Is Obesity Overrated?

One of the biggest health-related stories within the past year has been concern over the growing epidemic of obesity in the US. There's no doubt that Americans are getting heavier... but now, a new group of researchers is arguing that the health risks associated with obesity are overstated, and that studies supporting those ideas are erroneous.These researchers point to new studies that indicate increases in death rates from obesity are statistically insignificant, and argue that underweight people are at greater health risk than their overweight counterparts. They also cite studies disproving any connection between obesity and heart disease, and stress that tables such as the body mass index (BMI), which tells people their "healthy weight" based on their sex and height, are unrealistic...

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Media Turn Up In Flight, and On the Menu

Electronic entertainment is turning up in some curious places these days. Or maybe not so curious...Airlines -- even those that are cash-strapped -- are considering installing monitors for each seat, through which passengers can watch movies, play games, listen to music or even access the Internet. For a small fee, of course. Airlines see this as a profitable venture, even as they endure higher fuel prices and cut corners elsewhere. Says Song Airlines vice president Tim Mapes, "Once you put the capital onboard the plane, it's a one-time expense. It's making the investment provide the absolute best return possible."Planes are a logical place for this kind of media. Passengers represent a captive audience who would likely find a $5 fee for a movie or the ability to check their e-mail quite...

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A "Ginormous" List of "Confuzzling" Words

Well, maybe it's not all that ginormous, but it does contain the best words not in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The hallowed dictionary publisher recently solicited suggestions for new and obscure words not in its pages, and the responses it received were clever, useful and fun. Among them: confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway phonecrastinate (v): to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the incoming name and number troddle (v): to wander around without knowing of doing so snirt (n): snow that is dirty, often seen by the side of roads and parking lots that have been plowed Maybe...

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Smart Lights

Recent advances in the application of light-emitting diode (LED) and solid-state electronics for lighting may lead to the development of "smart lights" that can adjust themselves to specific conditions and even communicate with one another.A recent article in Science magazine describes how smart lights can save energy and money (using only 3 watts to deliver the light equivalent of a 60-watt conventional bulb), deliver optimum light quality at different times of the day, provide the best type of light to grow plants indoors, and even communicate with other devices through rapid bursts imperceptible to the human eye. For instance, brake lights on a car could send out a signal to the car behind it to slow down.Don't look for smart lights to hit the market anytime soon, though. Researchers are...

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Gadgets Define Kids' Social Status

There's nothing new about kids wanting to have stuff just because "everybody else" has it. Growing up in the modern world, after all, is all about trying to fit in and maintain one's social standing... and usually, doing that means having the right gear. These days, however, fitting in is a costly proposition, as gadgets like iPods, camera phones and portable DVD players become must-have fashion accessories for kids and teens.Market researchers who study teen consuming habits have noted a significant shift in the way young people regard style. Whereas kids used to rely on clothes and hair to make a statement and define themselves, today's teens measure social status through high-tech devices. Many credit the stylish iPod for this change, but the now-ubiquitous cell phone has also surely played...

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[TIPS] - photosynthesis movie

http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forestbiology/photosynthesis.swf   If you or someone you know teaches photosynthesis then this is the site to see. A very nice shockwave video.   And I regret to admit that I forget now who it was that sent this to me, but thanks goes out to that pers...

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[TIPS] - animal verbs (corrected link)

A tip from three years ago. I thought it might be a fun activity for the end of the year.>>> James Gates 09/19/02 2:47 PM >>>http://www.hoadworks.com/stampede.htmCan you doggedly ferret out the answers to these verbs? Fun activity for kids.See how well you do on these first few questions. Each answer is an animal (bird or fish, too)The number at the end refers to the number of letters in the answer.1. to score two under-par on a golf hole [5]2. to outwit by cunning [3]3. complain [6]4. to defraud by cheating or swindling [4]5. to strike with great force; move quickly ...

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Are Researchers Relying Less on the Web?

Librarians, subject matter experts and professional research intermediaries who thought they might be made obsolete by the Web should be reassured by a new survey suggesting that netizens are relying on the open Web less for research. According to the survey conducted by Outsell, a firm that serves the information industry:[P]eople who use the Internet in their jobs are starting to tire of going directly to the open Web. Just 67 percent say they go to the open Web for the information they need for the job, compared to 79 percent in 2001. They are increasingly more likely to rely on corporate intranets, colleagues, libraries, and other intermediaries.The survey also found that users spend more time searching for information since 2001 (11 hours vs. 8 hours per week), and now spend the majority...

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A Nation of E-Mail Junkies

How many times a day do you check e-mail? Once, twice, several? Do you check it late at night? On weekends? On vacation? If so, you have plenty of company. A new survey conducted by America Online and Opinion Research Corporation has found that many of us check our e-mail several times a day, after hours and even while on vacation.The survey revealed that many of us check e-mail:Several times a day (47%)While on vacation (60%)In the middle of the night (40%)First thing in the morning (40%)Right before bedtime (14%)The survey also found that 26% of those surveyed haven't gone for longer than two to three days without reading their e-mail.At first blush, this survey seems to reinforce the perception that America is a nation of workaholics. It makes sense, after all, as more of us enter...

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Times Have Changed in First Grade!

Back when I was in elementary school, I had a teacher who, as part of her standard toolkit of punishments, put masking tape over the mouths of kids who couldn't stop talking. I can't recall anybody thinking it was terribly inappropriate, and our parents at the time probably thought it was a good alternative to spanking.Fast-forward 40-odd years. A Terre Haute, Indiana elementary school substitute teacher has been fired for taping the mouths of six of her first-grade students. She said it was just a joke, but parents and the school district weren't laughing.Come to think of it, my first-grade teacher took it pretty seriously too...Source: WTHI...

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Memorial Day Travel May Set Record

Despite high gas prices -- and with air travel rebounding to pre-9/11 levels -- the AAA estimates that a record 37 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Memorial Day weekend.Air travel has become particularly attractive, with low fares and the growth of low-cost carriers like Southwest. The US Department of Transportation is estimating that the average air fare is about 20% cheaper than in 2000. However, this is also expected to lead to crowded airports and delays. So if you're planning to hit the skies this weekend, be sure to get to the airport early!Source: CNN....

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[TIPS] - more fun word games

http://www.hoadworks.com/gamemenu.htm   Games include Rhyme and Reason ("a good bargain is sometimes called this (4,4)" - a "real deal"), Keyword Server ("What word is found in the definition of each of the following words?), ABC Words (words containing the letters a, b, anc c), Alternating Current (Smaller words found inside larger words), A Collectives Quiz (What do you call a group of crows?), and more.   Challenging even for the older studen...

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Photoblogs to Help Fight Crime

Police in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, are posting photos of football (a.k.a. soccer) hooligans on its website in hopes that the public can identify the pictured individuals.The action is reportedly in response to a particularly violent riot that occurred in April. Since the photos were posted, 15 of the 60 suspects have turned themselves in.Source: Smart M...

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Conan O'Brien on the Future of TV

Once again, this week's Friday diversion comes a day early. The late-night talk show host speaks his mind on where television is headed.Sources: Newsweek, Technology Liberation Fr...

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How Molecular Manufacturing Might Work

If you follow nanotechnology and wonder what manufacturing at the molecular or near-molecular level might look like, you can now view a graphic presentation of a theoretical process at work.Pioneering nanotechnologist Dr. K. Eric Drexler has teamed up with graphic animator John Burch to develop an animation showing the molecular manufacturing process at a literal "desktop factory" from start to finish. You can view a four-minute Quicktime movie, or a static slide show.Sources: Nanotechnology Now, Future Sa...

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Sex + Watchdog Groups = Great Advertising??

In today's political climate, the following seems to be the perfect recipe for creating memorable, far-reaching TV advertising:1. Shoot a commercial featuring lots of sexual innuendo, but stopping just short of anything really naughty.2. Before airing, allow conservative watchdog groups to get wind of it so they can get in an uproar and start a grassroots campaign to stop it.3. Make sure that bloggers and the national news media talk about it, and vigorously debate family values vs. free speech. Provide TV networks with clips of the ad so they can run it over and over. If you're really lucky, Leno or Letterman will joke about the ad in their...

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The Transparent Newsroom

A blog launched by the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, presents an innovative way in which mainstream media can leverage new media. The Daily Briefing blog gives readers a fly-on-the-wall view of newsroom activities and editorial staff meetings. The blog reveals the decision-making process that goes on at the paper, as well as a Q&A forum where readers can submit questions to the editors.Not everyone will want to make such a blog a part of their regular reading. But considering the controversies the MSM has been embroiled in recently, this kind of transparency may help clear up misunderstandings by shedding light on how editorial decisions are made.UPDATE: Techdirt features a rather harsh critique of the Daily Briefing, questioning not only the usefulness of the blog, but whether...

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Credit Card Holders in Georgia to Pilot "Blink" Cards

JPMorgan Chase & Co. will begin a pilot rollout of its new "blink" credit cards with about 400,000 cardholders in Atlanta and other Georgia cities. The bank will begin mailing the new cards to customers June 1.Instead of the typical magnetic stripes, the blink cards use RFID chips to hold information. The card merely needs to be held close to a reader rather than swiped through one. Chase is hoping that the technology will speed checkouts; it estimates that blink cards can shave 20 seconds off a typical transaction at a fast-food restaurant. That doesn't sound like much, but those seconds add up.7-Eleven convenience stores will be among the first retailers to be outfitted with readers for blink cards. The readers should be in place in the Atlanta area by next month, and 7-Eleven hopes...

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[TIPS] - identity theft on the sharp rise

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4663828From the site:Millions of Americans have become the victims of identity theft since the beginning of the year. Renee Montagne talks with former FBI agent Kevin Barrows about where that information goes and how it's abused. Barrows led the bust of one of the country's largest identity theft operations in 2002.----------Be sure to check out the related links, too, especially "Fighting Identity Theft."Identity theft is VERY costly to the victims. Don't become one because of your own ignorance or negle...

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The Looming Public Health Worker Shortage

A 2004 report by the American Association for State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) states that the public health departments in half of the states in the US are understaffed, and may be unable to handle widespread health crises. Because public health workers would be on the front lines in the event of a bioterror attack, the matter is one of national security as well as national health.The report also noted that the average age of public health workers is 47, meaning that large numbers of them are nearing retirement age. Recruitment of younger workers is difficult because most public health departments can't compete with the private sector on salary. In some cases, healthcare workers can double their salary by moving from the public to the private sector.Congress is stepping in to...

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States and Cities, Not the Feds, to Drive Fuel Efficiency

Green Car Congress, a group that monitors developments in sustainable vehicles, reports that the Senate Energy Committee voted to reject an amendment to the energy bill it is drafting that would have increased the fuel efficiency for SUVs and light trucks from 21 to 27.5 MPG by 2011.Meanwhile, New York's environmental protection agency is proposing to adopt California's stringent environmental standards for vehicles. And New York City has signed on to the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which endorses the 7% greenhouse gas emission reduction for the US as specified in the Kyoto Protocol.It appears, then, that states and cities comprising the nation's most populous areas are taking a leadership role in fuel efficiency and emissions reduction, as opposed to the federal government. ...

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Stuck in an Airport? Hit the Gym!

The next time you're stuck in an airport, you might be able to pass the time by working out. Although a few airports offer their own gyms, many more are adjacent to hotels that have gyms for their guests. Some of these make their gyms available to non-guests for a nominal daily fee.A website called Airport Gyms is a directory of gyms in or near US and Canadian airports. Many of these facilities cater to those who have airport layovers and delays, providing everything from towels to disposable swimsuits."I don't understand why more airports aren't capitalizing on it," says frequent flier Harvey Reed, who hits the gym whenever he has an airport layover. Adds Mike Harrington, supervisor of the Hilton health club that's near Boston's Logan Airport, "You can go to the bar and have a beer and a...

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Snow Leopards on Everest

Recent sightings of endangered snow leopards on the slopes of Mount Everest in Nepal have given conservationists something to cheer about. Sightings that occurred during an October 2004 field study mark the first confirmed spottings of the elusive predator in 40 years.In contrast to other threatened species that are being crowded out of their natural habitats, snow leopards appear to be expanding their range into harsh, remote regions such as the Himalayas, where they are fairly safe from human interference.Source: CNN....

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The Best (And Less-Than-Best) of Videoblogging

Videoblogging may be the hottest new blogging trend. But if the videos at Videoblogging.info, a videoblog aggregator, are any indication, the medium is still in need of refinement. Amateurism may be democratic and in keeping with Long Tail theory, but it doesn't do much to ensure quality.However, there are some interesting videos here worth watching if you have the time and bandwidth to spare. Surely the Steven Spielberg of videoblogging is out there somewhere... but so far, he or she is keeping a very low profi...

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[TIPS] - more on Blogs

Thanks to Beth B from Mechanicsburg for pointing out these great links that discuss the dangers of blogging. Like most things dealing with the Internet, when used correctly they are fine. But, when kids don't follow basic "safety first" practices then they can, indeed, be in danger. Remember, most kids believe (correctly?) that their parents don't have a clue how to find their online blog posts so they can say and do things there that would scare a parent to death. Like what? Well, read the articles at the links below.   Check out the following links, and...let's be careful out there. :-)http://www.tampabays10.com/aroundthebay/aroundthebay_article.aspx?storyid=12351 http://www.tampabays10.com/special/special_article.aspx?storyid=12026 http://www.blogherald.com/2005/02/24/fbi-warns-against-teen-blogs/...

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Conditions Right for Another Harsh Hurricane Season

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted that the Atlantic hurricane season for 2005 will be just as bad if not worse than last year's."NOAA's prediction for the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season is for 12 to 15 tropical storms, with seven to nine becoming hurricanes, of which three to five could become major hurricanes," said NOAA administrator and Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher (Ret.) "Forecaster confidence that this will be an active hurricane season is very high."If the predictions turn out to be accurate, it will continue a pattern of above-normal hurricane activity that began in 1995. Last year saw 15 tropical storms in the Atlantic (normal = 10), 9 hurricanes (normal = 6) and 6 major hurricanes (normal = 2).NOAA expresses such confidence in its forecasts...

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[TIPS] - the ultimate web filter?

http://j-walk.com/other/googlecb/   From Google (not really) comes the ultimate in web filters, still currently in beta. Check it out. What do you think?         ;-) Thanks to Barry for sharing this one. -------------------- Now for a REAL tip: Did you know that 43% of adults get 'phished?' (Where a spammer disguises himself as ebay or your bank and asks you for your account information or password so they can verify who you are. yeah RIGHT!) PLEASE don't be a victim. NEVER send that kind of information to someone based upon an email. Read about it here: http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/P/PHISHING_SURVEY?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME &nb...

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Will Hybrids Save the World?

Are hybrid vehicles the saviors of our transportation system, weaning us off foreign oil while continuing to offer us the freedom of our auto-centered lifestyles? Some say no, that the American people can't possibly replace their traditional cars with hybrids that quickly and in sufficient enough numbers.However, others cite an unexpected interest in hybrid sales, noting that, if current trends continue, 80% of new cars sold by 2015 could be hybrids. But that's an optimistic estimate, and even if it came to pass, it might not put a dent in oil consumption.A Booz Allen Hamilton survey shows that, even with aggressive hybrid adoption, oil consumption wouldn't likely fall until nearly 2020. Medium and low hybrid adoption would only slow the increase in the growth of oil consumption.Source: Christian...

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The True Power of Blogs

After the heady days leading up to and following the 2004 presidential election, are blogs headed for the "trough of disillusionment" on the Gartner Hype Cycle?Recent research suggests that the power of the blogosphere may be vastly overstated. A Pew Internet study has found that blogs don't create news so much as pass it around (which blog readers already know, but more on that in a minute). It also found that 16% of US adults read blogs... which, spun another way, tells us that 84% of US adults don't read blogs. If that's the case, how important can blogs be?It's not surprising to see blogs entering the Gartner "trough." I've believed for...

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FAA Nixes Billboards in Space

Those of you eager to see Coke, Budweiser or Nike advertisements hovering in the night sky are in for a disappointment. The Federal Aviation Administration wants to prohibit "obtrusive" advertising in zero gravity."Objects placed in orbit, if large enough, could be seen by people around the world for long periods of time," the FAA said in its filing. "Large advertisements could destroy the darkness of the night sky." Theoretically, large orbiting billboards could be created that would be larger and brighter than the moon, and that could be seen with the naked eye.Still unclear is whether the FAA will have the means or the authority to actually enforce this rule. It would also only apply to American advertisers.Source: CNN....

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Here Comes the Bride... and the Bill!

Wedding bells aren't the only ringing today's engaged couples are likely to hear. Cash registers will also be ringing with wedding sales, as the average wedding now costs over $26,000! The growing sophistication -- and expense -- of weddings is part of a long-term trend.American couples will spend about $125 billion -- which is approximately the size of Ireland's GDP -- on weddings in 2005, according to the Fairchild Bridal Group. "The bridal industry is now a life stage that encompasses fashion, travel, home furnishings and more," says Daniel Lagani of Fairchild.There's some good news in this for parents, though. In part because couples are now marrying older (between 27 and 29 years old on average), they are less dependent on Mom and Dad footing the bill. This year, only a quarter of...

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A Real-Life "Bionic Woman"

Surgeons at the University of Southampton have successfully implanted a "bionic" device to help a stroke patient regain her hand and arm movement. The patient is a 46-year-old hairdresser who has suffered two strokes in nine years, affecting her left side, though not affecting her ability to walk. The 1.7cm-long device mimics neurons that carry messages from the brain to the arm. The device can be implanted into the shoulder through a small incision.Such devices have been implanted before, though the Southampton researchers are hoping that theirs will show superior results, allowing the patient to regain full control of her left arm.Source: Future Fee...

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NASA Proposes Ambitious Mars Agenda

Riding high off the stunning success of the Mars Exploration Rovers, NASA is proposing an ambitious set of programs to further explore the Red Planet, in preparation for a hoped-for manned mission.The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is currently being prepped for an August launch. The Phoenix Mars lander is scheduled for launch in 2007, followed by the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter in 2009. The Telecommunications Orbiter will serve as a permanent uplink station for all future Mars missions.The nuclear-powered Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover system may launch in either 2009 or 2011. Still on the drawing board are plans for a mission to return samples of Mars rock and soil to Earth.Beyond that, any further Mars exploration will depend on NASA's budget and competing priorities. President...

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Seniors May Be the Next Hot Online Market

Conventional wisdom has always held that adults over 65 have little interest in the Internet. But now, because that demographic will soon be populated by tech-savvy Baby Boomers, that view will certainly change."The current generation of adults over 65 hasn't fully adopted Internet use, in large part because many had retired before online access became common in the workplace," says Debra Aho Williamson of eMarketer. "The next generation of seniors will be very different." The Boomers' more adventurous approach to life may also play a role in their embrace of new technology, in contrast with their more risk-adverse elders. Plus, in wanting to keep up with their children and grandchildren, seniors will find the Internet to be essential.Williamson's research supports those views. Computer...

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Big Leap Forward for Stem Cell Research

South Korean researchers have developed a process of creating embryonic stem cells by cloning human cells. The research could accelerate work in stem cell research... as well as the ethical controversies.In the process, cells are taken from a patient. The DNA from those cells is injected into a donated egg whose own DNA has been removed. The egg then grows into an embryo, and its stem cells can be harvested to treat the patient.The major ethical issue is that the embryo created in this process is viable, and could theoretically be implanted in a uterus to grow into a human baby. In other words, a clone. In addition to the ethical concerns many have about embryonic stem cells, this process opens up the entire issue of cloning.The research, however, may also provide better ways to study...

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[TIPS] - Hello - Introducing BloggerBot

http://www.hello.com/   Weblogs (blogs) are really cool. Currently they're free - at least at Blogger. The Tipline blog is just one example. The problem is that I couldn't  post images to that blog unless I first put them up on the web somewhere and then linked to them.   Enter Hello.   With Hello (a free download) and Picasa (another free download at http://www.picasa.com and the same program that I used to make the slides movie yesterday) you can post pictures right to your blog and share them with your friends. Why not just have a website with your pictures? This link tells you why: http://www.hello.com/how_it_works.php    Ideas: Post images from your classroom. Invite only the parents of your children to view them. Keep a photo journal of your year as it unfolds....

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This is a view of the TV set showing how they had it divided up to show those participants of MegaconferenceJr. What a great day that was.&nb...

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Watch Live In-Flight TV on Your Laptop

Yet another reason to take your laptop with you when you fly... and yet another distraction from getting work done in-flight. This summer, Connexion (a subsidiary of Boeing) will begin offering satellite-linked in-flight TV available through laptops.The initial offering will be five channels, including MSNBC, CNBC and BBC News. This service -- initially to be offered on Singapore Airlines -- is a first for transcontinental flights. Depending on the plane's configuration, laptop users will be able to receive the programming through either Ethernet cable or 802.11b wireless connections.Source: Silicon....

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"Star Wars Episode III" on BitTorrent; What Took 'Em So Long??

Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith has not even been in theatres 24 hours, and already it's reported to be available on the Internet via BitTorrent. Reportedly, a screening print (with timestamps) appeared online sometime Wednesday, a full day before the film was released to the public. If so, it had to have originated with an industry insider.According to one count, 16,000 people were downloading the film from BitTorrent at one point.Considering the hype surrounding this movie -- not to mention the geek quotient -- can anyone be truly surprised?Sources: Reuters, Waxy....

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[TIPS] - megaconferencejr images

Congratulations to Steelton-Highspire SD for being the first of our districts to participate in the second annual megaconferencejr, the world wide video conference held on Internet2. Byron Kiehl, their tech director and Eric Cripe, OUR network guru, spent much time working out the bugs so that the conference would come off without a hitch, and their efforts paid off in spades.This link, http://207.103.88.76/gates2/megajr.avi points to a windows media player file of a movie I created in Picasa2 from the images I took during my visit to SHSD this morning to watch them participate. Check it out. Oh, and allow it ample time for it to download, as it's a 65mb file. (That's right, 65mb, so dialup users shouldn't wait up for it. :-) ) And another thing (a bonus TIP, if you will), when the movie...

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[TIPS] - Looking for a graphic?

Let's say you're in Word or Powerpoint and you want to insert a picture from a folder of pictures you collected from online, but you're not sure of what it was called. You click the browse button and navigate to the correct folder but all you see is a list of odd-looking picture names. Which one is the one you want?Change the view of this browse window to show THUMBNAILS of the images right there in the browse window simply by clicking the word Tools up in the right corner of the Open dialog window and choose Thumbnails. Presto! You can now easily tell which picture you're after. (See image below. Groupwise users must be in HTML view to see the...

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DIY Manufacturing

Technology is making it easier not only to create and distribute information, but to manufacture physical products. Just as blogs have created a culture of "citizen journalists," do-it-yourself manufacturing is giving rise to "citizen engineers." An overview of this phenomenon in Fortune notes:Much as eBay transformed distribution, [DIY manufacturers are] redefining design and manufacture. The infrastructure is there: Yahoo Groups make it easier for people to trade ideas and learn quickly; free or cheap computer-aided-design (CAD) programs allow users to cobble together blueprints; and inexpensive manufacturing in China allows the idea to go from file to factory. There are even websites like Alibaba.com that will help these small-timers find Chinese factories eager for their work, meaning...

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Canadian Venture Shoots for Passenger Space Flights by 2007

A Canadian contender for last year's X Prize may be ferrying paying passengers into suborbital space by mid-2007. PlanetSpace uses a rocket called the Canadian Arrow, and is backed by Indian-American entrepreneur Chirinjeev Kathuria, who previously backed efforts to extend the life of the Russian Mir space station.Canadian Arrow did not actually compete for the X Prize because it was not completed in time. However, its core technology is about as mature and stable as it gets -- it's based on the German V2 rocket of World War II.PlanetSpace's current plan is to take passengers 70 miles up on a 15-minute ballistic flight, giving them several minutes...

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A Tool for a "Sharing Economy"

Fundable is a beta web tool that allows groups of people to pool their resources to make a large purchase, eBay style. If too few people join in a "group action," or if not enough money is raised by a certain date, all money is refunded. Fundable can also be used as a fundraiser, or as a negotiation tool.Among the group actions listed on Fundable are raising funds for a schoogirl in Peru, a dedicated web server, a DVD player for troops in Iraq, and development of an online game.Source: Smart M...

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[TIPS] - Study Shows WebBased Learning Improves Reading Skills

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=46677   -------snip--------- The study, conducted in two Maryland middle schools, showed that 7th and 8th graders who used three online field trips (specifically developed by MPT for social studies and language arts and integrated into their lesson plans) scored higher on a national standardized reading comprehension test than those who used traditional learning methods alone. -------snip--------- Note: The article does NOT say how MUCH higher they scored, just that they scored higher.   BONUS: Here's a neat little site for the little ones: http://ferryhalim.com/orisinal/  Cute games of all kinds. (This tips was first sent out in 200...

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Receive Amber Alerts via Mobile Phone

If you have a mobile phone capable of receiving text messages, you can now sign up to receive Amber Alerts through your device by going to www.wirelessamberalerts.org. You can select up to five ZIP codes to monitor. The service is provided by the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CITA) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.Source: AP (Exci...

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Michelin Reinvents the Wheel

Sure, it's the oldest cliche around, but it appears that Michelin really has invented a whole new type of wheel. An integrated tire/wheel that does not rely on air pressure, the "TWEEL" is more rugged than, yet performs just as well as conventional tires. Short-term applications of the TWEEL include use in wheelchairs and small personal transportation devices such as the Segway HT. Ultimately, though, it could prove to be a replacement for conventional automotive tires.Source: Giz...

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Before Manhattan Was Manhattan

It's hard for us to imagine the island of Manhattan as anything other than the quintessential urban landscape. But once upon a time, the concrete jungle was home to virgin forest, rolling hills, and wildlife that included cougars and elk.To help us visualize what Manhattan looked like before the arrival of Europeans, Eric Sanderson of the Bronx Zoo's Wildlife Conservation Society has made a virtual reconstruction of Manhattan circa 1609, the year it was "discovered" by Henry Hudson. The Big Apple, circa 1609Called the Mannahatta Project (Mannahatta being the island's original Native American name, meaning "land of many hills"), Sanderson's reconstruction...

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Stem Cells Regenerate Damaged Spinal Cords in Rats

Researchers have been able to use embryonic stem cells to regenerate spinal cords of recently-injured rats, allowing them to walk again. The study, conducted by Dr. Hans Keirstead of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the University of California Irvine, was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neuroscience.As promising as the research is, however, it contains one critical caveat. The treatments have only worked on subjects with recent injuries. Therefore, when human trials begin, only patients with new injuries will be considered.Reaction from the disabled community ranges from cautious optimism to disappointment that the research can't help those with chronic injuries. One suspects that pro-lifers and the PETA folks won't be thrilled with it either.Sources: Wired, Ai...

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[TIPS] - tipline blog started

From time to time I've been asked if I have a master document containing past tips. Answer - no, I don't. CAIU employees, however, can ask to share my tips folder and thus see my past tips. But, the rest of you have thus far been out of luck.   Enter the blog, or Weblog. At blogger.com you can create your own FREE weblog. It's VERY easy to do. Truly. Then you can post whatever you want on it. You can even EMAIL posts to it - which is what I'm now starting to do with my tips. I send them out as usual, but I also email it to my blog where it gets posted at the top of the list. Now you can just visit the blog at any time to see previous tips - at least tips posted from this day forward.   The address is http://tipline.blogspot.com. Check it out. Now, normally you'd be able to contribute...

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The Return of the Phone Booth

Clark Kent will once again have a place to change into his Superman duds, now that phone booths appear to be making a comeback in some locations.The booths, however, aren't for pay phones, but for cell phones. Restaurants, libraries and other public venues are installing phone booths to give patrons a quiet place to make phone calls while not disturbing others.Source: NetworkWo...

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Internet Users are Online More, Consuming Other Media Less

Over 60% of Internet users polled in a recent BURST! Media survey are spending more time online... and less time watching TV, or reading newspapers or magazines.Nearly 88% said they were spending as much or more time online now as they did the year before. Yet over 30% said their consumption of television, newspapers and magazines declined over the same period. However, nearly 40% of those surveyed spend the same amount of time reading and watching TV as before.Source: eMarke...

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Are Reading and Writing Archaic Skills?

Are reading and writing destined to join the host of human skills rendered obsolete by technology? One California futurist thinks so.William Crossman believes that by 2050, the written word will vanish, to be replaced by talking computers. Far from being alarmist about this, Crossman is actually an advocate of the trend... so much so that he heads the Institute for the Study of Talking Computers and Oral Cultures. Crossman believes that, the more we leverage computers in communication, the more that cultures will be able to interact and achieve world peace.As interesting as the idea is, it's hard to believe that reading and writing will vanish completely. It may change and evolve (such as when hieroglyphs were replaced by alphabets), but the fundamentals are so hard-wired into humanity that...

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CNN Profiles Ian Pearson

CNN.com profiles futurist Ian Pearson of British Telecom, in which he explains his role and value to BT, as well as some of his work metho...

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Congress May Take on the SSN

Faced with high-profile security breaches of ChoicePoint, Bank of America and other well-established firms -- as well as multiple other smaller hacks -- Congress is rethinking how personal information is secured. Multiple bills are in the works to alter the way that Social Security numbers are used, and Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is pressing for legislation that would "outlaw the use of Social Security numbers for any purpose other than government purposes."Of course, SSNs were never intended to be general-purpose identifiers, but took the first steps along that road during the 1960s, when they were used for tax identification. During the 1970's and '80s, SSNs were linked to a variety of personal information, including bank accounts and insurance....

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[TIPS] - basic? windoze tip

Did you know that you don't have to hunt for the [X] box to close a window, or the [_] box to minimize? Nope. Just right click ANYwhere on that blue title bar to see those options. Great for when you've moved a window off the screen and can't see those boxes. And you don't need to click the middle button to maximize or Restore down, either. Just double click the blue title bar.   BTW  - I DO know how to spell Windows. It's just so difficult for me to be nice about it. :-) I'm a Mac guy at heart. Ask any of the CAMELOT folks out the...

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Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars "Several Decades" Away, Say Researchers

Research to be published in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Journal suggests that dauting technical challenges in developing hydroven fuel-cell cars may take "several decades" to solve.With current technology, fuel cells wear out five times faster than combustion engines. High material costs additionally make fuel-cell cars cost-prohibitive. Plus, there's the whole issue of a hydrogen delivery infratructure to consider. "A fuel-cell car built with today's technology would cost about $250,000, but you would have no place to fill up the tank," says Rakesh Agrawal, a Purdue University professor of chemical engineering, and a co-author of the article.The article also warns that producting hydrogen in vast quantities could cause the very environmental problems that hydrogen...

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Phishing Warning

According to this article, 45% of adults with email have been "approached" by phishing scams. A whopping 5% have fallen for them!!! http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/P/PHISHING_SURVEY?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME Don't YOU be one of them! NEVER supply personal information to a company at the behest of an email. Companies don't do business that way....

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Cow-Powered Hydrogen Fuel Cells

A Minnesota dairy farm is generating electricity with a hydrogen fuel cell, using a hydrogen source that it has in abundance -- cow manure.To generate hydrogen, the farm places manure in a digester that yields "biogas," a mix of methane, carbon dioxide, water vapor and trace gases. It is then cleaned and converted to hydrogen for the fuel cell.The fuel cell currently generates only 5 kilowatts of electricity. However, the experiment -- reportedly the first of its kind -- is encouraging enough for experiments to continue.Source: Minnesota Dept. of Agricult...

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The Tips Blog - Welcome!

Greetings all. I thought this might be a painless way of introducing you to the world of Blogs - weB-LOGS, that is. It's nothing to fear or necessarily avoid, and it CAN be educational and fun.I plan to post my tips to this blog when I send them out each day. (This site will allow you to email a blog post. Cool, eh?) THis way you can always come back here to look for old ones or comment on them or even post your own. Think about it - this COULD be a VERY helpful resource if we use it.So, to get thing started here's today's tip:This is a reminder of a stie I sent out three years ago: http://ferryhalim.com/orisinal/What is it? The front page is a matrix of little images. Each image links to a small game designed for the younger ones. Some come with direcitons. Others don't and you have to figure...

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IE Share of Browser Market Falls Below 90%

A year's worth of security worries and competition from other browsers has put a dent in the US market share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser. The Web tracking firm WebSideStory estimates that IE's market share is now 89%, compared with 95% last June.The open-source browser Firefox has increased its market share to nearly 7%, up from 3% in October. America Online's Netscape browser has a 2.2% share.Not helping Microsoft's cause is IBM's recent endorsement of Firefox. Big Blue is encouraging its 300,000 employees worldwide to adopt the browser.IE remains strong in Asia, commanding a 98% share in China. But in Germany, where some government offices have adopted Firefox, IE's market share is below 70%.Sources: ZDNet, AP (Exci...

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The Worst of "Star Wars"

There's no question that the Star Wars movies represent the greatest entertainment franchise in history. With so much demand for all things Star Wars -- not to mention a filmography that spans nearly three decades -- it stands to reason that not everything in George Lucas' idea bank is golden.Forbes magazine profiles some of the franchise's less stellar moments, including lame spin-offs like the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, irritating characters, muddled reshoots, and what has to be the worst Christmas album ever made.Depending on how you feel about Star Wars, these missteps will strike you either as bad judgement or outright sacrilege....

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The New Battle for Ground Zero

It's hard to imagine a topic that fills so many Americans with so much passion as the future of Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center that was destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001. Presently, the official plan is to replace the Twin Towers with "Freedom Tower," a gossamer glass and steel structure that would be one of the tallest in the world when complete. According to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation's website, construction plans for Freedom Tower are on schedule despite recent safety and security concerns and need for a partial redesign.Because feelings about Ground Zero reconstruction run so deep, many disagree with the Freedom...

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Multimedia Cell Phones Leave Early Adopters Cold

Early technology adopters aren't rushing to jump on the multimedia handset bandwagon, according to a recent In-Stat survey. Only 9% of those surveyed were excited about buying a cell phone with MP3 music capability, and only 11% were excited about phones with TV functionality.Price is suspected as a factor that is dampening enthusiasm, as well as the sheer novelty of multimedia handsets. The survey did, however, uncover one bright spot for multimedia carriers: early adopters expressed strong interest in receiving news and weather updates on their mobile devices.None of this can be good news for Microsoft, which is counting on its Windows Mobile smartphone software to challenge Apple's iPod and other portable media devices. In fact, Bill Gates recently told a German newspaper that ...

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Computer Consulting 101 Tips for Lower Support Costs

Here at Computer Consulting 101, we often see that small business owners want lower computer support costs. But since this presents an inherent conflict (i.e. you want to be billing out MORE consulting services, while they want you to billing out LESS), you need to get really good at conserving your clients’ budgets for the projects that yield the fastest, most positive bottom line business benefits.This often involves a “delayed gratification” philosophy where you sacrifice some early “easy” billable hour opportunities, in favor of doing the “right” thing and building up much, much greater lifetime client loyalty.So given all this, what can you do to keep costs down? And what are some of our favorite Computer Consulting 101 tips for lower support costs?When in doubt about a tricky problem,...

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One-Man "Video Journalists" Coming to Local TV News

San Francisco's KRON-TV will reportedly migrate from two-person field crews to solitary "video journalists" who will report, record and edit their material themselves. KRON is the first major-market TV station to make such a move.The switch is largely driven by economics, and it's unclear how many crews will be transitioned or how quickly. Also unclear is how the quality of the finished product will compare with that of conventional field crews... or whether audiences will even care.The move illustrates one more way that technology is making it easier to gather information -- whether one is an independent "citizen journalist" or a professional TV news operation. It also represents one tactic that local TV newsrooms can take to cut costs and remain relevant. Ultimately, only time will tell...

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"BetaBatteries" Could Last for Decades

A team of researchers supported by the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program have reportedly developed a porous-silicon diode that converts very low levels of tritium radiation into electricity. The result is a "BetaBattery" that has an extraordinarily long life.Because the tritium, a radioactive hydrogen isotope, is embedded in the battery's plastic, there's no risk of radioactive contamination from the device. And though they might be a hard sell to people looking to juice up their iPods or cell phones, BetaBatteries have clear applications in hard-to-service devices such as satellites and climate-monitoring equipment. An added benefit to BetaBatteries is their ruggedness, operating in temperature extremes from -148°F to 302°F. Because the tritium...

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Global Warming Could Cause Cooldown In Europe

Through an odd chain of events, climate change related to global warming could create substantially colder weather patterns in Britain and Europe. The Gulf Stream, which delivers relatively warm water to the region, is powered in part by the sinking of supercooled water in the Greenland Sea. As cold arctic water sinks, warmer water from the south flows in to replace it, driving the Gulf Stream current. But thanks to warmer temperatures, this sinking effect has weakened significantly. As a result, warm Gulf Stream waters could cease to reach Europe within the next few decades, sending temperatures plummeting across the continent.The warming of the Greenland Sea waters was measured by Cambridge University researchers aboard Royal Navy submarines. Among the phenomena the researchers noted were...

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Yahoo! Disrupts Online Music with Y! Music Unlimited

Yahoo! has launched a beta of its online music site, Y! Music Unlimited. Subscriptions start at $4.99 per month under the yearly plan ($59.88)... substantially less expensive than other music subscription services. Members have access to 1 million songs, and can download songs to PlaysForSure-compatible devices; songs will remain available on the device so long as the owner's subscription is valid. Burnable downloads are available for 79 cents ea...

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NTT DoCoMo Profit Fall Reflects Cell Phone Market Saturation

NTT DoCoMo, Japan's leading mobile phone carrier, reported its first-ever drop in profits yesterday, reflecting increased competition, a costly shift from 2G to 3G service, and a saturation of the Japanese cell phone market.DoCoMo operating profits fell a steep 29% in the last fiscal year. "We have entered the 15th year of our business . . . and penetration [of mobile phones in Japan] is approaching 70% so we are beginning to see a limit to the growth of mobile phones," said DoCoMo president Masao Nakamura. The resulting market plateau is forcing all Japanese cell phone carriers to lower costs to attract new customers.Source: Financial Ti...

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Weathering the Coming Brain Drain

The first wave of Baby Boomers is scheduled to retire in 2011. This loss, combined with cutbacks in training, waves of downsizing, immigration restrictions, and the trend toward foreign workers being lured home, will put an enormous strain on organizations over the next decade.Authors Dorothy Leonard and Walter Swap note that these most senior workers possess an invaluable asset, a thorough understanding of processes, technologies and the organization itself that they call "deep smarts." The knowledge they carry in their heads is every bit as valuable to an organization as any database. In many cases, these folks are undervalued... and organizations don't realize the impact of their loss until it's too late.Leonard and Swap argue that business leaders need to tap and "re-create" these deep...

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How Collaboration Tools Can Save Lives

We think of online collaboration tools as a handy way to chat and share files in the office. But they can also prove to be lifesaving tools when applied in a crisis situation.US Navy doctor Cmdr. Eric Rasmussen is a veteran of many disaster relief efforts, including the December 2004 tsunami that struck East Asia. Leading a series of collaborative experiments called Strong Angel in 2000 and 2004, Rasmussen found that collaborative tools were essential to coordinating disparate elements of a relief effort. Satellite-based Internet connections, virtual workspaces, document sharing and improvised data networks were all applied to the experiments. Coordination proved easier, and relief workers and materials could be brought on the scene more quickly and efficiently... saving lives in the process.Unfortunately,...

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Rethinking the Box Office

As we move into the summer movie season, Hollywood is nervous. Sure, crowds have been camping outside theatres for weeks waiting for the premiere of Star Wars Episode III... but that's proving to be the exception. Last weekend saw the release of the first official summer "blockbuster" -- Kingdom of Heaven, starring Orlando Bloom -- and audience response was tepid. Kingdom brought in only $20 million in its opening weekend... hardly blockbuster numbers.Indeed, last weekend's box office take was off 22% from the same time last year, and grosses are off 5.4% for the year, despite higher ticket prices. Movie audience levels have dropped steadily since 2002.Higher prices, annoyances such as cell phones, and generally mediocre movies are all cited as reasons behind audience decline. Perhaps, but...

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Broadcast TV: Where the Boys Aren't

TV advertisers have always coveted the male 18-to-34 demographic. But for the past several years, those viewers have been steadily abandoning broadcast TV in favor of basic cable (particularly Comedy Central and the Cartoon Network) and other types of media.According to Nielsen, broadcast TV viewership among 18-to-34 males fell this past year by nearly 8%. By contrast, this demographic's viewing of basic cable rose by 5.3%, and comparative playing of videogames increased by a whopping 16.7%! Since broadcast TV viewership among this demographic has fallen steadily since the 2001-2002 season, it's probably safe to call this a long-term trend.Note...

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Should Bloggers Adopt MSM Ethics?

Jeff Jarvis, Ann Althouse and Glenn Reynolds are just some of the bloggers who have slammed a New York Times op-ed piece by Alan Cohen calling for more stringent ethics in the blogosphere.Cohen observes that bloggers follow no standards or codes of ethics in their reporting. Bloggers counter that such standards are unnecessary, and that Cohen's piece is merely more boo-hooing that mainstream media (MSM) is being upstaged by the blogging revolution. It was we and not the MSM who upheld standards during Dan Rather's Bush National Guard fiasco, bloggers say. Tim Worstall even jumps down Cohen's throat because, in his piece, Cohen lumped the Drudge Report in with blogs -- clear evidence that Cohen doesn't have a clue.With all due respect to bloggers who routinely roll their eyes at MSM defenders,...

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