content from scratch.  It is best, in my limited experience, to create your doc on the desktop (in Pages/Work or Excel/Numbers) and then use the iPad to fill in the gaps of data.  Formatting is far better on the desktop.  The way I have worked this is to create my template document on my MacBook Pro, send it to my iPad, and then create a copy each time I need a new doc.

 

(An alternative to iWork is the Office2 app which tries to provide a Microsoft Office-compatible suite in your iPad which syncs with both iDisk and Google Docs.  It is far less polished than iWork - and is missing key functionality - but it is worth a look if the iWork apps don't fufill your needs or if you do 99% of your work in Google Doc anyway.)

 

2.  Document syncing stinks.  This bell has been run before by others, but truly the document syncing features for iWork are horrible.  The "intended" method is via iTunes, but the document conversion and syncing process is slow and takes over iTunes entirely each time you drag and drop a new file onto it.  The other two methods are (1) e-mailing the file between your iPad and desktop (easiest method, but also slow as conversion has to be done in both directins) and (2) using a syncing App like DropBox or SugarSync (requires registration with free service, but keeps you in sync between desktop and iPad at all times).

 

3.  Fingerprints, fingerprints, fingerprints.  Even with an oleophobic coating that minimizes the oil collecting, your iPad screen will be full of fingerprints by the middle of the day, every day.  I have stocked up on screen wipes (the ones from Endust made for LCDs are the best, but any wipe for glasses will do) and try to clean the screen once a day.  Even then, in the wrong lighting, it looks horrible.

 

4.  I miss Folders.  The iPad, like the iPhone, is non-heirarchical.  Thus, no folders on the apps screens or within iWork or iBooks.  This is fine when your collection of Apps or Documents is small.  But if you want to make your iPad your "computer on the go", it becomes an issue quickly.  iPhoneOS 4 will resolve this on the Apps screen when it hits iPads this fall.  There is no guarantee we'll have any such solution within iWork.

 

That is about it.  I am loving the web browsing (prefer it to my PC or Mac for 95% of cases), the games, the instant-on-always-on internet connection, and I love Evernote which keeps all of my notes current between desktops, iPad, and iPhone for free.  That is a HIGHLY recommended App.

Yankees Show More of the "Dark Side"

Red Sox fans have called the Yankees the "Evil Empire" for a while, but now iPad owners have a new reason to dislike the 27 time World Champions. The Yankees are not allowing people to bring their Apple iPads into Yankee Stadium. Citing security concerns the Yankees do not let an form of laptops into the stadium and for now, they classify iPads as laptops. Major League Baseballs says that each team has the right to choose whether or not to allow the iPads into their stadiums. So if you are a baseball fan in New York and want to use your iPad at the ballpark, your only choice is to go to Citi Field and watch the Mets.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

President Obama's solution the the Oil Spill: More Taxes

There is a truism of government - you don't tax businesses, you tax their customers. Every tax placed on a business is passed along to customers in higher prices. So when a politician both claims "taxpayers will not pay for the BP cleanup" and that it will be paid with by higher taxes, be skeptical. Be very skeptical.

Lawmakers want to increase the current 8-cent-a-barrel tax on oil to make sure there is enough money available to respond to oil spills. At least 6 million gallons of crude have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico since a drilling rig exploded April 20 off the Louisiana coast.

President Barack Obama and congressional leaders have said they expect BP to foot the bill for the cleanup.

"Taxpayers will not pick up the tab," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday.

BP executives told Congress last week they would pay "all legitimate claims" for damages. But the government needs upfront money to respond to spills, as well as money to pay for cleanups when the responsible party is unable to pay, or is unknown. Money spent from the fund can later be recovered from the company responsible for the spill.

It is a good point that funds are needed for immediate work on the current spill. But we should all be aware this will mean higher prices at the pump for all of us. Especially heading into summer. Which will cause people to travel less, and depress the economy even more.

HP claims expensive ink is worth every penny

It is an open secret that printer ink is expensive. In fact, in many cases it is cheaper to buy a new printer with a starter cartridge than it is to buy a refill. But HP believes the charges are fully justified, by research and development costs. They seem quite apologetic.

The key point in a nutshell: Ink technology is expensive to develop, and you pay for reliability and image quality. "These liquids are completely different from a technology standpoint," Brown says, adding that users concerned about cost per page can buy "XL" ink cartridges from HP that last two to three times longer. (Competitors offer similar cartridges).

The message: You get value for the money. No getting around it though: Ink is still expensive, particularly if you have to use that Photosmart ink jet printer for black and white text pages.

Buyer beware. We are moving closer and closer to an age where devices like the iPad will make printers less and less useful. Ink will only become more expensive to prop up sagging profits.

Is CBS surprised by offended viewers?

I am not sure how many Mod-Blog readers have seen posts by the Twitter feed "#### My Dad Says", but it is a darkly funny feed of intensely politically-incorrect and profanity laden quotes from one man's father. Many were surprised when CBS bought the rights to turn the feed into a Sitcom. Now CBS is acting surprised that some viewers are offended by a show with a profanity right in its title.

CBS will promote the show verbally with the word "bleep" instead of the profanity in ads -- as in, "Bleep My Dad Says."

But the network doesn't need to spell out of one George Carlin's famous Seven Words You Can Never Say on TV for viewers to decode the the title. Having a broadcast network air a comedy with a semi-quasi-it's-there-but-not profanity may also make it tougher for the network to wrangle advertisers...

CBS maintains that the show itself will be perfectly suitable for family viewing.

CBS knows exactly what it is doing, and is gambling on hooking the profitable 18-25 year old demographic based on this stunt. My guess? Endless meddling as the network tries to thread the needle on this one will doom the show to a single season, despite the talents of William Shatner.

FEMA Photographer refuses to photograph anyone in a "faith-based" shirt

The separation of Church and State was a great innovation of the Founders of the United States. Having seen the way that an institutional church is corrupted by power, they put in place a system where religion and statecraft maintain separate spheres of influence. But there are some who take "separate spheres of influence" to mean more than simple separation. For instance, a FEMA photographer who required a church group to remove their "faith-based" shirts before interviewing them for a video.

To their credit, the FEMA chief has apologized for the incident. But it is a good reminder that there are those who take "separation" to mean "hostility".

Google TV - Your television with a keyboard

At their annual Google I/O conference, Google announced yesterday their new TV software called GoogleTV. The new product is designed to integrate your television with the Web in such a way that you can easily search for programs (using Google search, of course) and view them on the air, on your integrated DVR, or on the web (at Google-owned YouTube, of course). The new system will be available integrated into televisions or as stand-alone boxes.

The new devices will require a keyboard for input, raising the question, "If you're going to need a keyboard to interact with your television anyway, why not just hook up a cheap computer instead?" It will be interesting to see if it catches on, or is relegated to a "hobby" like Apple's AppleTV device.

London's 2012 Olympic Mascots - Destined for Mockery for All Time

I... Uh... Oh, my. Um.... I'll let this one be commented upon by our readers. Suffice to say, this is a BAD IDEA.

The "Ride of Silence" is today

If you should see a line of cyclists riding slowly down the streets of your town today, please be patient and considerate. Today is the Ride of Silence - an annual memorial for cyclists killed on public roadways by cars and trucks.

Blumenthal lied about Vietnam?

Richard Blumenthal has served as Connecticut's Attorney General for many years - and is widely respected - but recently he took the podium at a ceremony regarding veterans and apparently misrepresented his own service in the Vietnam era. This apparent lie has been exposed by the New York Times, and some are arguing it may lead to the end of his political career.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

This will be an interesting one to watch. Mr. Blumenthal is running to replace Senator Chris Dodd. If he should fall, is there a Democratic candidate who can step in to fill the gap, or is this one seat that the GOP can mark as "safe" for 2010?

Visiting the Bowhunters

We had a great time visiting the Bowhunters this past weekend, and as usual our friends included an unusual wildlife sighting as part of our trip!

It's the motto of our age

Ask me next time!

This is pretty much how we on the East Coast have been feeling during the last few days of near-freezing temps and rain in May.

A real health care crisis - anti-venoms are leaving the market

I am thankful to live in the Northeastern USA, where poisonous animals are rare and pretty much restricted to "pets" bought by adventurous New Englanders. But I was shocked to learn just how many effective anti-venoms are going off the market because of a combination of unprofitability and FDA over-regulation.

Antivenom shortages are a surprisingly common occurrence. The entire state of Arizona ran out of antivenom for scorpion stings after Marilyn Bloom, an envenomation specialist at Arizona State University, retired in 1999. Bloom had been single-handedly making all the scorpion antivenom for state hospitals. Recently, Merck & Co, the only FDA-licensed producer of black widow antivenom, has cut back distribution because of a production shortage of the drug. In a 2007 report, the World Health Organization listed worldwide envenomations as a "neglected public health issue."

Anatomy of a Soccer Ball

A Week with the iPad Wifi + 3G

It has now been a little over a week since I received my iPad (a Wifi + 3G model), and I have had it with me almost constantly since then. This seemed like a good time to sit down and put down some thoughts.

• The iPad is your real "notebook computer". Steve Jobs wanted to position the iPad between your cell phone and your laptop or desktop computer. And it really is excellent for the sweet spot where until now you have been carrying around a paper notebook or clipboard. With tools like Evernote, you can take notes at meetings, classes, or in church and have them ready to access anywhere. With apps like Kindle or iBooks, you have a library of reference or fiction books. With apps like Paperdek, you can even capture sketches or your new ideas.
• The lack of multitasking makes the iPad a tool, instead of a toy. While there are plenty of great games for the iPad, but its lack of multitasking actually makes is a better productivity tool than would otherwise be possible. If you're taking notes on it, you can't quickly jump off in the middle of a meeting to chat on AIM, post to Facebook, or play a round of golf without losing your place in the notes. This encourages focus, and actually means less distraction than using a normal laptop for the same job.
• The battery life transforms the experience. My first workday with the iPad - without a plug available - I was on 3G checking e-mail, surfing the web, and using apps literally from 5:30 AM to 4:30 PM and still had 20% of my battery left at the end of the day. This kind of freedom is absolutely distinct from any of my laptops, or even my iPhone. It means I never have to worry about the current state of my iPad's battery. Amazingly freeing.
• 3G is worth the price of admission. I have friends with Wifi-Only iPads, and they love them. But it is impossible to overstate the utility of having always-on, always-there internet at all times. I am always connected, always able to look up the info I need, always able to get that important e-mail. And yet, the fact that the contract is month-to-month means I am not locked into it, if my financial situation changes. I'll be traveling next weekend and staying in a hotel without internet... and yet will stay fully connected to my friends and family.
• Yes, it's "just a big iPhone" and that's a good thing. The iPad can run almost any iPhone app, but give a larger space for that app to work. But the well-developed user interface is intuitive and well-defined. Even the new iWork apps feel familiar due to the established standards of the iPhoneOS. And being built from the ground up for security, stability, and connectivity means it has none of the legacy problems of Windows or the MacOS X systems.

Those are just a few of my thoughts, so far. I'm interested in the impression of other Mod-Bloggers, both with and without iPads.

Happy Mothers Day!

From all of us here at Mod-Blog to all of the wonderful women who gave us birth and nurtured us thru the years - HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

This has been what procurement has been telling me for 3 years now

Are the Orlando Magic Overlooked?

Are the Orlando Magic the most underrated team in the NBA? Many people forget that they were the team, not Cleveland or Boston, the represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals last year against the Lakers. On top of that, they haven't lost a game in a month including 6 straight playoff wins. They have a MVP candidate in Dwight Howard and an excellent #2 in Vince Carter. With the Cavs looking very beatable and having beaten the Celtics in the playoffs last year, it is not hard to believe that the Magic could very well be the team that represents the East in NBA finals again this year.

Its the little things...

Suns to protest Arizona immigration law

Is it in the best tradition of Free Speech, or the worst tradition of marketing and pandering? The Phoenix Suns have decided to wear their "Los Suns" game jerseys during their nationally-televised semifinal game to protest Arizona's new law targeting illegal immigrants. The action is proceeding with the approval of both the NBA and the players union.

Robert Sarver decided - with unanimous support from his players - that the Suns would wear their "Los Suns" jerseys for Game 2 tonight on Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday.

The gesture, which came with the blessing of the NBA and the league's players union, reflects Sarver's belief that passing Senate Bill 1070 was not "the right way to handle the immigration problem, Number 1," he said. "Number 2, as I read through the bill, it felt to me a little bit like it was mean-spirited, and I personally just don't agree with it."

Arizona sports teams and events have become targets for protests and calls for boycotts since SB 1070 was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer on April 23.

The law makes it a state crime to be in Arizona without proper documents and requires local police to check the legal status of suspected undocumented immigrants.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed II Coming Out October 26th

British anti-hooligan law used to prosecute Preacher

There is a reason that the American Founding Fathers were afraid of an overbearing government, and put in a Bill of Rights to protect freedoms. Especially Free Speech. It is because human nature will inevitably use its power to suppress any opinion it considers offensive. Even opinions considered orthodox for thousands of years.

Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships.

The 42-year-old Baptist, who has preached Christianity in Wokington, Cumbria for years, said he did not mention homosexuality while delivering a sermon from the top of a stepladder, but admitted telling a passing shopper that he believed it went against the word of God.

Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act.

This incident happened in Britain, not America. But it shows that even a society close to ours historically and philosophically can easily turn to abuse of power over controversial opinions.

Pittsburgh is target #2 of Weekend Terror

Last night's attempted bombing of Times Square was scary, but we all hoped it was an isolated incident. But it appears that it may not be the case as a pipe bomb was found at the finish line of the Pittsburgh Marathon. But again, it was disposed of before anyone was hurt.

One officer at the scene said that the device was a microwave with a pipe bomb inside. The microwave was in a white box near the entrance of the building.

However, Police Chief Nate Harper would only confirm that there were suspicious contents inside the microwave.

The device was detonated and Liberty Avenue and Grant Street had been blocked off.

It is scary to see so many attempted attacks, but reassuring that so far we have been spared from the potential disaster.

NYC spared from car bomb attack in Times Square

It took two tries for terrorists to take down the Twin Towers, so it should be no shock to learn they are not yet done terrorizing the city that never sleeps. Overnight, a car bomb was found in an SUV in Times Square. Due to the vigilance of a Vietnam War veteran and the NYPD, the bomb was found and defused before anyone was hurt. It is a grim reminder that the War On Terror is not over, as much as we'd like it to be.

Inside the vehicle, police found three propane tanks, two filled five-gallon gas containers, two clocks with batteries, consumer-grade fireworks and a locked metal box that resembled a gun locker.
The wiring around the device "was nothing that looked amateurish," Bloomberg said...The shutdown began Saturday when the T-shirt vendor, a Vietnam veteran, saw smoke coming from a box inside a vehicle with Connecticut plates on 45th Street near 7th Avenue. The vendor notified a New York police officer on horseback, who smelled gunpowder from the vehicle.

There are many who argue with the victory in Iraq, that we should declare the War On Terror won and go back to the way things were on 9/10/2001. But the fact is that no war is over until both sides agree it is. And the terrorists are nowhere near ready to surrender or walk away.