New software that hides on cell phones and captures call logs and text messages is being sold as a way to monitor kids and spouses. But one security company calls it a Trojan horse.
Click title for article
31 March 2006
30 March 2006
The Word of the Day
diadem \DYE-uh-dem\ noun
1 : crown; specifically : a royal headband
2 : something that adorns like a crown
Example sentence: The queens of ancient Greece preferred simple elegance, opting for a single diadem of gold or even leaves rather than more ornate crowns.
Did you know? The ancient rulers of Persia wore headbands of linen, silk, or wool tied at the back as a mark of royalty. Alexander the Great and other Greek rulers took a fancy to the headgear and adopted it as a symbol of their royal authority, naming the narrow band "diadema," which comes from the Greek "dia-," meaning "through, across," and "dein," meaning "to bind." Over time, diadems became more elaborate, shifting from cloth to precious metals, adding gems and ornaments, and finally expanding from a mere headband into the flashier crowns of medieval times.
1 : crown; specifically : a royal headband
2 : something that adorns like a crown
Example sentence: The queens of ancient Greece preferred simple elegance, opting for a single diadem of gold or even leaves rather than more ornate crowns.
Did you know? The ancient rulers of Persia wore headbands of linen, silk, or wool tied at the back as a mark of royalty. Alexander the Great and other Greek rulers took a fancy to the headgear and adopted it as a symbol of their royal authority, naming the narrow band "diadema," which comes from the Greek "dia-," meaning "through, across," and "dein," meaning "to bind." Over time, diadems became more elaborate, shifting from cloth to precious metals, adding gems and ornaments, and finally expanding from a mere headband into the flashier crowns of medieval times.
28 March 2006
The Word of the Day
rigmarole \RIG-uh-muh-rol\ noun
1 : confused or meaningless talk
*2 : a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure
Example sentence: Instead of going through the rigmarole of filling out deposit and withdrawal slips, waiting in line, and explaining her transactions to the bank teller, Lauren usually finds it simpler to use the ATM.
Did you know? In the Middle Ages, the term "Rageman" or "Ragman" referred to a game in which a player randomly selected a string attached to a roll of verses and read the selected verse. The roll was called a Ragman roll after a fictional king purported to be the author of the verses. By the 16th century, "ragman" and "ragman roll" were being used figuratively to mean "a list or catalog." Both terms fell out of written use, but "ragman roll" persisted in speech, and in the 18th century it resurfaced in writing as "rigmarole," with the meaning "a succession of confused, meaningless, or foolish statements." Only in the last century did "rigmarole" (also spelled "rigamarole," reflecting its common pronunciation) acquire its most recent sense, "a complex and ritualistic procedure."
1 : confused or meaningless talk
*2 : a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure
Example sentence: Instead of going through the rigmarole of filling out deposit and withdrawal slips, waiting in line, and explaining her transactions to the bank teller, Lauren usually finds it simpler to use the ATM.
Did you know? In the Middle Ages, the term "Rageman" or "Ragman" referred to a game in which a player randomly selected a string attached to a roll of verses and read the selected verse. The roll was called a Ragman roll after a fictional king purported to be the author of the verses. By the 16th century, "ragman" and "ragman roll" were being used figuratively to mean "a list or catalog." Both terms fell out of written use, but "ragman roll" persisted in speech, and in the 18th century it resurfaced in writing as "rigmarole," with the meaning "a succession of confused, meaningless, or foolish statements." Only in the last century did "rigmarole" (also spelled "rigamarole," reflecting its common pronunciation) acquire its most recent sense, "a complex and ritualistic procedure."
27 March 2006
The Word Of The Day
Gotterdammerung \gher-ter-DEM-uh-roong\ noun : a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder; broadly : downfall
Example sentence: Although we all hoped for a peaceful transfer of power, we feared the conflict would instead end in a chaotic Gotterdammerung.
Did you know? Norse mythology specified that the destruction of the world would be preceded by a cataclysmic final battle between the good and evil gods, resulting in the heroic deaths of all the "good guys." The German word for this earth-shattering last battle was "Gotterdammerung." Literally, "Gotterdammerung" means "twilight of the gods." ("Gotter" is the plural of "Gott," meaning "god," and "Dammerung" means "twilight.") Figuratively, the term is extended to situations of world-altering destruction marked by extreme chaos and violence. In the 19th century, the German composer Richard Wagner brought attention to the word "Gotterdammerung" when he chose it as the title of the last opera of his cycle _Der Ring des Nibelungen_, and by the early 20th century, the word had entered English.
Example sentence: Although we all hoped for a peaceful transfer of power, we feared the conflict would instead end in a chaotic Gotterdammerung.
Did you know? Norse mythology specified that the destruction of the world would be preceded by a cataclysmic final battle between the good and evil gods, resulting in the heroic deaths of all the "good guys." The German word for this earth-shattering last battle was "Gotterdammerung." Literally, "Gotterdammerung" means "twilight of the gods." ("Gotter" is the plural of "Gott," meaning "god," and "Dammerung" means "twilight.") Figuratively, the term is extended to situations of world-altering destruction marked by extreme chaos and violence. In the 19th century, the German composer Richard Wagner brought attention to the word "Gotterdammerung" when he chose it as the title of the last opera of his cycle _Der Ring des Nibelungen_, and by the early 20th century, the word had entered English.
OMG A Triple Talaq
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A Muslim couple in India has been told by local Islamic leaders they must separate after the husband "divorced" his wife in his sleep, the Press Trust of India reported.
Sohela Ansari told friends that her husband Aftab had uttered the word "talaq," or divorce, three times in his sleep, according to the report published in newspapers Monday.
When local Islamic leaders got to hear, they said Aftab's words constituted a divorce under an Islamic procedure known as "triple talaq." The couple, married for 11 years with three children, were told they had to split.
The religious leaders ruled that if the couple wanted to remarry they would have to wait at least 100 days. Sohela would also have to spend a night with another man and be divorced by him in turn.
The couple, who live in the eastern state of West Bengal, have refused to obey the order and the issue has been referred to a local family counseling center.
India's minority Muslim population is governed by Islamic personal laws on issues such as marriage, divorce and property inheritance.
"This is a totally unnecessary controversy and the local 'community leaders' or whosoever has said it are totally ignorant of Islamic law," said Zafarul-Islam Khan, an Islamic scholar and editor of The Milli Gazette, a popular Muslim newspaper.
"The law clearly says any action under compulsion or in a state of intoxication has no effect. The case of someone uttering something while asleep falls under this category and will have no impact whatsoever," Khan told Reuters.
26 March 2006
Levee woes may be nationwide
NEW ORLEANS -- An organization of civil engineers has expressed concern about the levees that survived Hurricane Katrina, basing its comments on the designs used for the failed flood-protection system. Those concerns could extend to levee systems nationwide and require immediate attention, the American Society of Civil Engineers wrote in a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers. (AP)
A generous Bush always thinking of others
By David Martin | March 23, 2006
DURING A RECENT news conference, George W. Bush let it be known that the decision to end the US military presence in Iraq will not be his. Instead, according to Bush, it will be for ''future presidents" to decide.
Barely reliable sources note a possible post-conference follow-up in which Bush plans to leave a number of other decisions to future presidents, preferably Democrats.
''As far as the increasing national debt," said Bush, ''future presidents will have to tackle that problem."
''Given the precarious state of the economy," said the US president, ''it would be irresponsible of me to interfere at this point in time. I really think it's best if someone else handles it."
Suspending tax cuts for the wealthy is another issue apparently best left to future presidents.
''I handed out those tax cuts," said Bush. ''So how would it look if all of a sudden I took them back? Again, I think it's better that someone new make that decision."
The end of the war on terror has also been deferred.
''My speech-writers tell me that it's unrealistic to expect a war on a concept to end any time soon," said President Bush. ''So I'll leave that one to a future president to deal with as well."
When questioned about his administration's ill-fated prescription drug plan, Bush again deferred.
''It's obviously way too early to do something about that," said the president. ''Tinkering with the plan now could make the situation even worse. Best to let some future president try to fix it."
Gulf Coast residents hoping to get some immediate hurricane relief will also have to wait for another day.
''The worst thing to do at this point is to throw more money at the problem," said Bush. ''Better to wait a few years and see where help is really needed. Then some future president can clean up the mess."
Asked how he intends to spend his remaining political capital, the president said that he would not be undertaking any major new initiatives in the next two years. ''Let's face it," said Bush. ''Anything I tried to do now would just need to be fixed up by some future president anyway. I think it's best for the nation if I just do nothing."
David Martin is author of the satiric collection ''My Friend 'W'." © Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
DURING A RECENT news conference, George W. Bush let it be known that the decision to end the US military presence in Iraq will not be his. Instead, according to Bush, it will be for ''future presidents" to decide.
Barely reliable sources note a possible post-conference follow-up in which Bush plans to leave a number of other decisions to future presidents, preferably Democrats.
''As far as the increasing national debt," said Bush, ''future presidents will have to tackle that problem."
''Given the precarious state of the economy," said the US president, ''it would be irresponsible of me to interfere at this point in time. I really think it's best if someone else handles it."
Suspending tax cuts for the wealthy is another issue apparently best left to future presidents.
''I handed out those tax cuts," said Bush. ''So how would it look if all of a sudden I took them back? Again, I think it's better that someone new make that decision."
The end of the war on terror has also been deferred.
''My speech-writers tell me that it's unrealistic to expect a war on a concept to end any time soon," said President Bush. ''So I'll leave that one to a future president to deal with as well."
When questioned about his administration's ill-fated prescription drug plan, Bush again deferred.
''It's obviously way too early to do something about that," said the president. ''Tinkering with the plan now could make the situation even worse. Best to let some future president try to fix it."
Gulf Coast residents hoping to get some immediate hurricane relief will also have to wait for another day.
''The worst thing to do at this point is to throw more money at the problem," said Bush. ''Better to wait a few years and see where help is really needed. Then some future president can clean up the mess."
Asked how he intends to spend his remaining political capital, the president said that he would not be undertaking any major new initiatives in the next two years. ''Let's face it," said Bush. ''Anything I tried to do now would just need to be fixed up by some future president anyway. I think it's best for the nation if I just do nothing."
David Martin is author of the satiric collection ''My Friend 'W'." © Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Priviledged Arrogance
Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement
In addendum to law, he says oversight rules are not binding
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | March 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.
The bill contained several oversight provisions intended to make sure the FBI did not abuse the special terrorism-related powers to search homes and secretly seize papers. The provisions require Justice Department officials to keep closer track of how often the FBI uses the new powers and in what type of situations. Under the law, the administration would have to provide the information to Congress by certain dates.
Bush signed the bill with fanfare at a White House ceremony March 9, calling it ''a piece of legislation that's vital to win the war on terror and to protect the American people." But after the reporters and guests had left, the White House quietly issued a ''signing statement," an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law.
In the statement, Bush said that he did not consider himself bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act powers were being used and that, despite the law's requirements, he could withhold the information if he decided that disclosure would ''impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties."
Bush wrote: ''The executive branch shall construe the provisions . . . that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch . . . in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold information . . . "
The statement represented the latest in a string of high-profile instances in which Bush has cited his constitutional authority to bypass a law.
After The New York Times disclosed in December that Bush had authorized the military to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans' international phone calls and e-mails without obtaining warrants, as required by law, Bush said his wartime powers gave him the right to ignore the warrant law.
And when Congress passed a law forbidding the torture of any detainee in US custody, Bush signed the bill but issued a signing statement declaring that he could bypass the law if he believed using harsh interrogation techniques was necessary to protect national security.
Past presidents occasionally used such signing statements to describe their interpretations of laws, but Bush has expanded the practice. He has also been more assertive in claiming the authority to override provisions he thinks intrude on his power, legal scholars said.
Bush's expansive claims of the power to bypass laws have provoked increased grumbling in Congress. Members of both parties have pointed out that the Constitution gives the legislative branch the power to write the laws and the executive branch the duty to ''faithfully execute" them.
Several senators have proposed bills to bring the warrantless surveillance program under the law. One Democrat, Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, has gone so far as to propose censuring Bush, saying he has broken the wiretapping law.
Bush's signing statement on the USA Patriot Act nearly went unnoticed.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, inserted a statement into the record of the Senate Judiciary Committee objecting to Bush's interpretation of the Patriot Act, but neither the signing statement nor Leahy's objection received coverage from in the mainstream news media, Leahy's office said.
Yesterday, Leahy said Bush's assertion that he could ignore the new provisions of the Patriot Act -- provisions that were the subject of intense negotiations in Congress -- represented ''nothing short of a radical effort to manipulate the constitutional separation of powers and evade accountability and responsibility for following the law."
''The president's signing statements are not the law, and Congress should not allow them to be the last word," Leahy said in a prepared statement. ''The president's constitutional duty is to faithfully execute the laws as written by the Congress, not cherry-pick the laws he decides he wants to follow. It is our duty to ensure, by means of congressional oversight, that he does so."
The White House dismissed Leahy's concerns, saying Bush's signing statement was simply ''very standard language" that is ''used consistently with provisions like these where legislation is requiring reports from the executive branch or where disclosure of information is going to be required."
''The signing statement makes clear that the president will faithfully execute the law in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. ''The president has welcomed at least seven Inspector General reports on the Patriot Act since it was first passed, and there has not been one verified abuse of civil liberties using the Patriot Act."
David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues, said the statement may simply be ''bluster" and does not necessarily mean that the administration will conceal information about its use of the Patriot Act.
But, he said, the statement illustrates the administration's ''mind-bogglingly expansive conception" of executive power, and its low regard for legislative power.
''On the one hand, they deny that Congress even has the authority to pass laws on these subjects like torture and eavesdropping, and in addition to that, they say that Congress is not even entitled to get information about anything to do with the war on terrorism," Golove said.
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
In addendum to law, he says oversight rules are not binding
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | March 24, 2006
WASHINGTON -- When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers.
The bill contained several oversight provisions intended to make sure the FBI did not abuse the special terrorism-related powers to search homes and secretly seize papers. The provisions require Justice Department officials to keep closer track of how often the FBI uses the new powers and in what type of situations. Under the law, the administration would have to provide the information to Congress by certain dates.
Bush signed the bill with fanfare at a White House ceremony March 9, calling it ''a piece of legislation that's vital to win the war on terror and to protect the American people." But after the reporters and guests had left, the White House quietly issued a ''signing statement," an official document in which a president lays out his interpretation of a new law.
In the statement, Bush said that he did not consider himself bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act powers were being used and that, despite the law's requirements, he could withhold the information if he decided that disclosure would ''impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties."
Bush wrote: ''The executive branch shall construe the provisions . . . that call for furnishing information to entities outside the executive branch . . . in a manner consistent with the president's constitutional authority to supervise the unitary executive branch and to withhold information . . . "
The statement represented the latest in a string of high-profile instances in which Bush has cited his constitutional authority to bypass a law.
After The New York Times disclosed in December that Bush had authorized the military to conduct electronic surveillance of Americans' international phone calls and e-mails without obtaining warrants, as required by law, Bush said his wartime powers gave him the right to ignore the warrant law.
And when Congress passed a law forbidding the torture of any detainee in US custody, Bush signed the bill but issued a signing statement declaring that he could bypass the law if he believed using harsh interrogation techniques was necessary to protect national security.
Past presidents occasionally used such signing statements to describe their interpretations of laws, but Bush has expanded the practice. He has also been more assertive in claiming the authority to override provisions he thinks intrude on his power, legal scholars said.
Bush's expansive claims of the power to bypass laws have provoked increased grumbling in Congress. Members of both parties have pointed out that the Constitution gives the legislative branch the power to write the laws and the executive branch the duty to ''faithfully execute" them.
Several senators have proposed bills to bring the warrantless surveillance program under the law. One Democrat, Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, has gone so far as to propose censuring Bush, saying he has broken the wiretapping law.
Bush's signing statement on the USA Patriot Act nearly went unnoticed.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, inserted a statement into the record of the Senate Judiciary Committee objecting to Bush's interpretation of the Patriot Act, but neither the signing statement nor Leahy's objection received coverage from in the mainstream news media, Leahy's office said.
Yesterday, Leahy said Bush's assertion that he could ignore the new provisions of the Patriot Act -- provisions that were the subject of intense negotiations in Congress -- represented ''nothing short of a radical effort to manipulate the constitutional separation of powers and evade accountability and responsibility for following the law."
''The president's signing statements are not the law, and Congress should not allow them to be the last word," Leahy said in a prepared statement. ''The president's constitutional duty is to faithfully execute the laws as written by the Congress, not cherry-pick the laws he decides he wants to follow. It is our duty to ensure, by means of congressional oversight, that he does so."
The White House dismissed Leahy's concerns, saying Bush's signing statement was simply ''very standard language" that is ''used consistently with provisions like these where legislation is requiring reports from the executive branch or where disclosure of information is going to be required."
''The signing statement makes clear that the president will faithfully execute the law in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. ''The president has welcomed at least seven Inspector General reports on the Patriot Act since it was first passed, and there has not been one verified abuse of civil liberties using the Patriot Act."
David Golove, a New York University law professor who specializes in executive power issues, said the statement may simply be ''bluster" and does not necessarily mean that the administration will conceal information about its use of the Patriot Act.
But, he said, the statement illustrates the administration's ''mind-bogglingly expansive conception" of executive power, and its low regard for legislative power.
''On the one hand, they deny that Congress even has the authority to pass laws on these subjects like torture and eavesdropping, and in addition to that, they say that Congress is not even entitled to get information about anything to do with the war on terrorism," Golove said.
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Supreme Court to review Bush's wartime powers again
Former bin Laden driver seeking to avoid military trial
By Gina Holland, Associated Press | March 26, 2006
WASHINGTON -- His wartime powers undercut once before by the Supreme Court, President Bush could take a second hit in a case in which Osama bin Laden's former driver is seeking to head off a trial before military officers.
At stake is more than whether Salim Ahmed Hamdan, after nearly four years at the Navy prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, goes on trial for war crimes before a special military commission.
Analysts say that if the high court rejects Bush's plan to hold such trials for the first time since the aftermath of World War II, it could rein in the president's expanded powers in pursuing and punishing suspected terrorists.
Click title for article
By Gina Holland, Associated Press | March 26, 2006
WASHINGTON -- His wartime powers undercut once before by the Supreme Court, President Bush could take a second hit in a case in which Osama bin Laden's former driver is seeking to head off a trial before military officers.
At stake is more than whether Salim Ahmed Hamdan, after nearly four years at the Navy prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, goes on trial for war crimes before a special military commission.
Analysts say that if the high court rejects Bush's plan to hold such trials for the first time since the aftermath of World War II, it could rein in the president's expanded powers in pursuing and punishing suspected terrorists.
Click title for article
Pet owners, insurance firms in dog fight
This is the only reason I don't have a Rottie.
Bill aims to stop breed 'profiling'
By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff | March 26, 2006
Mary Ellis, who has owned Siberian huskies for 25 years, was incensed when her insurer canceled its policy on her Bridgewater home even though, she said, she had never filed a claim and her dogs had never bitten anyone. Ellis was told by Commerce Insurance Company that her five huskies, a breed described by the American Kennel Club as ''friendly and gentle," made her a risky customer.
''No matter how you look at it, it's profiling and discrimination," said Ellis, who breeds and shows 12 huskies at her licensed home kennel, Mishnok Siberians. ''It lumps all huskies into one group along with other dogs that people may perceive as vicious . . . but the decision should fall on whether or not a person is a responsible owner, not on profiling a particular breed."
Click title for article.
Bill aims to stop breed 'profiling'
By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff | March 26, 2006
Mary Ellis, who has owned Siberian huskies for 25 years, was incensed when her insurer canceled its policy on her Bridgewater home even though, she said, she had never filed a claim and her dogs had never bitten anyone. Ellis was told by Commerce Insurance Company that her five huskies, a breed described by the American Kennel Club as ''friendly and gentle," made her a risky customer.
''No matter how you look at it, it's profiling and discrimination," said Ellis, who breeds and shows 12 huskies at her licensed home kennel, Mishnok Siberians. ''It lumps all huskies into one group along with other dogs that people may perceive as vicious . . . but the decision should fall on whether or not a person is a responsible owner, not on profiling a particular breed."
Click title for article.
24 March 2006
Happy Birthday Henry Joseph
Born 2:24 pm; 6 lbs 14 ozs; 19" long; slightly reddish tufts of hair. Welcome to planet Earth.
23 March 2006
The Word of the Day
esculent \ESS-kyuh-lunt\ adjective : edible
Example sentence: Sonia is a chef at The Wild Asparagus, a top-notch restaurant whose claim to fame is that every dish on the menu features an esculent native plant.
Did you know? One appealing thing about "esculent" is that this word, which comes from the Latin for food ("esca"), has been around for 375 years. If we give you just one more tidbit of etymology -- that "esca" is from Latin "edere," which means "to eat" -- can you pick which of the following words is NOT related to "esculent"?
"Comestible" (meaning "edible"), "edacious" (meaning "voracious"), "edible," "escarole" (a type of salad green), and "obese" are all descendants of "edere." Only "escalade" (meaning "an act of scaling walls") doesn't belong on the list. It descends from the Italian "scalare," meaning "to scale."
Example sentence: Sonia is a chef at The Wild Asparagus, a top-notch restaurant whose claim to fame is that every dish on the menu features an esculent native plant.
Did you know? One appealing thing about "esculent" is that this word, which comes from the Latin for food ("esca"), has been around for 375 years. If we give you just one more tidbit of etymology -- that "esca" is from Latin "edere," which means "to eat" -- can you pick which of the following words is NOT related to "esculent"?
comestible edacious edible escalade escarole obese
"Comestible" (meaning "edible"), "edacious" (meaning "voracious"), "edible," "escarole" (a type of salad green), and "obese" are all descendants of "edere." Only "escalade" (meaning "an act of scaling walls") doesn't belong on the list. It descends from the Italian "scalare," meaning "to scale."
22 March 2006
This Guy
is using tobacco in a positive medical application.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,55031-0.html
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,55031-0.html
The Word of the Day
chouse \CHOWSS ("OW" as in "cow")\ verb
: cheat, trick
Example sentence: In Dickens's _A Tale of Two Cities_, Mr. Cruncher says, "If I ain't, what with piety and one blowed thing and another, been choused this last week into as bad luck as ever a poor devil of a honest tradesman met with!"
Did you know? "You shall chouse him of Horses, Cloaths, and Mony," wrote John Dryden in his 1662 play _Wild Gallant_. Dryden was one of the first English writers to use "chouse," but he wasn't the last. That term, which may derive from a Turkish word meaning "doorkeeper" or "messenger," has a rich literary past, appearing in works by Samuel Pepys, Henry Fielding, Sir Walter Scott, and Charles Dickens, among others, but its use dropped off in the 20th century. In fact, English speakers of today may be more familiar with another "chouse," a verb used in the American West to mean "to drive or herd roughly." In spite of their identical spellings, though, the two "chouse" homographs are not related (and the origin of the latter is a source of some speculation).
: cheat, trick
Example sentence: In Dickens's _A Tale of Two Cities_, Mr. Cruncher says, "If I ain't, what with piety and one blowed thing and another, been choused this last week into as bad luck as ever a poor devil of a honest tradesman met with!"
Did you know? "You shall chouse him of Horses, Cloaths, and Mony," wrote John Dryden in his 1662 play _Wild Gallant_. Dryden was one of the first English writers to use "chouse," but he wasn't the last. That term, which may derive from a Turkish word meaning "doorkeeper" or "messenger," has a rich literary past, appearing in works by Samuel Pepys, Henry Fielding, Sir Walter Scott, and Charles Dickens, among others, but its use dropped off in the 20th century. In fact, English speakers of today may be more familiar with another "chouse," a verb used in the American West to mean "to drive or herd roughly." In spite of their identical spellings, though, the two "chouse" homographs are not related (and the origin of the latter is a source of some speculation).
Colgate will buy Tom's of Maine
$100m deal may help boost sales of leader in natural products niche
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff | March 22, 2006
Tom's of Maine -- a niche brand whose renown as a socially responsible maker of natural products exceeds its market share -- is selling itself to Colgate-Palmolive Co. for about $100 million, the company said yesterday.
Best known for toothpaste, Tom's of Maine got its start in 1970 by making a phosphate-free laundry detergent. Over the years, cofounder Tom Chappell, 63, poked fun at major brands like Colgate, saying they put artificial additives in their toothpastes while Tom's of Maine used natural ingredients.
Chappell said he will continue to run the brand from its Kennebunk headquarters. None of the privately held firm's approximately 170 jobs will be lost, he said.
''We'll be a stand-alone subsidiary," said Chappell. ''And we have a commitment from Colgate that our formulas will not be tampered with.
Do you think this is "sleeping with the enemy?" Click title for more of article.
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff | March 22, 2006
Tom's of Maine -- a niche brand whose renown as a socially responsible maker of natural products exceeds its market share -- is selling itself to Colgate-Palmolive Co. for about $100 million, the company said yesterday.
Best known for toothpaste, Tom's of Maine got its start in 1970 by making a phosphate-free laundry detergent. Over the years, cofounder Tom Chappell, 63, poked fun at major brands like Colgate, saying they put artificial additives in their toothpastes while Tom's of Maine used natural ingredients.
Chappell said he will continue to run the brand from its Kennebunk headquarters. None of the privately held firm's approximately 170 jobs will be lost, he said.
''We'll be a stand-alone subsidiary," said Chappell. ''And we have a commitment from Colgate that our formulas will not be tampered with.
Do you think this is "sleeping with the enemy?" Click title for more of article.
21 March 2006
Finding Freedom Working From Home
Jack Nilles, a Los Angeles-based workplace consultant who is widely credited with coining the term "telecommuting" more than three decades ago, said technology has never been the main barrier to a more flexible work schedule. Instead, it has been "the idea fixed in everybody's head that in order to do useful work you had to be someplace where the boss could keep an eye on you."
Click title for article.
Click title for article.
The Word of the Day
Yesterday was the 1st day of Spring, and the 1st day of the 4th year of the Bush & Cheney War.
pernicious \per-NISH-us\ adjective: highly injurious or destructive : deadly
Example sentence: Farmers stopped using the pesticide after discovering that it had a pernicious effect on some wheat crops.
Did you know? When the wind blows ill and wicked, and you need a word for the evil that such deadly currents can do, consider "pernicious" or "noxious"; both describe something exceedingly harmful. Of the two, "pernicious" more strongly implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining. "Noxious" is more often used for that which is offensive or injurious to the health of body or mind. The sense of wickedness in those two words is entwined deep in their histories. "Pernicious" comes from the Latin root "nex" (meaning "violent death"), which is related to Latin "noxa" (meaning "harm"), the root of English "noxious."
pernicious \per-NISH-us\ adjective: highly injurious or destructive : deadly
Example sentence: Farmers stopped using the pesticide after discovering that it had a pernicious effect on some wheat crops.
Did you know? When the wind blows ill and wicked, and you need a word for the evil that such deadly currents can do, consider "pernicious" or "noxious"; both describe something exceedingly harmful. Of the two, "pernicious" more strongly implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining. "Noxious" is more often used for that which is offensive or injurious to the health of body or mind. The sense of wickedness in those two words is entwined deep in their histories. "Pernicious" comes from the Latin root "nex" (meaning "violent death"), which is related to Latin "noxa" (meaning "harm"), the root of English "noxious."
19 March 2006
New animal resembles furry lobster
wow. click on title for full story and photo.
PARIS, France (AP) -- Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blond fur, French researchers said Tuesday.
The animal is white and 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long -- about the size of a salad plate.
In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.
It's also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in place of eyes, Segonzac said.
PARIS, France (AP) -- Divers have discovered a new crustacean in the South Pacific that resembles a lobster and is covered with what looks like silky, blond fur, French researchers said Tuesday.
The animal is white and 15 centimeters (5.9 inches) long -- about the size of a salad plate.
In what Segonzac described as a "surprising characteristic," the animal's pincers are covered with sinuous, hair-like strands.
It's also blind. The researchers found it had only "the vestige of a membrane" in place of eyes, Segonzac said.
17 March 2006
The Word of the Day
doch-an-dorris \dahkh-un-DOR-is\ noun Scottish & Irish : a parting drink : stirrup cup
Example sentence: Our kind host supplied us with a wee doch-an-dorris, and then we set off on our journey feeling happy and grateful.
Did you know? In Scottish Gaelic, it's spelled "deoch an doruis"; in Irish, it's "deoch an dorrias." In either case, it means, literally, "drink of the door" and it refers to the time-honored practice of sharing a parting drink with one's host or guests. But lest you think this custom is practiced only by the descendants of the Gaels, know that "doch-an-dorris" (as it's spelled in English and used primarily by the Scots and the Irish) has an English synonym: "stirrup cup." Originally a small drink of wine or something else taken by a rider about to depart on horseback, "stirrup cup" later acquired the general meaning of "a farewell drink."
Example sentence: Our kind host supplied us with a wee doch-an-dorris, and then we set off on our journey feeling happy and grateful.
Did you know? In Scottish Gaelic, it's spelled "deoch an doruis"; in Irish, it's "deoch an dorrias." In either case, it means, literally, "drink of the door" and it refers to the time-honored practice of sharing a parting drink with one's host or guests. But lest you think this custom is practiced only by the descendants of the Gaels, know that "doch-an-dorris" (as it's spelled in English and used primarily by the Scots and the Irish) has an English synonym: "stirrup cup." Originally a small drink of wine or something else taken by a rider about to depart on horseback, "stirrup cup" later acquired the general meaning of "a farewell drink."
16 March 2006
32 US Reps for Bush Impeachment Inquiry
By Matthew Cardinale, Editor and National Correspondent, Atlanta Progressive News (March 16, 2006)
(APN) ATLANTA - 32 US House Representatives have signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors of H. Res 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for recommending President Bush�s impeachment, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.
(APN) ATLANTA - 32 US House Representatives have signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors of H. Res 635, which would create a Select Committee to look into the grounds for recommending President Bush�s impeachment, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.
The Word of the Day
nugatory \NOO-guh-tor-ee\ adjective
1 : of little or no consequence : trifling, inconsequential
2 : having no force : inoperative
Example sentence: The team's heartbreaking loss in the first game of the championship
series was rendered nugatory after they came back to win the next four.
Did you know? "Nugatory," which first appeared in English in the 17th century, comes from the Latin adjective "nugatorius" and is ultimately a derivative of the noun "nugae," meaning "trifles." Like its synonyms "vain," "idle," "empty," and "hollow," "nugatory" means "without worth or significance." But while "nugatory" suggests triviality or insignificance ("a monarch with nugatory powers," for example), "vain" implies either absolute or relative absence of value (as in "vain promises"). "Idle" suggests being incapable of worthwhile use or effect (as in "idle speculations"). "Empty" and "hollow" suggest a deceiving lack of real substance or genuineness (as in "an empty attempt at reconciliation" or "a hollow victory").
1 : of little or no consequence : trifling, inconsequential
2 : having no force : inoperative
Example sentence: The team's heartbreaking loss in the first game of the championship
series was rendered nugatory after they came back to win the next four.
Did you know? "Nugatory," which first appeared in English in the 17th century, comes from the Latin adjective "nugatorius" and is ultimately a derivative of the noun "nugae," meaning "trifles." Like its synonyms "vain," "idle," "empty," and "hollow," "nugatory" means "without worth or significance." But while "nugatory" suggests triviality or insignificance ("a monarch with nugatory powers," for example), "vain" implies either absolute or relative absence of value (as in "vain promises"). "Idle" suggests being incapable of worthwhile use or effect (as in "idle speculations"). "Empty" and "hollow" suggest a deceiving lack of real substance or genuineness (as in "an empty attempt at reconciliation" or "a hollow victory").
15 March 2006
India's EDUSAT dedicated to education
The US may be willing to let India into the nuclear club, but there's one space race where the developing nation has far outpaced America — education satellites. eSchool News details EDUSAT, the satellite India launched last year dedicated purely to education.
EDUSAT aims to connect urban and rural educational institutions throughout India to provide a formal educational infrastructure and also to help spread knowledge about health and other related issues to more remote areas of the country.
The satellite will enable distance education to take place throughout India by interfacing with video from each school. The ISRO satellite program currently covers more than 1,000 schools and is expected to grow to 10,000 schools in the next three years.
Satellite is naturally important in a country that has several high-tech centers but covers a vast amount of geography most of which is manifestly unwired. While asyncronous, satellite does offer interactive possibilities.
The satellite will be used for learning in many ways, such as beaming local language-instruction programs to address illiteracy. For example, one program allows students to send video questions to any teacher in any connected classroom, anywhere in India, using a streaming video card over the EDUSAT satellite. The teacher then responds to these questions through EDUSAT. The satellite also will be used in teacher training.
EDUSAT aims to connect urban and rural educational institutions throughout India to provide a formal educational infrastructure and also to help spread knowledge about health and other related issues to more remote areas of the country.
The satellite will enable distance education to take place throughout India by interfacing with video from each school. The ISRO satellite program currently covers more than 1,000 schools and is expected to grow to 10,000 schools in the next three years.
Satellite is naturally important in a country that has several high-tech centers but covers a vast amount of geography most of which is manifestly unwired. While asyncronous, satellite does offer interactive possibilities.
The satellite will be used for learning in many ways, such as beaming local language-instruction programs to address illiteracy. For example, one program allows students to send video questions to any teacher in any connected classroom, anywhere in India, using a streaming video card over the EDUSAT satellite. The teacher then responds to these questions through EDUSAT. The satellite also will be used in teacher training.
Roomba takes Frogger to the asphalt jungle
By Daniel Terdiman
AUSTIN, Texas--It's almost two in the morning and I'm standing in the middle of Austin's Sixth Street, hoping that I'm not going to get hit by a car.
On the other hand, I am hoping--as are 15 or so other people standing nearby--that one of the cars that keep rushing by will crush the tricked-out Roomba robot vacuum cleaner that Make Magazine associate editor Phillip Torrone and Eyebeam R&D fellow Limor Fried are sending back and forth across the street and through traffic.
This is Roomba Frogger, a modern, geek version of the famous 1981 video game "Frogger," in which players had to get a frog across a street without it getting crushed by a car or truck.
But here, in front of one of Austin's 19th-century landmarks, the gorgeous Driskill hotel, Torrone and Fried and a growing crowd have already gotten their Roomba, dressed in a cut-up green T-shirt to look like a frog, across the street several times without serious incident. Now everyone is cheering for imminent impact.
This is Make Magazine--a quarterly journal that pays homage to do-it-yourself technology hacks--come to life. Torrone and Fried have taken a production Roomba, an autonomous robot vacuum cleaner from iRobot, and modded it so that it is Bluetooth-enabled and controllable from a laptop computer.
Vacuum cleaner as game celebrity
About an hour and 40 minutes earlier, Torrone had showed up in Second Life Herald founder Peter Ludlow's suite at the Driskill, Roomba in hand. Everyone was in town for the South by Southwest conference here, and many had come from the party commemorating the closing of the conference's five-day Interactive event.
As Torrone and Fried begin setting up the Roomba--attaching Styrofoam cups to serve as legs and wrapping it in a frog-green T-shirt--everyone jokes about what will happen once it is sent into traffic.
"If the (Bluetooth) range works out," Torrone said, "we'll take turns running it until it dies, the cops show up, or both."
Around the suite, the declaration "Oh, this is going to be great" is heard again and again.
"I was like, this is a really bad idea. Let's do that!"
--Limor Fried, R&D fellow, Eyebeam
Just days ago, Torrone had hosted what he called the "first-ever underground Roomba cockfighting tournament" during the ETech conference in San Diego and had had hundreds of people furiously betting money on the outcome of the two-Roomba battle.
And on Monday night, he and Fried had brought a Roomba to a SXSW party and played Roomba pool, pitting the robot against people to see whether man or machine could sink more balls faster.
Now, they asked themselves, what could they do next?
"I said, you know what we can do? We can do real-life Frogger," said Torrone.
"I was like, this is a really bad idea," said Fried. "Let's do that!"
For a while the two huddle in a corner of the suite, tinkering with the Roomba and getting it ready. Soon, as the rest of the group gathers around, the robot suddenly emerges in the middle of the room, spinning in circles.
Things are looking good.
"Get pictures of it now because it's not going to look like this" for long, said Kyle Machulis, an expert in "teledildonics"--sex toys that are controlled remotely via the Internet.
Quickly, several in the group begin a betting pool pegged to the big questions of the moment. How many lanes will the Roomba make it across before it's crushed? What kind of car will hit it? The consensus seems to be that it'll get hit after one journey across the four-lane street.
Soon Torrone and Fried say they're ready. Fried grabs the Roomba and heads for the street below. Nine people go to the edge of the fourth-floor suite's balcony to watch.
But down on Sixth Street, there is no communication between the Roomba and Torrone's laptop four stories up. So Fried grabs her cell phone and convinces him to come down to run things from street level.
Roomba does traffic rumba
A man with a British accent and signs of inebriation wanders over to where Fried is fiddling with the Roomba and asks if the nondescript frog moves around and whether it vacuums while it moves.
He has no idea how spot on he is.
As Torrone arrives, he explains that his Bluetooth transmitter doesn't have the range to reach the balcony, but from the street it should be no problem.
And suddenly, the Roomba Frogger, which was sitting in the street, just up against the curb, is moving. Slowly, and toward the center of the street. It reaches the middle, spins around, and Torrone calls it back.
One of Fried and Torrone's biggest worries was that the police would show up and arrest them. But as the Roomba rolls from lane to lane, two cops ride by on bicycles. They don't stop to bust anyone. Instead, they beep their horns. Everyone laughs.
Everyone thought the Roomba would suffer a quick death, but it is far more resilient than anyone expected. Car after car zooms by, and many roll directly over the robot, which manages to avoid getting hit by the wheels.
One car does clip it, though, and a loud "Whoa" rings out from the group on the balcony and the growing number of people gathered on both sides of the street.
Gradually, the Roomba makes it back and forth four times, then five, six and seven.
But on about the 10th trip--15 minutes into the game and after crossing a total of 40 lanes of traffic—a white Toyota 4Runner approaches and, unable to avoid the robot vacuum cleaner, crushes it.
The timing is probably good, because as Fried and Torrone gather up the nearly dead machine, a local security guard is standing nearby on the phone and calling the cops. And so everyone scatters or heads back into the hotel, walking into the lobby as if nothing had happened.
And as they do, Fried and Torrone are already imagining their next Frogger mission and how they could make it better.
"I did learn something," Torrone said. "If you're really going to do this, you probably need to use (radio frequency)."
Fried agreed.
"I can totally build a 500-feet RF link," she said. "Yeah, I'm on it."
Back in the hotel suite, Ludlow assessed the mood: "Once you get a taste of Roomba Frogger, you can't get enough."
As people in the suite laughed, shouted and talked about what they'd just witnessed, Torrone summed up his evening.
"We had a lot to drink before we got here," he said, "but there's nothing to sober you up like steering a robot through traffic."
AUSTIN, Texas--It's almost two in the morning and I'm standing in the middle of Austin's Sixth Street, hoping that I'm not going to get hit by a car.
On the other hand, I am hoping--as are 15 or so other people standing nearby--that one of the cars that keep rushing by will crush the tricked-out Roomba robot vacuum cleaner that Make Magazine associate editor Phillip Torrone and Eyebeam R&D fellow Limor Fried are sending back and forth across the street and through traffic.
This is Roomba Frogger, a modern, geek version of the famous 1981 video game "Frogger," in which players had to get a frog across a street without it getting crushed by a car or truck.
But here, in front of one of Austin's 19th-century landmarks, the gorgeous Driskill hotel, Torrone and Fried and a growing crowd have already gotten their Roomba, dressed in a cut-up green T-shirt to look like a frog, across the street several times without serious incident. Now everyone is cheering for imminent impact.
This is Make Magazine--a quarterly journal that pays homage to do-it-yourself technology hacks--come to life. Torrone and Fried have taken a production Roomba, an autonomous robot vacuum cleaner from iRobot, and modded it so that it is Bluetooth-enabled and controllable from a laptop computer.
Vacuum cleaner as game celebrity
About an hour and 40 minutes earlier, Torrone had showed up in Second Life Herald founder Peter Ludlow's suite at the Driskill, Roomba in hand. Everyone was in town for the South by Southwest conference here, and many had come from the party commemorating the closing of the conference's five-day Interactive event.
As Torrone and Fried begin setting up the Roomba--attaching Styrofoam cups to serve as legs and wrapping it in a frog-green T-shirt--everyone jokes about what will happen once it is sent into traffic.
"If the (Bluetooth) range works out," Torrone said, "we'll take turns running it until it dies, the cops show up, or both."
Around the suite, the declaration "Oh, this is going to be great" is heard again and again.
"I was like, this is a really bad idea. Let's do that!"
--Limor Fried, R&D fellow, Eyebeam
Just days ago, Torrone had hosted what he called the "first-ever underground Roomba cockfighting tournament" during the ETech conference in San Diego and had had hundreds of people furiously betting money on the outcome of the two-Roomba battle.
And on Monday night, he and Fried had brought a Roomba to a SXSW party and played Roomba pool, pitting the robot against people to see whether man or machine could sink more balls faster.
Now, they asked themselves, what could they do next?
"I said, you know what we can do? We can do real-life Frogger," said Torrone.
"I was like, this is a really bad idea," said Fried. "Let's do that!"
For a while the two huddle in a corner of the suite, tinkering with the Roomba and getting it ready. Soon, as the rest of the group gathers around, the robot suddenly emerges in the middle of the room, spinning in circles.
Things are looking good.
"Get pictures of it now because it's not going to look like this" for long, said Kyle Machulis, an expert in "teledildonics"--sex toys that are controlled remotely via the Internet.
Quickly, several in the group begin a betting pool pegged to the big questions of the moment. How many lanes will the Roomba make it across before it's crushed? What kind of car will hit it? The consensus seems to be that it'll get hit after one journey across the four-lane street.
Soon Torrone and Fried say they're ready. Fried grabs the Roomba and heads for the street below. Nine people go to the edge of the fourth-floor suite's balcony to watch.
But down on Sixth Street, there is no communication between the Roomba and Torrone's laptop four stories up. So Fried grabs her cell phone and convinces him to come down to run things from street level.
Roomba does traffic rumba
A man with a British accent and signs of inebriation wanders over to where Fried is fiddling with the Roomba and asks if the nondescript frog moves around and whether it vacuums while it moves.
He has no idea how spot on he is.
As Torrone arrives, he explains that his Bluetooth transmitter doesn't have the range to reach the balcony, but from the street it should be no problem.
And suddenly, the Roomba Frogger, which was sitting in the street, just up against the curb, is moving. Slowly, and toward the center of the street. It reaches the middle, spins around, and Torrone calls it back.
One of Fried and Torrone's biggest worries was that the police would show up and arrest them. But as the Roomba rolls from lane to lane, two cops ride by on bicycles. They don't stop to bust anyone. Instead, they beep their horns. Everyone laughs.
Everyone thought the Roomba would suffer a quick death, but it is far more resilient than anyone expected. Car after car zooms by, and many roll directly over the robot, which manages to avoid getting hit by the wheels.
One car does clip it, though, and a loud "Whoa" rings out from the group on the balcony and the growing number of people gathered on both sides of the street.
Gradually, the Roomba makes it back and forth four times, then five, six and seven.
But on about the 10th trip--15 minutes into the game and after crossing a total of 40 lanes of traffic—a white Toyota 4Runner approaches and, unable to avoid the robot vacuum cleaner, crushes it.
The timing is probably good, because as Fried and Torrone gather up the nearly dead machine, a local security guard is standing nearby on the phone and calling the cops. And so everyone scatters or heads back into the hotel, walking into the lobby as if nothing had happened.
And as they do, Fried and Torrone are already imagining their next Frogger mission and how they could make it better.
"I did learn something," Torrone said. "If you're really going to do this, you probably need to use (radio frequency)."
Fried agreed.
"I can totally build a 500-feet RF link," she said. "Yeah, I'm on it."
Back in the hotel suite, Ludlow assessed the mood: "Once you get a taste of Roomba Frogger, you can't get enough."
As people in the suite laughed, shouted and talked about what they'd just witnessed, Torrone summed up his evening.
"We had a lot to drink before we got here," he said, "but there's nothing to sober you up like steering a robot through traffic."
14 March 2006
"ARISTOTLE" (THE KNOWLEDGE WEB)
By W. Daniel Hillis
"With the knowledge web, humanity's accumulated store of information will become more accessible, more manageable, and more useful. Anyone who wants to learn will be able to find the best and the most meaningful explanations of what they want to know. Anyone with something to teach will have a way to reach those who what to learn. Teachers will move beyond their present role as dispensers of information and become guides, mentors, facilitators, and authors. The knowledge web will make us all smarter. The knowledge web is an idea whose time has come."
Every night my partner asks, "What did you learn today?" This is one item which caught my attention. Click the title to continue the article.
"With the knowledge web, humanity's accumulated store of information will become more accessible, more manageable, and more useful. Anyone who wants to learn will be able to find the best and the most meaningful explanations of what they want to know. Anyone with something to teach will have a way to reach those who what to learn. Teachers will move beyond their present role as dispensers of information and become guides, mentors, facilitators, and authors. The knowledge web will make us all smarter. The knowledge web is an idea whose time has come."
Every night my partner asks, "What did you learn today?" This is one item which caught my attention. Click the title to continue the article.
here's what happened
This site was begun because my other blog had gotten more political than comfortable.
I have been ill with various colds since the latter part of November 2005. My voice-activated software, Dragon, was unable to recognize my speech when my face was clogged with gunk. I resorted to copying and pasting information from areas which interested me. Unfortunately, politics got in the way.
I see this as a fresh start. Now I'm busy transferring links from my other site (which I foolishly deleted from blogger without copying my template first) to this one.
It's all a morphing experience.
I have been ill with various colds since the latter part of November 2005. My voice-activated software, Dragon, was unable to recognize my speech when my face was clogged with gunk. I resorted to copying and pasting information from areas which interested me. Unfortunately, politics got in the way.
I see this as a fresh start. Now I'm busy transferring links from my other site (which I foolishly deleted from blogger without copying my template first) to this one.
It's all a morphing experience.
12 March 2006
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