The Norwegian Russian Death Spiral From Hialeah

I'll start of with this article that Erin sent me, and a special thanks to her for thinking of me. I especially liked it because not only does it bemoan the fall of the printed newspaper, it mentions Herb Caen and San Francisco quite a bit. As someone who still reads the paper every single day as a subscriber, I think newspapers are an important part of the community and keeping people informed. Most people just don't follow on-line articles from top to bottom -- this one is long -- and they miss many others as they scan. A paper causes people to scan differently and read different things. Newspapers can survive, but the modern American just isn't equipped. We have cities with zero or one paper that used to have two. London has the Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Evening Standard, Observer, Financial Times, Globe, and Independent as regular papers and then the tabloids (Mail, Express, Star, Sun, Metro). They can support thirteen daily papers -- 12 if you drop the FT out -- so that really points at us as, well, idiots. I read a lot of them when I'm there and they've all got their slant and focus. What's wrong with us?I have observed a disproportionate number of people who don't read papers are the same people who haven't travelled outside the North American continent and have a narrow view of the world.

This is from Razzie who sends this SWF which may be the coolest clock with way too much stuff that you've ever seen. Click on the left side tabs (population, etc) and watch all the things. Some of it's funny, some interesting, some downright scary. Have a look.

You FaceBook people who play FarmVille, MafiaWars, and other Zynga games might want to read this article and then watch the video near the bottom. Bet you'll be a lot less inclined to play after you see how much they care about your privacy and what they think of you. 

Many of you have heard of the Norway Spiral from a few days ago. If you haven't you can go here and see the video. Now, there is no dispute that everyone saw this. It's real. There is 100% agreement from all quarters that there was something in the sky. Millions of people saw it so it can't be blown off as a mass hallucination especially since there are already hundreds of videos all over the 'net of this. The real question is what is it? Some scientists have explained it as a rocket, others a missile. Only the Russians have vehemently denied any missile or rocket launch during that time frame and no other countries have done that either. So people went crazy, only now the Russians have finally admitted that one of their rockets did launch, proving you can never trust the Russian military. (That article from The Sun, mentioned previously.)

Guys if you like your holiday gifts a bit, more, pornographic, this is for you. Boobies for you. It's funny that the guys think it's one way glass.

Today, I donated to Seti@Home which is part of the University of California at Berkeley (GO BEARS!) and I would encourage you to do the same by clicking above. Here's an edited letter from the Seti@Home campaign (our team URL is here).

Dear SETI@home volunteer,

I'm Dan Werthimer, the Chief Scientist of the SETI@home project.

You've been identified as one of our most active volunteers, and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your efforts this past year. I also want to preview our plans for 2010, and ask for your financial support.

SETI@home is a unique global collaborative project that uses spare cycles on personal computers to help search for signals of extraterrestrial origin. Our vision to embark on this grand search is over ten years old, and continues to engage volunteers such as you from all over the world.

In order to improve SETI@home in 2010 and accomplish our scientific goals, we are reaching out to our loyal volunteers for financial support, as this venture is largely funded by individual donations. With your financial support we can accomplish all these goals in 2010. We would greatly appreciate any donation amount you can afford, and your gift is tax-deductible.

Thanks again for your time and dedication to SETI@home. Your effort and donations are what make this venture possible.

Sincerely,
Dan Werthimer
SETI@home Chief Scientist
Space Science Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley

I've given to the University many times (Seti@Home, Pac-8 Cal Bears Ice Hockey Team, Alumni Association, and the General Fund). I loved Cal because I learned there. And that is what school is supposed to be about.

This video is "Sweet Home Hialeah" and if you've lived in South Florida at any point in your life, you will die laughing. If not, you probably won't get why this is so funny. Absolutely priceless. Recorded in Spanglish, the official local language.

And today's excitement was being asked to help someone's kid do their homework on England. Yeah.  if you're not following Fake Michael Yormark, today's post amused me more than usual. If you're a Florida Panthers fan, you need to follow him. If you're a hockey fan you might like him too.