MySpace gives up, links to Facebook status updates

MySpace gives up, links to Facebook status updates: If the demise of former social media giant MySpace was predicted years ago, today's announcement that the site is syncing with Facebook might just be the final nail in its coffin. A recent redesign was supposed to set the News Corp. network up to gain some of its lost ground, but acquiescing to Facebook's popularity may be a sign that MySpace realizes the jig is up.

Memristors Take Big Step Towards Faster, Low-Power Memory

Memristors Take Big Step Towards Faster, Low-Power Memory: A new circuit element called a memristor, or "memory resistor," could usher in extremely efficient data storage that could eventually make instant-on, low-power PCs a reality. HP is just three years away from bringing the memristor to market as a new product called ReRAM, for Resistive Random Access Memory.

Three years from, just remember, you heard it here first.

FAN EXPO: Stan Lee - Comic Book Resources

FAN EXPO: Stan Lee - Comic Book Resources: Askwith asked Lee how he came to develop the famous, or notorious, Marvel Method of production.

The publisher’s former impresario explained, “I was writing just about everything and I couldn’t keep up with it. And the artists were freelancers, that means they weren’t getting salaries. So if they didn’t draw anything, they weren’t getting paid. I couldn’t let a guy like Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko or John Buscema sit around with nothing to do. But if I was writing a script for Kirby, I couldn’t be writing Ditko’s script at the same time. These guys were good at making up their own stories if they had something to start with, so I would say to Ditko, ‘Look, I haven’t got time to write your script, but here’s what I think the story would be. We’ll get a villain called the Green Goblin and he’ll do this and that and you come up with some funny scenes, I don’t care.’ He would go ahead and just draw whatever he wanted, based on what I told him, and I would finish Kirby’s story. I would just give them the germ of an idea, they would draw it, I’d put in the dialogue later, and that way I was able to write all these books pretty much by myself.”

Video: Federer's Incredible Shot Wows US Open Fans

Video: Federer's Incredible Shot Wows US Open Fans: In his first-round matchup last night at the US Open, Roger Federer (for the second year in a row) made an incredible, between-the-legs shot against Argentina's Brian Dabul that sent the sell-out crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium to its feet.

Top 10 must-install software Gems Review | Software | Mac Gems | Macworld

Top 10 must-install software Gems Review | Software | Mac Gems | Macworld:

Autodesk on AutoCAD for Mac: ‘We could no longer ignore Mac’s comeback’

Autodesk on AutoCAD for Mac: ‘We could no longer ignore Mac’s comeback’: In recent years, Apple's Macintosh line of computers has enjoyed a remarkable revival

Arts & Letters Daily (31 Aug 2010)

Arts & Letters Daily (31 Aug 2010):

The printing press was not at first used to make books. Rather, almanacs, calendars, municipal orders, indulgence certificates... more

In America, what passes for freedom, or so Jonathan Franzen implies, is a refusal to accept limits, to shoulder the burdens of an inheritance... more

In the wake of Wagner's achievement in Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal, the musical language that had been common property of Western composers fell into crisis... more

Roseburg man dies in trailer fire

Roseburg man dies in trailer fire:

A Thursday night blaze in a travel trailer has killed a Roseburg man, after a gallant effort by a neighbor to try to get him out of the burning home.

Sunday morning fire being called 'suspicious'

Sunday morning fire being called 'suspicious':

Firefighters were called out to the home on Eddy Street just after 7:30 a.m., after a neighbor called 911 while another man ran across the street to wake up one of the residents who was still inside sleeping.

Roku cuts player prices, plans 1080p support for HD-XR

Roku cuts player prices, plans 1080p support for HD-XR: On Monday, Roku announced that it would be reducing the prices of all three of its set-top media players up to $30. The company also plans to enable 1080p streaming on its high-end player, the HD-XR, later this year.

You can get a Roku HD player for $70 ($100 for the wireless version, $60 for the non-HD model).

Why Skype is perfect for Cisco

Why Skype is perfect for Cisco: Skype and Cisco Systems could be a match made in heaven. Cisco is reportedly courting Skype, which plans to go public sometime this fall.

The right-wing cure for human misery: More pain

The right-wing cure for human misery: More pain: An Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal kicks off the week by arguing that the extension of unemployment benefits has raised the unemployment rate almost 3 percentage points higher than it would have been if the government had just said "tough luck" to out-of-work Americans. This, in itself, is not surprising, just standard boilerplate right-wing anti-welfare-state ideology.

Threepenny: Lesser, On Isaac Asimov

Threepenny: Lesser, On Isaac Asimov:

"True Blood" recap: Warning signs

"True Blood" recap: Warning signs: "You know I love you more when you're cold and heartless," says Eric tenderly to Pam. It's a lovely moment, like "Casablanca" starring vampires. And it's the first time in a few episodes that Eric has been something more than, as Russell puts it "just a lump of muscle with a blood grudge." Or in the words of the disenchanted pole dancer/cardiologist Yvetta, "big, long and stupid."

U.S. wasted billions in rebuilding Iraq

U.S. wasted billions in rebuilding Iraq: A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children's hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets.

Tiny Fridge Gets Near Absolute Zero

Tiny Fridge Gets Near Absolute Zero: A new study proposes a way to construct the smallest refrigerator yet, based on just a few particles and capable of cooling to near absolute zero. The study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Physical Review Letters, pushes the limits of how small a cooling device can get and still remain functional. "When thermodynamics was first invented, it was applied to big, steam-engine sorts of things," says physicist Tony Short of the University of Cambridge in England, who was not involved in the study. "The fact that you can bring the ideas all the way down to individual quantum systems of tiny dimensions and the same basic ideas still work is quite nice."

Development of Tiny Thorium Reactors Could Wean the World Off Oil In Just Five Years | Popular Science

Development of Tiny Thorium Reactors Could Wean the World Off Oil In Just Five Years | Popular Science: Thorium One ton of thorium can produce as much energy as 200 tons of uranium and 3.5 million tons of coal, according to the former director of CERN. via Telegraph
An abundant metal with vast energy potential could quickly wean the world off oil, if only Western political leaders would muster the will to do it, a UK newspaper says today. The Telegraph makes the case for thorium reactors as the key to a fossil-fuel-free world within five years, and puts the ball firmly in President Barack Obama's court.
Thorium, named for the Norse god of thunder, is much more abundant than uranium and has 200 times that metal's energy potential. Thorium is also a more efficient fuel source -- unlike natural uranium, which must be highly refined before it can be used in nuclear reactors, all thorium is potentially usable as fuel.

Wozniacki: I deserve top seed at US Open (AP)

Wozniacki: I deserve top seed at US Open (AP): Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki says she deserves to be seeded No. 1 for the U.S. Open, the first time she's held the top spot at a Grand Slam tournament. Speaking Sunday, a day before the start of the U.S. Open, Wozniacki says she doesn't feel pressure, because "pressure is when you're put on the spot and you don't feel like you belong there."

I'd never thought of it that way before. How cool.

Wowza Media Server Pro 2.1.2 - Extensible pure Java alternative to Adobe Flash Media Server. (Free)

Wowza Media Server Pro 2.1.2 - Extensible pure Java alternative to Adobe Flash Media Server. (Free): Wowza Media Server Pro is a powerful and extensible pure Java alternative to Adobe Flash Media Server that delivers a dramatic improvement of Flash streaming economics. With up to 80% lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), Wowza Media Server makes Flash streaming affordable for organizations of all sizes - from individuals and enterprises, to hosting companies and CDNs.

The big tent of love

The big tent of love:

Most people are familiar with "vanilla" sex -- conventional non-freakiness that can be enjoyed by nearly everyone with waterproof flooring and stain-resistant slacks. You really could stop with that and be fine. Actually, nature kind of meant for you to stop there and be fine. But the human imagination is inexhaustible, and why should we expect the creative vision that invented astronaut ice cream and God to settle for standard penis/vagina fare? Once you have the basics down, you'll find there's a whole world of erotic variations for you to explore -- all it takes is an open mind and a junior-high-school (or equivalent) education.

Paul Allen sues the Web for being obvious

Paul Allen sues the Web for being obvious: As patent suits go, let's give Paul Allen credit. The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft is nothing but ambitious. On Friday Allen filed a lawsuit alleging patent infringement against America Online, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo and YouTube.

Well, that seems to be a comprehensive list. Except for the obvious exclusion of Microsoft. Wonder why?

Fidel Castro: Osama bin Laden is a U.S. agent

Fidel Castro: Osama bin Laden is a U.S. agent: Fidel Castro says al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is a bought-and-paid-for CIA agent who always popped up when former President George W. Bush needed to scare the world, arguing that documents recently posted on the Internet prove it.

Our new welfare queens, the undeserving unemployed

Our new welfare queens, the undeserving unemployed: Neither party has advanced a sufficiently ambitious plan to stimulate the economy and put Americans back to work, but only the Republicans have argued against extending federal assistance to the unemployed. Loud voices among them -- notably those of Sharron Angle and Rand Paul -- think the jobless are "spoiled" and that there are plenty of jobs for those who are willing to work.

Clean People Feel Morally Superior

Clean People Feel Morally Superior: A new study has shown that people feel morally cleansed when they are physically clean and as such are more inclined to judge others more harshly.

Report: 90,000 inmates sexually victimized

Report: 90,000 inmates sexually victimized: The government reported Thursday that 4.4 percent of inmates in prison and 3.1 percent of inmates in jail report being victimized sexually by another inmate or staff member in the past year.

Cat bin lady meets her match

Cat bin lady meets her match: Last night, in the context of a discussion of unsuspecting cats getting thrown into trash cans by surprisingly malevolent middle-aged English women, it was pointed out to me that a key attribute of Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon was the idea that once prisoners became convinced that someone was always watching, they could be expected to behave properly, whether or not someone was actually watching. The possibility of supervision was all that was necessary.

To all real journalists: Stop being such cowards!

To all real journalists: Stop being such cowards!: "These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith, and it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that."

-- President George W. Bush, at the Islamic Center of Washington, Sept. 17, 2001

The eyes of the world are on the cat-bin lady -- and on you too

The eyes of the world are on the cat-bin lady -- and on you too:

Case closed. The Panopticon is here, signed, sealed and delivered. We've seen it coming since as far back as the days of Rodney King, but a few cops caught on hand-held video in the pre-Internet era is nothing compared to what the combination of ubiquitous closed circuit television, videocam-equipped smartphones, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have wrought. All of society now fits into Jeremy Bentham's vision of an all-seeing, all-knowing prison. Henceforth, no one is safe from society's pitiless scrutiny. Or maybe that means everyone's safe, because no one can get away with spontaneous spasms of crazy evil. It's hard to be sure.

Supermassive Black Holes Formed by Colliding Primordial Galaxies

Supermassive Black Holes Formed by Colliding Primordial Galaxies: Astronomers have solved the mystery of how supermassive black holes formed early on in the universe by modeling the collision of giant primordial galaxies.

Robot fleet could use 'nano paper' to soak up oil

Robot fleet could use 'nano paper' to soak up oil: MIT researchers have created solar-powered bots that collect oil floating on water after a spill. The Seaswarm bots use a nanofiber that absorbs up to 20 times their weight in oil.

Apple's iPod, iTunes event September 1

Apple's iPod, iTunes event September 1: Apple makes it official: the much-talked about music, iPod, iTunes, and possible Apple TV event takes place in San Francisco next Wednesday.

Google makes it official: Phone calls now in Gmail

Google makes it official: Phone calls now in Gmail: Gmail users can now make phone calls from within their Gmail account for free to the U.S. and Canada, and for pretty cheap to several other countries.

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Our Daughter Isn't a Selfish Brat; Your Son Just Hasn't Read "Atlas Shrugged".

McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Our Daughter Isn't a Selfish Brat; Your Son Just Hasn't Read "Atlas Shrugged".: You see, that Elmo ball was Johanna's reward for consistently using the potty this past week. She wasn't given the ball simply because she'd demonstrated an exceptional need for it—she earned it. And from the way Aiden's pants sagged as he tried in vain to run away from our daughter, it was clear that he wasn't anywhere close to deserving that kind of remuneration. By so much as allowing Johanna to share her toy with him, we'd be undermining her appreciation of one of life's most important lessons: You should never feel guilty about your abilities. Including your ability to repeatedly peg a fellow toddler with your Elmo ball as he sobs for mercy.

WTF?!

What "true" espresso is, and how Americans ruin it - International cuisine - Salon.com

What "true" espresso is, and how Americans ruin it - International cuisine - Salon.com: Coffee is the second-biggest traded commodity after oil , and America buys 22 million of the 130 million bags of coffee beans produced worldwide annually.

Windows DLL bug hits dozens of apps

Windows DLL bug hits dozens of apps: A flaw in the way Windows handles dynamic-link library and related files likely affects hundreds of applications and has already been used in malicious attacks in the wild.

Miss Universe and the death of the beauty pageant - Beauty Pageants - Salon.com

Miss Universe and the death of the beauty pageant - Beauty Pageants - Salon.com: And then something happened. Miss America became a serious thing and began to boast about the scholarships it funds and the lives it improves, and today, it's rotting on unremunerative perches like TLC (though it will be broadcasting its 2011 edition on ABC). In marked contrast, the Miss USA-Miss Universe franchise has refused all along to fret about whether its contestants could carry a tune or spell their names or build latrines in Burkina Faso. It has remained a principality of the flesh, where the currency is two-piece bikinis.

Five awesome Automator tips

Five awesome Automator tips: Think Apple’s built-in automation tool, Automator, is more trouble than it's worth? Think again. Not only can Automator perform wondrous feats, but with these tips it's also easy to make it happen.

A mosque near ground zero?

A mosque near ground zero?: "This blasphemecration of sacrosanctified ground is abhorrentible? I refudiate it unequivocalutely!"

The housing market has not yet hit bottom

The housing market has not yet hit bottom: No matter how you look at them, the new numbers on existing home sales released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday are terrible. Compared to a year ago, sales fell 25.5 percent, down to an annual rate of 3.83 million per year -- the lowest such rate in 15 years. The amount of time it would normally take to sell off the inventory of currently unsold homes jumped from 8.9 months to a disastrous 12.5.

Rape: Weapon of choice in Congo

Rape: Weapon of choice in Congo: Rape is a weapon. Most of us know this, having heard countless times that sexual violence is "a tool of war," but then occasionally we are actually confronted with the disturbing reality of that abstract idea, and reminded just how little we actually understand it. For example: News today that nearly 200 Congolese women were raped by Rwandan rebels last month over the span of a single weekend. As some 200 to 400 men raided villages in the picturesque hills of eastern Congo, women and girls were gang raped, sometimes in front of their entire families.

James Cameron re-releases "Avatar," dishes on sequels

James Cameron re-releases "Avatar," dishes on sequels: Eight months after its initial release, James Cameron's "Avatar" returns to 3-D and IMAX theaters worldwide Aug. 27.  Apparently, the $2.74 billion gross -- the highest in movie history -- wasn't enough.

Simplenote 3 Makes Taking, Sharing Notes Easier Than Ever

Simplenote 3 Makes Taking, Sharing Notes Easier Than Ever: Simplenote, our favorite note-taking application for the iPhone, iPad, Android, the web and PC or Mac, has just seen a rather important update with a treasure-trove of new features.

Metro - Stan Lee: The first superstar of comics

Metro - Stan Lee: The first superstar of comics: Nobody had any respect for comic books in those days. It was considered to be something that very young kids read, or older people who weren’t too bright. They were considered the lowest rung on the cultural totem pole.

Katy Perry, Pop Cartoon Sprung From the Playbook - NYTimes.com

Katy Perry, Pop Cartoon Sprung From the Playbook - NYTimes.com:

Massive Lost Giveaway: Win the Entire Series on Blu-ray | Underwire | Wired.com

Massive Lost Giveaway: Win the Entire Series on Blu-ray | Underwire | Wired.com: The collection’s Season 6 disc includes a 12-minute “New Man in Charge” epilogue featuring Hurley (played Jorge Garcia) and Ben (Michael Emerson).

Exclusive: Track List From Brian Eno's Next Album, 'Small Craft on a Milk Sea'

Exclusive: Track List From Brian Eno's Next Album, 'Small Craft on a Milk Sea': The innovative musician's upcoming record, created with fellow composers Jon Hopkins and Leo Abrahams, hits stores in November.

"True Blood" recap: Trust no one

"True Blood" recap: Trust no one: "I'm a fairy? That is so fucking lame!"

Jeff Merkley's wonderful pro-mosque editorial

Jeff Merkley's wonderful pro-mosque editorial: Jeff Merkley, the Democratic junior senator from Oregon, joins the list of heroes making the obvious and surprisingly rare case for the construction of an Islamic community center in lower Manhattan, a minor piece of New York real estate news that has become a depressing national debate on the apparent limits of our religious tolerance.

Our Solar System: Now With 2 Million Years More Maturity

Our Solar System: Now With 2 Million Years More Maturity: New measurements of an old rock show that the solar system may be up to 2 million years older than scientists previously thought. The new birth date could resolve a major controversy among geochemists, and provides extra evidence that the solar system got its heavy elements from the explosion of a nearby supernova.

Ten things I know about the mosque - Roger Ebert's Journal

Ten things I know about the mosque - Roger Ebert's Journal: 6. Somewhere on the Right is an anonymous genius at creating memes. Sarah Palin floats a suspicious number of them: Death Panels, Ground Zero Mosque, 9/11 Mosque, Terror Babies. Her tweets are mine fields of coded words; for her, "patriot" is defined as, "those who agree with me." When she says "Americans," it is not inclusive.

By using the evocative word "shackles" she associates Dr. Laura's use of the N-word with the suffering of slaves. By implying Dr. Laura was silenced by "Constitutional obstructionists," she employs the methodology of the Big Lie, defined in Mein Kampf as an untruth so colossal that "no one would believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously." She uses the trigger word "reload" to evoke her support of Second Amendment activists while attacking "activists" for evoking the First.

An Immoderate Proposal

Zeta Woof: Old Fiddler’s Joke...: Hat tip to David Henry Handy, Roseburg's finest blogger.

(Oooh... Almos' fainted with the damn praise!)

X X X

Thanks to Gordon's immoderate, and perhaps inaccurate, praise, I am now prepared to make a sudden, if temporary, departure from the regular business of this blog.

I do not operate this blog along the accepted, normal lines of expressing one's opinion about whatever topic one chooses to opine about; if any opinion of mine is expressed, it is merely in the choice of whatever topic I choose to be worthy of "recycling" - I generally express no opinion about whatever I'm re-syndicating, other than the implicit opinion that if I made note of it, it was worthy of being noticed; for I am of the opinion that opinions are like assholes - everybody's got one, but unlike assholes, no one seems greatly embarrassed at parading their opinions in public.

And so, Gordon's reward for his immoderate praise is two-fold.

One, that I should undertake, with great reluctance and against my better instincts, to write something new and original, namely these few paragraphs you are now reading (whose style is, as usual, greatly influenced by whatever I am currently reading (by which you can judge for yourself what god-awful, ancient crap I'm currently reading)); and two, that I should share with you, from one of my ancient notebooks, one of those passages that were so common with me in that day, a paragraph that was perfect in the first draft, with no revision.

Now it may seem that I praise myself immoderately when I say that, at the time, it was commonplace that whatever I wrote would be perfect in the first draft (perhaps the most obvious exception to the rule would be the first part of Afterglow of the UFO, which I re-worked and polished until it is the most gloriously over-written piece of prose imaginable.); but, in looking back over what I have just now written, it seems to me that this talent has not entirely left me, although I will more modestly assert that though I may not find these paragraphs to be perfect, they are most certainly serviceable.

It is the same age-old problem all over again: nothing to say, and an over-abundance of words with which to say it.

And so...

"Alas-alackaday but like a long unopened dresser of clothes, my poor mad mind has been invaded by the moths. Right now one sits chewing upon my comic books. None of my possessions is safe, least of all my sanity. Yes, the moths have come to burrow holes though my soul. And here comes another, a newcomer who must flutter about my room, bouncing off my possessions, the walls, the ceiling, flopping and fluttering into the lights, driving to distraction and the death of quiet dignity, pushing me past the limits of patience. They flit about me, gnawing on the bare bones of my soul until finally they settle down, and fix themselves in one spot, to bore a hole in my belongings, all the while mocking me with my own futility. Ah these moths, these cousins of the locust that make barren the harvest. Oh for a mothball to end it all."

Knight of the white elephant by Anthony Daniels - The New Criterion

Knight of the white elephant by Anthony Daniels - The New Criterion: Between the ages of fifteen and twenty, McGonagall developed a passion for the theater, particularly for Shakespeare. It strikes me as both remarkable and moving that a man who was born, lived all his life, and died in abject poverty should have attached such value to high culture. At first, he worked in the theater backstage or as a scene-changer, but then began to obtain parts in an amateur or semi-professional capacity. He knew whole Shakespeare plays by heart, especially the great tragedies, and eventually obtained starring roles in Dundee, where he lived. What he never realized, because his belief in his genius was as granitic as his absence of a sense of humor was total, was that he was given these roles for the absurdity of his performances. Here is a description of one of his appearances as Macbeth (his favorite part):

McGonagall as Macbeth refused to die when run through by Macduff; he maintained his feet and flourished his weapon about the ears of his adversary in such a way that there was for some time an apparent possibility of a real tragedy. Macduff, continually telling him to go down became at length so incensed that he gave him a smart rap over the fingers with the flat of his sword. McGonagall dropped his weapon, but dodged and pranced as if to wrestle. Macduff threw his sword aside, seized Macbeth and brought the sublime tragedy to a close in a rather undignified way by taking the feet from under the principal character.

Only a man with a heart of stone, said Oscar Wilde, could read the death of Little Nell without laughing.

Google News gets gamed by a crappy content farm - Media Criticism - Salon.com

Google News gets gamed by a crappy content farm - Media Criticism - Salon.com: Now, it may have been my choice of search term, or it may have been that the event is already more than a week old, but I was amazed to see, at the top of the Google News results, a story from Associated Content. A.C., of course, is the "content farm" recently acquired by Yahoo; it pays writers a pittance to crank out brief items that are -- as I've written -- crafted not to beguile human readers but to charm Google's algorithm.

As for Associated Content, it argues -- as does its competition, like the IPO-bound Demand Media -- that its articles are edited and its writers are paid and therefore its pages should be viewed as more professional than your average run-of-the-mill blogger-in-pajamas. I think they've got it backward. I'll take Pajama Boy or Girl any day. Whatever their limitations, they are usually writing out of some passion. They say something because it matters to them -- not because some formula told them that in order to top the index heap, they must jab hot search phrases into their prose until it becomes a bloody pulp.

Radio Free Europe, Freedom of Speech, and Liberty

Radio Free Europe, Freedom of Speech, and Liberty: The strength of America is not economic, military, or diplomatic. The strength of America is an idea — an idea of a place where people have information, understanding, and control over their lives. Once, during the civil war in Lebanon, I was stopped at a Hezbollah checkpoint by a teenager with an AK-47. When the young man saw my American passport I was subjected, with a gun muzzle in my face, to a twenty minute tirade about “great American satan devil.” I was told that America had caused war, famine, injustice, Zionism, and poverty all over the world. Then, when the boy had finished his rant, he lowered his gun and said, “As soon as I get my Green Card I am going to Dearborn, Michigan, to study dentist school.”

-

Indeed, in a sense, informed argument allows us to “fight without winning.” In a democracy no side wins — forever. The other side can always come back with a different argument. And maybe the next time the other side is right. Information keeps changing, therefore ideas keep changing, therefore minds keep changing. John Maynard Keynes was once tasked with inconsistency in his statements about economics. Keynes replied, “When my information changes, sir, I change my mind. What do you do?”

In a democracy we don’t call these changes war, we call them politics.

John Mellencamp: Internet the most dangerous invention since atomic bomb

John Mellencamp: Internet the most dangerous invention since atomic bomb: Rocker John Mellencamp said on Tuesday that the Internet was the most dangerous invention since the atomic bomb...

MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/

Being such an expert on both, perhaps we should listen to this lame-rocker whose music I've always discounted as trite and sucky. Oh yeah, that'll happen.

Newly Discovered Chlorophyll Catches Infrared Light

Newly Discovered Chlorophyll Catches Infrared Light: A new kind of chlorophyll that catches sunlight from just beyond the red end of the visible light spectrum has been discovered. The new pigment extends the known range of light that is usable by most photosynthetic organisms. Harnessing this pigment's power could lead to biofuel-generating algae that are super-efficient, using a greater spread of sunlight than thought possible.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

Secrets to using Facebook to market your business

Secrets to using Facebook to market your business: Can your business ignore Facebook? Only if you want to ignore the half a billion people who use it. Here's how get started marketing your business through the ubiquitous social networking site.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Four short links: 19 August 2010

Four short links: 19 August 2010:

1. New Big Brother: Market-Moving Satellite Images -- using satellite images of Wal-Mart and Target parking lots to predict quarterly returns. (via Hacker News)


2. Form and Code -- beautiful book on the intersection of code, design, architecture, form, and function. One of the authors is Casey Reas who was also one of the people behind Processing. (via RandomEtc on Twitter)


3. Cable Map -- major underwater communications cables around the world. (via berkun on Twitter)


4. Ray Kurzweil Does Not Understand The Brain (Pharyngula) -- To simplify it so a computer science guy can get it, Kurzweil has everything completely wrong. The genome is not the program; it's the data. The program is the ontogeny of the organism, which is an emergent property of interactions between the regulatory components of the genome and the environment, which uses that data to build species-specific properties of the organism. He doesn't even comprehend the nature of the problem, and here he is pontificating on magic solutions completely free of facts and reason.

O'Reilly Radar - http://radar.oreilly.com/

The software behind the VA health care transformation

The software behind the VA health care transformation: Phillip Longman's book "Best Care Anywhere," just released in its second edition, had a strong effect on me that cascaded off of several other experiences and encounters I've had recently. The material should have been more familiar to me. The Veterans Administration's quality efforts have become health care industry buzz, and its illustrious VistA software has also often made the news, a couple times for its near-death experiences. But VistA is still not the subject of daily discussion in American public life.

O'Reilly Radar - http://radar.oreilly.com/

Intel to buy McAfee for $7.68 billion

Intel to buy McAfee for $7.68 billion: Chip giant makes the biggest acquisition in its 42-year history, explaining that security has become an essential element "of what people demand from all computing experiences."

CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/

Mitt Romney's wet noodle economics - Mitt Romney - Salon.com

Mitt Romney's wet noodle economics - Mitt Romney - Salon.com: So instead of a giving corporations a tax break on their incomes, and giving investors tax breaks on dividends and capital-gains, cut the payroll tax for ordinary Americans. 80 percent of Americans pay more in payroll taxes than in income taxes, and it’s a regressive tax. Eliminate payroll taxes on the first $20K of income and make up the difference by raising the cap on income subject to payroll taxes (now about $106,000).

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Beyond City Limits - By Parag Khanna | Foreign Policy

Beyond City Limits - By Parag Khanna | Foreign Policy: The 21st century will not be dominated by America or China, Brazil or India, but by the city. In an age that appears increasingly unmanageable, cities rather than states are becoming the islands of governance on which the future world order will be built. This new world is not -- and will not be -- one global village, so much as a network of different ones.

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World Affairs Journal - Smile and Smile: Turkey's Feel-Good Foreign Policy

World Affairs Journal - Smile and Smile: Turkey's Feel-Good Foreign Policy: The utter irrationality of Turks—and the utter uselessness, for them, of our Western notions of truth and logic—are points Americans won’t grasp unless they’ve lived here quite some time—and even then they won’t grasp them, because they make no sense. But they’d best begin to try, because the prime minister is quite busy sending flotillas of unusually fractious Turkish humanitarians into war zones, transforming himself into the improbable hero of Hamas, and practicing nuclear diplomacy à la Turca. American negotiators were no doubt scratching their heads upon learning that Turkey had not merely abstained from voting on the Iranian sanctions package, but voted against it. An abstention, after all, would have registered Turkish misgivings more than adequately; the “no” vote manifestly obviates everything Turkey has long been saying about the role it seeks to play as a bridge between the East and the West, particularly in the wake of the Gaza flotilla fiasco. The bridge is now burnt. Turkey has taken sides, and the winner is the East.

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China's hot new commodity: "Fake virgins" - Broadsheet - Salon.com

China's hot new commodity: "Fake virgins" - Broadsheet - Salon.com: hymens can tear for all sorts of reasons, including riding a bike or using tampons -- or just being alive and mobile. As proof of virginity, it is useless. (One might also argue that the concept of virginity is pretty useless -- but that's another post.)

it is largely a means of appeasing men who want "proof" that they have purchased their own holy virgin. "If you go to buy a cellphone, of course you'd want to buy a new cellphone," one man told the Post. "Who would spend the same amount of money to buy an old cellphone that's been used for two years?" (That's almost as priceless as, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?")

I don't agree with this value [placed on virginity]," said Zhou Hong, a physician at a Beijing women's hospital. "It's unfair to the women. The men are not virgins. But we can't change this male-privileged society." Well, you certainly won't by perpetuating the lie of the hymen as proof of purity -- not to mention the value of virginity in the first place.

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If you were as serious as me ...

If you were as serious as me ...:

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

TeamViewer 4.1.8780 - Remote control another computer with TeamViewer. (Free)

TeamViewer 4.1.8780 - Remote control another computer with TeamViewer. (Free): TeamViewer establishes connections to any PC all around the world within just a few seconds. You can remote control your partner\'s PC as if you were sitting right in front of it. Find out why more than 6,000,000 users trust TeamViewer.

MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php

Elements, a Dropbox-powered text editor, released

Elements, a Dropbox-powered text editor, released: This straightforward text editor for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch can create and editor text files that are automatically saved to your Dropbox account.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Lou Gehrig killed by baseball not Lou Gehrig's disease, study finds | Science | The Guardian

Lou Gehrig killed by baseball not Lou Gehrig's disease, study finds | Science | The Guardian: Lou Gehrig, a heroic slugger for the Yankees baseball team, was famed for brushing aside repeated fractures and batting after nearly being knocked unconscious, before giving his name to the disease that was said to have killed him.

But a new study suggests that the player may not have died of Lou Gehrig's disease, formerly known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a type of motor neurone disease. Instead, it may have been the baseballs bouncing off his head that claimed his life in 1941.

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Apple (AAPL) Stock - iPad Competitor | InvestorPlace

Apple (AAPL) Stock - iPad Competitor | InvestorPlace: Axon Logic Reveals Flash Mac OS X-Compatible Tablet, the Haptic: Axon Logic joins Augen in launching new tablet computers to compete with Apple’s juggernaut iPad. While Augen’s GenTouch78 is a super cheap alternative that runs the Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android mobile operating system, Axon Logic’s machine is a high-priced tech head’s dream.

The $750, 10-inch touch screen device weighs two pounds and uses a 1.6GHz Atom processor. It has 2GB of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive, Ethernet, USB, and VGA ports, as well as a resistive, 1024 X 600 pixel touchscreen that supports both stylus use and finger navigation.

Most appealing though is the fact that the Axon Haptic is capable of running Linux and Windows operating systems in addition to any OS based on Apple’s Darwin, including Mac OS X. While the capability to run Apple’s commercial operating systems is obviously a huge selling point for Axon’s device, the company is quick to note on the product’s homepage that installation of Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware is a violation of the end user license agreement for the OS, voiding any warranty.

Given the device’s high cost, it’s doubtful that Axon will draw a significant number of tablet computer shoppers away from Apple, but the tech market hungry for a malleable machine that can still run Apple’s operating systems will naturally flock to it.

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When should a director stop messing with a movie? - Film Salon - Salon.com

When should a director stop messing with a movie? - Film Salon - Salon.com: Category No. 3: Resuscitations

Definition: Cuts undertaken by parties other than the director, often with the purpose of reassembling a film that was cut down, reworked and in some cases butchered without the director's consent.

Examples: I'll fixate on just one example here, because it exemplifies pretty much every factor involved in this sort of cut. Orson Welles' 1958 thriller "Touch of Evil" was recut, remixed and partially reshot during postproduction by Universal without the director's supervision or consent. Or so Welles claimed: The studio countered that it had asked Welles to return from Europe, where he was working on his next movie, to supervise and revise "Evil," but Welles declined.

Thirty years later, film editor and sound designer Walter Murch (who worked on many Coppola films, including both versions of "Apocalypse Now") supervised a "restored" version, working from a wish list memo that Welles sent to Universal in 1957. You could almost call the 1998 cut an alternate universe version of "Touch of Evil" for its good-natured attempts to visualize the film described by Welles. The biggest change is in the legendary opening tracking shot, which removes the studio-mandated Henry Mancini score. As the bomb-rigged car rolls through the town, you still hear the film's main theme issuing piecemeal from barrooms and apartment windows, arranged in different musical genres.

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Financially dependent men cheat more

Financially dependent men cheat more: Today, researchers have issued an alert to women: Beware of the man who makes much less than you. Also: Beware of the man who makes much more than you. These are signs that he'll cheat, according to a study that finds a link between income disparity and infidelity.

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

The problem with fellatio

The problem with fellatio: When President Bill Clinton told a White House press conference with a straight face that "I did not have sex with that woman," he may really have believed it. Since those days, the word has gotten around to nearly everyone that oral sex isn't really sex. Should it surprise us that young women and girls think so too?

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

‘Apple Peel 520’ turns Apple iPod touch into phone

‘Apple Peel 520’ turns Apple iPod touch into phone: Have you ever wished that your iPod touch was an iPhone? Now it can be...

MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/

Can this 'robot' help save publishing?

Can this 'robot' help save publishing?: The $150,000 Espresso Book Machine can print a professional-looking paperback in about four minutes. More small presses are looking at it as an option to cut down on printing costs and better manage inventory.

CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/

Dual-core smartphones on the horizon

Dual-core smartphones on the horizon: Smartphones with dual-core chips could allow for faster application performance and 1080p video playback.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Apple forums to become 'Apple Support Communities'

Apple forums to become 'Apple Support Communities': Apple quietly announced that its discussion forums will soon get a major makeover, with a new emphasis on asking questions, creating a more personal experience, and a customizable home page.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Arts & Letters Daily (16 Aug 2010)

Arts & Letters Daily (16 Aug 2010):

Human beings are squeamish critters, repelled by unfamiliar grooming habits, physical contact with strangers, exotic meats, bodily fluids... more

Village by village, Churchill bragged, "we destroyed houses, filled up wells, blew down towers, burned crops." He himself shot three "savages"... more

"Today's environmentalism? Consolation prize for a gaggle of washed-up Trots, adjunct to hyper-capitalism; catalytic converter on the SUV of the global economy," says Paul Kingsnorth... "Environmentalism, which in its raw, early form had no time for the encrusted, seized-up politics of left and right, has been sucked into the yawning, bottomless chasm of the 'progressive' left." A personal, twenty-year journey through the world’s wild places and the movements to protect them is also, for Paul Kingsnorth, an education in the limits of a project that has forgotten nature and lost its soul.
more

Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate - http://aldaily.com/

Working moms: Forget time off

Working moms: Forget time off: Put another way, courtesy of the ever-delicate Daily Mail, women "should return to work as quickly as possible or give up on having children altogether."

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

"True Blood" recap: Dirty dealings

"True Blood" recap: Dirty dealings: Does anyone remember a couple of episodes back when I jokingly guessed The Authority got its authority from somewhere in Maine? Turns out I have special recapping powers that I'm only now becoming aware of. Like Jessica, the baby vampire, however, and Sookie, the emerging whatever-she-is, my control over these skills is obviously a little wonky. Seems I  confused my Portlands, and The Authority isn't seeking absolute power so much as entrenched constitutional rights in Oregon, a state that might be the first to ratify the VRA (Vampire Rights Amendment).

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

Hugo Gernsback will spend his life parlaying his talents as an editor...

Hugo Gernsback will spend his life parlaying his talents as an editor...: Hugo Gernsback will spend his life parlaying his talents as an editor and publisher to produce a body of work so formidable that the World Science Fiction Society will name its revered Hugo Awards after him.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

My sister says I'm going to hell

My sister says I'm going to hell:

Dear Cary,

Which, according to Gordon, means he's going to Medford.

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

"In Utopia": Modern-day adventures in utopian living

"In Utopia": Modern-day adventures in utopian living:

Off the coast of Korea, a utopian new city is rising. New Songdo City, which is slated to be finished in 2015, is the most expensive private real estate venture in the world. The city is being built on reclaimed land in Incheon Bay (site of the famous Korean War landing), and, when it is complete, will include the "world's largest twin tower," a 100-acre "central park," full city-wide integration into wireless technology (which one of its architects describes as "a municipal concierge service"), and groundbreaking levels of environmental sustainability (with wind turbine power and rainwater collection, it aims to be the world's first LEED-certified city). If all goes well, New Songdo will be the first of 20 privately built, fully wired and ecologically friendly utopian cities built on six different continents by the same group of architects.

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

The Iraq withdrawal: An Orwellian success - Iraq war - Salon.com

The Iraq withdrawal: An Orwellian success - Iraq war - Salon.com: As with the hawk’s version of Vietnam’s ignominious conclusion, the tale of America’s withdrawal from Iraq is characterized by contradictions, half-truths and huge blind spots. It is a story told by officials with jobs and reputations to protect. It is a myth bought and sold by Americans who want to believe in a benevolent image of their country in the world. And most important of all, it is a fairy tale that systematically elevates the good news about Iraq and avoids any talk of the long-term devastation this war has wreaked on the people there.

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Small town museum hopes violin is Stradivarius | KPIC CBS 4 - News, Weather and Sports - Roseburg, OR - Roseburg, Oregon | Local & Regional News

Small town museum hopes violin is Stradivarius | KPIC CBS 4 - News, Weather and Sports - Roseburg, OR - Roseburg, Oregon | Local & Regional News: CANYONVILLE, Ore. (AP) - For decades, a worn violin lay forgotten inside a worn case in an attic at the Pioneer-Indian Museum.
The latches on the black case were stuck. Museum volunteers were unable to free them, so the case, which had been in the museum's hands since shortly after its founding in 1969, remained shut.
Recently, Carl Metzler, a video producer for Creative Images in Roseburg, came across the case while working on a project and wanted to peer inside.
He freed the latches and slowly opened the soft cover while joking with museum volunteer Bob Matthews that the case might contain a Stradivarius.

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The Wilson Quarterly: America: Land of Loners? by Daniel Akst

The Wilson Quarterly: America: Land of Loners? by Daniel Akst: But in restricting ourselves to the thin gruel of modern friendships, we miss out on the more nourishing fare that deeper ones have to offer. Aristotle, who saw friendship as essential to human flourishing, shrewdly observed that it comes in three distinct flavors: those based on usefulness (contacts), on pleasure (drinking buddies), and on a shared pursuit of virtue—the highest form of all. True friends, he contended, are simply drawn to the goodness in one another, goodness that today we might define in terms of common passions and sensibilities.

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Arts & Letters Daily (14 Aug 2010)

Arts & Letters Daily (14 Aug 2010):

Americans, plugged in and on the move, are confiding in their pets, their laptops, and their spouses. But more and more, they are loners... more

Institutions progress but human beings don't, says Roger Scruton, and the human capacity for cruelty and violence is, alas, infinite... more

Molière, the shape-shifter extraordinaire of the 17th century, became in time a playwright of huge political value - rather like Albert Camus in our own day... more

Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate - http://aldaily.com/

Reagan insider: GOP destroyed economy Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch

Reagan insider: GOP destroyed economy Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch: Yes, Stockman is equally damning of the Democrats' Keynesian policies. But what this indictment by a party insider -- someone so close to the development of the Reaganomics ideology -- says about America, helps all of us better understand how America's toxic partisan-politics "holy war" is destroying not just the economy and capitalism, but the America dream. And unless this war stops soon, both parties will succeed in their collective death wish.

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Alt Text: 6 Ways Procrastinators Can Accomplish Nothing More Effectively

Alt Text: 6 Ways Procrastinators Can Accomplish Nothing More Effectively: These amazing insights will help you truly banish productivity.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

Hulu Desktop 0.9.9 - Stream TV shows to your desktop. (Free)

Hulu Desktop 0.9.9 - Stream TV shows to your desktop. (Free): Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz.
At least 2.0 GB of RAM.
Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
2 Mbps Internet connection.
Flash 9.0.124.

MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php

Damn! GHz and RAM just out of reach of my system.

Which doesn't stop it working on my system - Yay!!

Inexplicable Superconductor Fractals Hint at Higher Universal Laws

Inexplicable Superconductor Fractals Hint at Higher Universal Laws: What seemed to be flaws in the structure of a mystery metal may have given physicists a glimpse into as-yet-undiscovered laws of the universe.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

Perseid meteor shower dazzles stargazers

Perseid meteor shower dazzles stargazers: If you're able to escape the pervasiveness of city lights in the next few days (or if you live somewhere with actual sky above it) you'll have the chance to check out the most startling example of "shooting stars" visible to the naked eye -- the Perseid meteor shower. Every August the leftover bits of the Swift-Tuttle comet zoom through our atmosphere, producing up to 60 streaks of light an hour, and the peak of the astro-activity is expected after midnight Wednesday night through pre-dawn on Friday.

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

"Randy" Paul denies drug-fueled cult kidnap

"Randy" Paul denies drug-fueled cult kidnap:

Rand Paul categorically denies kidnapping and blindfolding a woman and forcing her to smoke from a bong and worship "Aqua Buddha."

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

Zeus Trojan secretly transferred $1 million from UK bank accounts

Zeus Trojan secretly transferred $1 million from UK bank accounts: New, dangerous combo of banking trojan and exploit toolkit lets criminals transfer money out of your account while you are logged into the bank site, without you knowing it.

CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/

Google Helps Find Simplest Solution to Rubik's Cube

Google Helps Find Simplest Solution to Rubik's Cube: Detailed analysis using computing power donated by Google shows that every position of the Rubiks' Cube can be solved in a maximum of 20 moves or less.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

Russian Fires Approach Nuclear Plants

Russian Fires Approach Nuclear Plants: The area of the fires in Russia has been brought under control, but there are much bigger problems looming. The fires have approached the Red Forest, an area that suffered the worst of Chernobyl's fallout in 1986, with the soil still heavily contaminated by cesium-137 and strontium-90.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

How ‘Star Trek’ artists imagined Apple’s revolutionary iPad - 23 years ago

How ‘Star Trek’ artists imagined Apple’s revolutionary iPad - 23 years ago: The touch interface was numerous portable devices known as PADDs, or Personal Access Display Devices...

MacDailyNews - http://www.macdailynews.com/

SRS iWOW Premium 3.1.1 - iTunes plug-in improves audio playback quality. (Demo)

Well worth it. I use it. Can't life without it.

SRS iWOW Premium 3.1.1 - iTunes plug-in improves audio playback quality. (Demo):

SRS iWOW Premium 3.1.1

SRS iWOW Premium... Patented solutions in iWOW Premium greatly improve the playback of audio by creating an expansive sound stage, putting you, the listener, in the center of the performance. iWOW Premium also restores audio cues that are buried in the original source material so your music and video files sound more natural and detailed.

The highly intuitive and aesthetically designed iWOW Premium user interface provides you with easy-to-use presets and a stylish graphical representation of your music.

WHAT'S NEW

Version 3.1.1:

• Fixed problem on some 64-bit systems with iWOW not running correctly

REQUIREMENTS

iTunes 6 or later, Mac OS X 10.4 or later (or Windows XP SP2 or later)

PRICE

$24.99

DEVELOPER

SRS Labs, Inc.

DOWNLOADS

86673

DOWNLOAD NOW (878 K)

More information

MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php

Review: Flipboard for iPad

Review: Flipboard for iPad: This fantastic iPad-optimized feed reader creates a Web media experience that is far greater than the sum of its parts.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Get 25 great Safari extensions

Get 25 great Safari extensions: We've scoured the Web and tested innumerable Safari extensions. Here are some of the most useful.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Hands on with Safari extensions

Hands on with Safari extensions: Now that Safari 5 has been out for a while, we take a closer look at Safari's new extensions feature: how to install and use extensions, how to update extensions, and how to troubleshoot issues with misbehaving extensions.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Mac Gems: Witch makes it easy to switch between windows

Mac Gems: Witch makes it easy to switch between windows: This handy utility provides an alternative to Mac OS X’s built-in Command+Tab application switcher.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Everything you need to know about 3D TVs

Everything you need to know about 3D TVs: If you're a hardcore home-theater enthusiasts, you probably remember the sting of having nothing to watch on your cutting-edge HDTV—and you may have had the sinking realization that your $300 HD-DVD player was on the verge of becoming obsolete. Don't make those mistakes with 3D TV.

Macworld - http://www.macworld.com

Drug-crazed Rand Paul kidnapped woman in reefer frenzy - Rand Paul | Kentucky Senate Republican, Ron Paul's Son - Salon.com

Drug-crazed Rand Paul kidnapped woman in reefer frenzy - Rand Paul | Kentucky Senate Republican, Ron Paul's Son - Salon.com: Rand Paul's campaign did not actually deny any of this. Though his spokesman did say this to Ben Smith: "We'll leave National Enquirer type stories about his teenage years to the tabloids where they belong."

So, don't listen to New Republic senior editor Jason Zengerle's Enquirer-style reporting for noted tabloid GQ, about Rand Paul's "teenage years," when he was a 19- or 20-year-old college student who kidnapped a woman and forced her to smoke a bong and worship a false idol.

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Aug. 9, 1854: Thoreau Warns, 'The Railroad Rides on Us'

Aug. 9, 1854: Thoreau Warns, 'The Railroad Rides on Us': Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden, or, Life in the Woods. His distillation of a year living in relative seclusion offers deep insights not just into the natural world and humanity's place in it, but how that relationship was being impacted — and degraded — by the Industrial Revolution. It remains to this day a trenchant criticism of the excesses of technology.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml

LiteSwitch X 2.7 - Keyboard application switcher. (Shareware)

LiteSwitch X 2.7 - Keyboard application switcher. (Shareware):

LiteSwitch X 2.7

LiteSwitch X follows the tradition of LiteSwitch as a simple solution
for managing open applications using the keyboard. Like its predecessor
which will continue to be available, LiteSwitch X has a clean, simple
and functional style that has become Proteron\'s hallmark. It features
an aquified transparent, resizeable window which is invoked by a
configurable key-combination (default is Apple-Tab). From the pop-up
window the user can switch to any application, hide, quit, or force quit
any application or drag-and-drop files onto any application. Windows
users migrating to the Macintosh can feel more at home having the
Alt-tab functionality returned to them, yet enjoy it in its full Mac OS
X splendor.

WHAT'S NEW

Version 2.7 (b2):

• added Exposé for app windows. In the app switcher, press the up or down arrow keys to activate Exposé for that app. Once inside Exposé you can choose to select a window or press the tab key to view the next app\'s windows. The up and down arrows used to bring up the app\'s contextual menu. The key \"m\" still does so.
  
• now pressing the number \"1\" in the switcher window selects the Finder (or Path Finder if running)
  
• enabled the ability to mark the Finder to quit via pressing \'q\'. The Finder can then be relaunched from the Dock if desired.
  
• when the switching key is held down, LiteSwitch will now stop at the last app on the list until the key is pressed again. This should make it easier to jump to either end.
  
• misc fixes

REQUIREMENTS

Mac OS X 10.5 or later.

PRICE

$14.95

DEVELOPER

Proteron LLC

DOWNLOADS

21596

DOWNLOAD NOW (550 K)

More information

MacUpdate - Universal Binary - http://www.macupdate.com/macintel.php

Plant Enzyme Can Convert Carbon Monoxide Into Propane, Paving the Way for Exhaust-Powered Cars | Popular Science

Plant Enzyme Can Convert Carbon Monoxide Into Propane, Paving the Way for Exhaust-Powered Cars | Popular Science: An enzyme found in soybeans could turn an ingredient in vehicle exhaust into new usable fuel, according to a new study. It's a major step on the path toward making fuel out of thin air.

Scientists were working with a microbe called Azotobacter vinelandii, which is found around the roots of various food plants. It creates an enzyme called vanadium nitrogenase, which produces ammonia from nitrogen.

In a study published in the journal Science, researchers took away the nitrogen and fed it carbon monoxide instead. The enzyme started making short carbon chains, two or three atoms long -- in other words, propane, which fuels the blue flames of camping grills across America.

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Scorpions set fair record, Billy Idol up next | The News-Review - NRtoday.com

Scorpions set fair record, Billy Idol up next | The News-Review - NRtoday.com: The Scorpions set an all-time attendance record during a 100-minute performance Friday evening at the Douglas County Fair.

The heavy metal band from Germany attracted more than 12,500 people to the Premier West Bank Amphitheater. Fans packed the bleachers set up on the amphitheater berm and filled the grassy areas leading away from the stage.

There were so many people that the crowd spilled over into areas on the sides of the amphitheater where they could not see the stage. Yet they stayed and listened to the music.

“It was phenomenal,” Fairgrounds Director Harold Phillips said. “What a production. What a sound. What a performance.”

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The ridiculous "$#*! My Dad Says" controversy

The ridiculous "$#*! My Dad Says" controversy:

CBS officially refers to it in print as "$#*! My Dad Says." In promos, it's "Bleep My Dad Says" -- not "[bleep sound] My Dad Says," but "Bleep My Dad Says." And its identifying image, of William Shatner with tape over his mouth, makes it clear this sitcom is well aware of that which cannot be said. It's shit. As in, the Twitter phenomenon Shit My Dad Says, the thing that turned into the best-selling book "Sh*t My Dad Says," now watered down even further into a series of nonsensical characters to become a prime-time sitcom on the Tiffany network.

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

An inheritance of cake

An inheritance of cake:

When my godfather, Herb, learned that he was finally dying for real this time, he threw a party. "Like in 'The Cherry Orchard,'" I said wryly. In college, I had once played Lyubov Ranevskaya, the matriarch of Chekhov's obsolescent Russian aristocrats.

Salon - http://www.salon.com/rss/all_salon.rss

Google pulls plug on Google Wave

Google pulls plug on Google Wave: The search giant said the real-time collaboration tool saw less use than the company had hoped. The company will aim to use technology in other products

CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/

Sad, but not surprising, I suppose. I got into it when they opened it up to the public in late May. Great, I thought. But then I found I had no one to collaborate with, and nothing to collaborate on. In other words, it was much like my personal life: nothing to do, and no one to do it with.

Sun eruptions spit plasma at Earth

Sun eruptions spit plasma at Earth: Those living toward the northern areas of the planet are in for a visual treat over the next couple days, thanks to the sun spitting plasma directly at the planet.

CNET News.com - http://news.cnet.com/

Google Lets You Sign In to Multiple Accounts at Once

Google Lets You Sign In to Multiple Accounts at Once: Google now lets people with two or three user accounts log in to all of them at once and switch between accounts easily. And yes, it works in Gmail.

Wired News - http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml