I don't think I'm running out to buy one, but the Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 is a neat idea. It's roughly 5x3x1.5 inches and weighs a pound. You charge it and it has two USB ports and one AC plug. Use it on the road to provide power, roughly 2 hours for a laptop or 18 hours of talk time for a cell phone, or 8 hours for a portable game.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Spice Dump
I've seen on various cooking shows that (particularly ground) spices lose their potency after a few months and that if you have old jars of spices in your cabinet that you should just throw them out. I finally did that today. I took a trip to Penzeys, which has a store in Arlington and stocked up on the basics. They have a lot of blends but I figured I'd start with things that recipes actually call for. Also I remember seeing a comparison done by America's Test Kitchen of some particular spice and Penzeys didn't win and are usually more expensive. I got a lot of small containers so I could try them and they were typically $1.19 or $1.49. All in all I spent only about $35, so it's no great investment. It seemed much more economical to pick what I wanted rather than getting one of their $100+ gift boxes.
The store conveniently had the spices in glass canisters you could smell (or I assume taste) which helped and was organized with similar spices together. So all the varieties of peppercorns were together and you could compare. Their descriptions were also helpful, explaining how one cinnamon is what you grew up with and this other one is sweeter with less of a bite.
So I got home and cleaned out the spice shelf. I kept some things, mostly to compare with the new stuff when I pull it out to use. I also dumped a lot. As I was throwing out some containers the recycling logo stared up at me, so I was good and opened up the plastic jar and dumped the spice into the trash and collected the jars to wash and recycle. Then I noticed some of the larger jars (it doesn't seem right to use that word for plastic) were old. Very old. They were apparently older than the recycling logo. I'm guessing about 20 years old. Yep, time to get rid of those.
My garbage smells very good though.
The store conveniently had the spices in glass canisters you could smell (or I assume taste) which helped and was organized with similar spices together. So all the varieties of peppercorns were together and you could compare. Their descriptions were also helpful, explaining how one cinnamon is what you grew up with and this other one is sweeter with less of a bite.
So I got home and cleaned out the spice shelf. I kept some things, mostly to compare with the new stuff when I pull it out to use. I also dumped a lot. As I was throwing out some containers the recycling logo stared up at me, so I was good and opened up the plastic jar and dumped the spice into the trash and collected the jars to wash and recycle. Then I noticed some of the larger jars (it doesn't seem right to use that word for plastic) were old. Very old. They were apparently older than the recycling logo. I'm guessing about 20 years old. Yep, time to get rid of those.
My garbage smells very good though.
Not the Daily Show
If you are in Daily Show withdrawal, this will help. Jason Ross, one of the show's 14 writers, does and indie Daily Show sketch about the writers strike. It's just as funny as the Daily Show with a special indie cred of holding up posters instead of having imbedded graphics. I haven't laughed this hard since the strike began.
Word '08 vs Pages 3.0
Apple Insider has a nice comparison of Word '08 vs Pages 3.0. I'll probably buy Mac Office 2008 but continue to use iWork '08 for most things I do.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Obama, The Open Technology President
Open Left: reports on : Transformative Proposals from Obama: "Today, Obama is throwing down the gauntlet on a internet freedom, telecom lobbyists, and on opening up government in general to the public. It's some genuinely radical stuff, and it includes the use of blogs, wikis, and openness in government hearings. Significantly, Larry Lessig has endorsed Obama's platform." Sounds like good stuff.
Guantánamo Procedures Manual Leaked
The Miami Herald reports Guantánamo how-to manual hits the Web. "Guantánamo detainees were denied Red Cross visits and mail, had criticism of the U.S. government or leaders censored and dogs were allowed to patrol at the detention hospital, according to a once-secret prison camps manual that has suddenly appeared on the Internet."
Impeachment Polling
Daily Kos reports on a new poll about Bush and Cheney and impeachment. "55% of voters believe that George W. Bush has abused his powers in a way that rises to the level of impeachable offenses." 52% for Cheney.
However, while they say what's he's done is impeachable, only 34% think we should actually impeach Bush and 43% think the same for Cheney.
I'm assuming these people are misunderstanding the term impeachment. Clinton was impeached and found guilty, but his punishment was merely censure, not removal from office. To be clear, I think Bush and Cheney need to go, and censure (an afternoon of yelling at them) would be pretty pointless. After all, I've been yelling at them for several years now.
However, while they say what's he's done is impeachable, only 34% think we should actually impeach Bush and 43% think the same for Cheney.
I'm assuming these people are misunderstanding the term impeachment. Clinton was impeached and found guilty, but his punishment was merely censure, not removal from office. To be clear, I think Bush and Cheney need to go, and censure (an afternoon of yelling at them) would be pretty pointless. After all, I've been yelling at them for several years now.
Intelligent Design Next Tactic
Ars Technica takes a look at Intelligent Design rebranding as PBS looks at landmark Dover trial:
"That's not to say that the Discovery Institute and other ID
proponents have packed up and called it a day; instead, they seem to
simply be changing tactics. Recent developments indicate that the next
wave of anti-evolution agitation will take a two-pronged approach. The
first will be to try to foster doubt regarding evolution during high
school education, while the second aims to explicitly carve a space for
ID proponents at the college level by pressuring for their inclusion as
a form of academic freedom. We'll take a brief look at both of these
developments."
"That's not to say that the Discovery Institute and other ID
proponents have packed up and called it a day; instead, they seem to
simply be changing tactics. Recent developments indicate that the next
wave of anti-evolution agitation will take a two-pronged approach. The
first will be to try to foster doubt regarding evolution during high
school education, while the second aims to explicitly carve a space for
ID proponents at the college level by pressuring for their inclusion as
a form of academic freedom. We'll take a brief look at both of these
developments."
So Much For OpenDocument Formats
I saw this headline today, OpenDocument Foundation closes up shop after slamming OpenDocument Format. No it's not from the Onion, it's real. I can honestly say I can't keep track of this crap.
I'm still strongly in favor of open formats. Documents contain my data and shouldn't be locked in formats owned by some company.
It seems ODF's problem was that it wasn't open enough. "The group voiced criticism of ODF last month, claiming that the format was encumbered by patents held by Sun and was designed in a manner that isn't conducive to interoperability with existing document formats"
"The OpenDocument Foundation has ceased operations in the wake of the controversy. The heated debate over open document formats continues to escalate, even as businesses in North America exhibit utter apathy about XML-based standards for documents. Despite the raging controversy, PDF remains the single most ubiquitous document format used in industry. As the controversy continues to unfold, it's likely that Microsoft's [OOXML] format will win by default, simply because it's tied to the most popular office software."
I'm still strongly in favor of open formats. Documents contain my data and shouldn't be locked in formats owned by some company.
It seems ODF's problem was that it wasn't open enough. "The group voiced criticism of ODF last month, claiming that the format was encumbered by patents held by Sun and was designed in a manner that isn't conducive to interoperability with existing document formats"
"The OpenDocument Foundation has ceased operations in the wake of the controversy. The heated debate over open document formats continues to escalate, even as businesses in North America exhibit utter apathy about XML-based standards for documents. Despite the raging controversy, PDF remains the single most ubiquitous document format used in industry. As the controversy continues to unfold, it's likely that Microsoft's [OOXML] format will win by default, simply because it's tied to the most popular office software."
O'Connors' Alzheimer's Story
I've seen a few stories about Justice Sandra Day O'Connor telling the story about her dealing with her husband's Alzheimer's disease. "John O'Connor, 77, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 17 years ago and now lives in a Phoenix nursing facility. That fairly common story took a turn when the couple's son, Scott O'Connor, revealed that his father had fallen in love with another woman who also lives at the Huger Mercy Living Center. [Justice O'Conner] is said to be happy that her husband has found joy in his life."
Apparently that "turn" is in fact "fairly common" according to caregivers I've seen interviewed. I've not seen any mention of how similar this story is to the movie Away From Her. I can't be the only one who saw it. People were saying Julie Christie was radiant. Ok, this one from ABC news mentions it. According to Google news it's the only one of 18 stories on the topic.
I wonder if the Onion will do a story, "O'Connors' Alzheimer's Story Sets Apostrophe Record".
Apparently that "turn" is in fact "fairly common" according to caregivers I've seen interviewed. I've not seen any mention of how similar this story is to the movie Away From Her. I can't be the only one who saw it. People were saying Julie Christie was radiant. Ok, this one from ABC news mentions it. According to Google news it's the only one of 18 stories on the topic.
I wonder if the Onion will do a story, "O'Connors' Alzheimer's Story Sets Apostrophe Record".
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Fast Food Restaurants & Nutrition Facts Compared
Fast Food Restaurants & Nutrition Facts Compared: "So I figured, if you are still going to eat this junk, you might as well at least know which is the best of the worst, and which is the worst of the worst. To show this, I've compared the nutrition facts of the most popular foods from over 20 popular fast food restaurants to see how each restaurant's version of the same food stacks up against the others. If this isn't enough to convince you to eat less (or none) of this stuff, it will at least give you the information you need to make the better choice and avoid making the worst one."
I'm glad I don't eat this stuff.
I'm glad I don't eat this stuff.
Alternative To Torture
The New York Daily News reports In book, FBI agent says Saddam Hussein cried at last meeting.
"The self-effacing G-man [FBI Special Agent George Piro] was hardly surprised - he had spent nearly a year carefully becoming Saddam's best friend in a successful ploy to extract confessions from the notorious brute. Piro's inside account of spending up to seven hours a day, every day, for eight months with Saddam is revealed in the new book [The Terrorist Watch] by journalist Ronald Kessler. Piro, then 36, began grilling Saddam in early 2004. Instead of bright lights, loud music or waterboarding, the Beirut-born Arabic speaker - who immigrated to the U.S. as a teen - built a rapport with the dictator nabbed in a spider hole. He treated him with respect and took care of his every need."
"The self-effacing G-man [FBI Special Agent George Piro] was hardly surprised - he had spent nearly a year carefully becoming Saddam's best friend in a successful ploy to extract confessions from the notorious brute. Piro's inside account of spending up to seven hours a day, every day, for eight months with Saddam is revealed in the new book [The Terrorist Watch] by journalist Ronald Kessler. Piro, then 36, began grilling Saddam in early 2004. Instead of bright lights, loud music or waterboarding, the Beirut-born Arabic speaker - who immigrated to the U.S. as a teen - built a rapport with the dictator nabbed in a spider hole. He treated him with respect and took care of his every need."
Comet Holmes Halo Bigger Than The Sun
Universe Today reports Comet Holmes is Bigger than the Sun. "Astronomers from the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy recently measured the halo surrounding Comet Holmes to be 1.4 million kilometres (0.9 million miles)...that makes it larger than the Sun." I still check every night if the skies are clear to take a look at it. Thursday is astronomy night at CfA and I'm hoping the weather predictions of rain are wrong.
The Real News
Paul Jay a Canadian journalist is starting a new TV News Network supported by viewers, not corporations or governments. The Real News is the name of the network but I think it used to be the name of just one program. They're planning both a TV and web presence. Here's an intro. They already have several interesting news stories on the website and I'm impressed with the quality. Curious to see what happens.
AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes
It's missing 8 of them, full list is here. I've seen all but 2 on this list and am about to see one of those. This one is surprisingly fun too:
and for those who just have to know (I've seen all but 2).
Monday, November 12, 2007
Judge Orders White House to Not Delete E-Mail
The AP reports : "A federal judge Monday ordered the White House to preserve copies of all its e-mails, a move that Bush administration lawyers had argued strongly against."
Iraq Improvements?
Andrew Sullivan posts a readers letter describing a possible turn around in Iraq.
Depressing Energy Graph
Daily Kos has a graph of US Energy R&D Investments vs the Iraq War. It's really long. So long you have to click the link, I won't include it here.
"The really awful thing? That graph doesn't even cover the most recent request for additional funds in Iraq. The really important thing? Small increases in those little bars at the bottom may be the best action we can take to make sure that one of those giant bars never happens again. The really irritating thing? Did you notice that, even when you get down to the tiny amount being put into energy research, more of it is going into coal than anywhere else?"
FYI, there are other really interesting energy graphs in the Annual Energy Review from the Energy Information Administration. Things like this:
"The really awful thing? That graph doesn't even cover the most recent request for additional funds in Iraq. The really important thing? Small increases in those little bars at the bottom may be the best action we can take to make sure that one of those giant bars never happens again. The really irritating thing? Did you notice that, even when you get down to the tiny amount being put into energy research, more of it is going into coal than anywhere else?"
FYI, there are other really interesting energy graphs in the Annual Energy Review from the Energy Information Administration. Things like this:
Things To Do With Vinegar
The book Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of has a very long title. Boing Boing has a short list of sample recommendations.
Dry Your Razor Blades After Use
Apparently you can Extend the life of razor blades by drying them after use since it's rusting that dulls them most. Some people got 6 months or a year on a single blade. Worth a shot.
Stop! Or I'll Say Stop Again!
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has been asking the White House for documents regarding "this Administration’s legal justifications and policies with regard to torture and interrogation" for year without response. Well it will be a year on Thursday. TPMmuckraker has the latest.
Title from Robin Williams. I wish it weren't so apt. What's supposed to happen when the While House doesn't do what Congressional oversight committees request?
Title from Robin Williams. I wish it weren't so apt. What's supposed to happen when the While House doesn't do what Congressional oversight committees request?
Krugman v. Brooks, Fight!
Talking Points Memo describes the flame war between BYT columnists Paul Krugman and David Brooks this week.
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