News Recap

The Office wins at the Emmys.

10%/128 students are suspended over one day because of dress code violations.

75% in Arkansas and Alabama believe the bible is literally true.

ABC News questions, should you replace your laptop batteries? ... I'm thinking more then the laptop battery needs to be replaced in this picture. Not sure.

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I thought it would be a good idea to walk all the way from Julie's to my place in the early morning. This was good for a couple reasons... I got to sleep in my own bed, and I got to eat a Filbertos. I also didn't get shot by the Baseline Killer. I did accidentally leave a message on Aimee's home phone (instead of her cell phone) though... 2 and a half miles at 3 in the morning. Yes!

08-26-06_0313.jpg, originally uploaded by sevenfifty.

Cox makes a deal with TiVo

Sweet, hope this comes soon, cause i'm ready smash Cox's DVR.

(From the article)Customers of Cox Communications' cable service will soon be able to get TiVo's digital video recording (DVR) services.

TiVo will customize its cable software for deployment on compatible Cox DVR set-top-boxes. TiVo's downloadable software will allow Cox to deliver the TiVo service in Cox subscriber homes without replacing existing DVR boxes, and without an install appointment.

Endogenous

Word of the Day/Week/Month (who knows when I might do this again) is Endogenous.

1. Produced or growing from within.
2. Originating or produced within an organism, tissue, or cell: endogenous secretions.

Endogenous Growth Theory
"An economic theory which argues that economic growth is generated from within a system as a direct result of internal processes." For example, education is important to America's success.

You can be the victim, or the leader.

Facebook free tunes

You can get a selection of 25 free songs each week until the end of next month... you just have to add Apple to your group list on facebook.

A decent selection of free music... just make sure you're not still clinging to Windows 3.0. The 90's are over.

iPod meets Minority Report

I haven't actually seen Minority Report, but I know that there are some pretty cool scenes where Tom Cruise uses an ingenious GUI (user interface for a computer). Basically he uses his "computer" by selecting hologram objects floating in front of him. Think of it as if you were watching a 3-D movie, but instead of a movie, it was your computer. You could access and layout all of your work in three dimensions.

Your computer would be like having a virtual desk, in three dimensions, at your fingerprints.

While this implementation is a far ways off from the 6th generation iPod, recent patent filings from Apple show that this could slowly become our next reality. The Apple patent describes a user interface that effectively ends the use of physical buttons as we know them. Inputs/outputs are selected without actually "touching" a button. For example, if you wanted to press "submit" on your computer, just move your finger close to the screen... and the button is pressed. A "touch-less" touch screen.

The next iPod could be entirely a screen. To select your playlist, you move your finger towards the screen, and a list of options appears. No need to smudge the screen with your fingers, and no need to waste half of the devices space to inputs.

Hope this makes it to production sooner than later.

U.S. vs. China (and the world)

A while back I had postured an article that WW III had already begun. Here is another plausible start.

The scenario:

1. Taiwan declares independence from China.
2. China uses its military force to "never permit Taiwan independence forces under any name or under any circumstances or form to split Taiwan from the motherland."
3. The United States backs Taiwan.
4. WWW III begins.

China has been steadily increasing their arm's spending, and just told the U.S. to "shut up" about it.

China will "do the business at any cost."

Waiting for Payday

I don't get paid until Friday and it has been in my best efforts to not overdraft my account. These statistics make me feel better (about my own finances).

The national debt is just under $8,500,000,000,000.

Thats right, 8.5 trillion. I had to count this a few times just to make sure I got all the zeros. The national debt has risen about $3 trillion in the last five years.

Every citizens take of this debt is about 28 thousand dollars.

$243.7 billion is allocated to pay for interest on debt in 2007.
Department of Defense budget for 2007 $466 billion (not including Iraq war, which doesn't receive a budget).
Department of Education budget for '07 $89.9 billion.

We pay 270% more every year to our creditors over our educators.

Remember when Republican meant fiscal constraint?

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08-12-06_0359.jpg, originally uploaded by sevenfifty.

Question your logic.

Think for yourself!

I'm sad for those who vote only according to their party. I'm even more sad that Republicans have abused their monopoly power these past ten years. If Democrats had complete control over the system, I don't think things would be any better, likely just screwed up in a different manner.

It's about checks and balances. Partisan politics ruins America. With that being said, I'm going to vote Democratic just to make the balance.

A thoughtful speech by former President Clinton:

"[I]t's really just a narrow sliver of the Republican party that has run this whole country for the last five years--it's basically the most ideological, conservative wing of the Republican party, dominated by people who sound like me. You know . . . white southern Protestant guys and their ideological soulmates."

"They honestly believe that the source of America's greatness is in its big companies and wealthy elite, and we believe the source of America's greatness is in its middle class and the promise that everybody who works will be rewarded for it."

"They favor a government that is secretive, unaccountable, and constantly increasing executive authority. . . . We believe in a government that is open, accountable, and empowering."

"They favor ideology, we like evidence."

"Because they have already got their minds made up, they think argument is the province of weak minds and they prefer attack. So they attack to support their ideology and we argue to support our evidence."

"They just decide what they want and make up the facts as they go along. It may work for them, but it doesn't work for you."

"The most important thing is - if you look to the future, the 21st century, [then you realize] an ideology that condemns you to indefinite deficit spending. . . . that's not very well suited to solve the kind of problems we've got."

World War 3

Who: ?
When: ?
Where: ?
Why: ?
How: ?

HAS World War III begun?

Read this article for interesting perspective, since perspective is something lacking in America.