18F: Digital service delivery | Remembering Larry Mathias, an early partner and excellent civil servant

18F: Digital service delivery | Remembering Larry Mathias, an early partner and excellent civil servant: "We’re writing this to remember and pay tribute to Larry Mathias, who passed away unexpectedly this month.

"



'via Blog this'

After Challenging Red Light Cameras, Oregon Man Fined $500 for Practicing Engineering Without a License - Hit & Run : Reason.com

After Challenging Red Light Cameras, Oregon Man Fined $500 for Practicing Engineering Without a License - Hit & Run : Reason.com:

According to the board, Järlström's research into red light cameras and their effectiveness amounts to practicing engineering without a license. No, really. Järlström had sent a letter to the board in 2014 asking for the opportunity to present his research on how too-short yellow lights were making money for the state by putting the public's safety at risk. "I would like to present these fact for your review and comment," he wrote.

Instead of inviting him to present, the board threatened him. Citing state laws that make it illegal to practice engineering without a license, the board told Järlström that even calling himself an "electronics engineer" and the use of the phrase "I am an engineer" in his letter were enough to "create violations."

'via Blog this'

The NBA Is Lucky I’m Home Doing Damn Articles | The Players' Tribune

The NBA Is Lucky I’m Home Doing Damn Articles | The Players' Tribune:

I told Pat about some of the shit I’ve seen, and some of the people I’ve lost. By the time I was 12 years old, both my mom and dad got shot. I’ve had brothers, cousins, uncles and friends get murdered. Too many to count, for real.

You know what the crazy thing about death and violence is? You get numb to it. You really do.

'via Blog this'

What Bullets Do to Bodies - Highline

What Bullets Do to Bodies - Highline: "Goldberg said she saw a movie a few years ago that captures what it’s like to operate under these conditions. It was a documentary about the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for months in 2010. “They interviewed them all. And the miner that had the hardest time down there was the youngest guy. Not the oldest guy. It was the youngest guy. And they said, why? Why did you have such a hard time? And he said, God and the Devil were with me.” Goldberg thought that was perfect. “That’s what I had been searching for, for years, in how you feel in the operating room. God and the Devil are with you. You start a case. A young person. Shot. They come in talking. You go upstairs. They have this devastating injury. The Devil. You suck. You’re gonna kill this guy. You call yourself a good trauma surgeon. You’re the worst. And you just plow ahead and plow ahead and plow ahead. You find what’s injured. You control it. God. Oh, you are the best. You’ve done a great job. Then you’re working. You find another injury you didn’t expect. You suck, you suck, you suck.”
"



'via Blog this'

Hiromi's Sonicbloom - Time Out - YouTube

Hiromi's Sonicbloom - Time Out - YouTube:


'via Blog this'

Wild boars overrun Islamic State position, kill 3 militants

Wild boars overrun Islamic State position, kill 3 militants: "Three Islamic State militants setting up an ambush in a bitterly contested area of northern Iraq were killed by a herd of stampeding boars, local leaders say.

"



'via Blog this'

‘If You Take Out Kenan Thompson, The Studio Will Explode' | The Huffington Post

‘If You Take Out Kenan Thompson, The Studio Will Explode' | The Huffington Post: "But Thompson, Hader said, had another weapon. Unlike most of the show’s actors who might have pre-performance jitters, Thompson was never nervous. Instead he’d mess with other actors seconds before they went on air, sending them onstage with a laugh and an air of confidence. He watched sketches when he had free time, offering words of encouragement when something fell flat. And onstage, Thompson didn’t compete. He facilitated.

"



'via Blog this'

The Living Disappeared — The California Sunday Magazine

The Living Disappeared — The California Sunday Magazine:

In March 1976, almost seven months before Jorge and Stella were detained, Argentina’s armed forces overthrew the president, Isabel Perón, and launched what they called the National Reorganization Process. The previous years had been chaos. Perón was under the thrall of a shadowy police agent and astrologer known as “the warlock.” Government-backed right-wing paramilitaries murdered hundreds of dissidents. Armed leftist groups set off bombs and kidnapped, and in some cases killed, executives and police. Even many moderates thought the military would restore order and stability. The press was strictly censored, so few realized that the country had been seized by a uniquely ruthless regime that saw itself as waging a third world war in Argentina for the future of “Western and Christian civilization.” The dictatorship sought to impose a new social and economic order. To do so, it branded a huge swath of society as “subversive” and targeted it for annihilation. By the time the dictatorship fell in 1983, as many as 30,000 people had disappeared. Some were armed revolutionaries — though historians now believe this group was neutralized within the first year or so of the dictatorship —  while others were students, activists, union members, disability rights advocates, and priests and nuns who followed liberation theology. Countless more were people whose names were simply in the wrong address book.



'via Blog this'

On the off-campus housing process: Challenging the status quo to bridge the athlete/non-athlete divide – The Williams Record

On the off-campus housing process: Challenging the status quo to bridge the athlete/non-athlete divide – The Williams Record: "I don’t know what that’s like from the non-athlete perspective, but I do know that creating divisions and misconceptions about that “other” group is never good for the fabric of a community. My group of friends and I have been called racists, rapists and homophobes multiple times by people we don’t know. This doesn’t make us victims, and I think the benefits we get from our willing participation in an unfair system fostered much of this divide. But a school, or a community, or a world where everybody is susceptible to feeling like they are from an unwanted group is a breeding ground for fear and anger, a place where empathy goes to die.

"



'via Blog this'

Machine Bias: There’s Software Used Across the Country to Predict Future Criminals. And it’s Biased Against Blacks. - ProPublica

Machine Bias: There’s Software Used Across the Country to Predict Future Criminals. And it’s Biased Against Blacks. - ProPublica:



We obtained the risk scores assigned to more than 7,000 people arrested in Broward County, Florida, in 2013 and 2014 and checked to see how many were charged with new crimes over the next two years, the same benchmark used by the creators of the algorithm.




The score proved remarkably unreliable in forecasting violent crime: Only 20 percent of the people predicted to commit violent crimes actually went on to do so.




When a full range of crimes were taken into account — including misdemeanors such as driving with an expired license — the algorithm was somewhat more accurate than a coin flip. Of those deemed likely to re-offend, 61 percent were arrested for any subsequent crimes within two years.




'via Blog this'

The Media Bubble is Real — And Worse Than You Think - POLITICO Magazine

The Media Bubble is Real — And Worse Than You Think - POLITICO Magazine:

Where do journalists work, and how much has that changed in recent years? To determine this, my colleague Tucker Doherty excavated labor statistics and cross-referenced them against voting patterns and Census data to figure out just what the American media landscape looks like, and how much it has changed.




The results read like a revelation. The national media really does work in a bubble, something that wasn’t true as recently as 2008. And the bubble is growing more extreme. Concentrated heavily along the coasts, the bubble is both geographic and political. If you’re a working journalist, odds aren’t just that you work in a pro-Clinton county—odds are that you reside in one of the nation’s most pro-Clinton counties. And you’ve got company: If you’re a typical reader of Politico, chances are you’re a citizen of bubbleville, too.


'via Blog this'

Joey Alexander - In case you missed it, I also played at The...

Joey Alexander - In case you missed it, I also played at The...: "In case you missed it, I also played at The GRAMMYs Premiere Ceremony on Monday afternoon, with Eric Harland on drums and Dave Robaire on bass. It was our first time playing together, but we had a lot of fun and did our best to swing!"



'via Blog this'

WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum: “Most of startup ideas are absolutely stupid”

WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum: “Most of startup ideas are absolutely stupid”: "America is the country built by immigrants. The concept of “American dream” is often applied to the people who was not born here. On the contrary, they say the first generation is the most successful. The first generation is usually very successful in a new country. Of course, it is not easy. I saw what my mother and grandmother who did not speak English went through. They moved to the US aged 50 and 60 years. It was very hard for them."



'via Blog this'

Here’s Why Juicero’s Press is So Expensive – Bolt Blog

Here’s Why Juicero’s Press is So Expensive – Bolt Blog:

The vast majority of the complexity of the Press is driven by one simple problem inherent in the machine’s design: the massive force required to press the packs across the entire surface at once. The machine must apply equal pressure to ~64 square inches of surface area at once, meaning the drivetrain must be able to apply thousands of pounds of force to squish all that produce.

On the contrary, when a human hand squeezes the same pack, we naturally use a very different technique

'via Blog this'

The Holocaust: Who are the missing million? - BBC News

The Holocaust: Who are the missing million? - BBC News:



Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices during World War Two. In many cases entire towns' Jewish populations were wiped out, with no survivors to bear witness - part of the Nazis' plan for the total annihilation of European Jewry.



Since 1954, Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem ("A Memorial and a Name"), has been working to recover the names of all the victims, and to date has managed to identify some 4.7 million.



"Every name is very important to us," says Dr Alexander Avram, director of Yad Vashem's Hall of Names and the Central Database of Shoah [Holocaust] Victims' Names.



"Every new name we can add to our database is a victory against the Nazis, against the intent of the Nazis to wipe out the Jewish people. Every new name is a small victory against oblivion."



'via Blog this'

Russia is sending weapons to Taliban, top U.S. general confirms - The Washington Post

Russia is sending weapons to Taliban, top U.S. general confirms - The Washington Post: "A senior U.S. military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence on the issue, said the Russians have increased their supply of equipment and small arms to the Taliban over the past 18 months. The official said the Russians have been sending weapons, including medium and heavy machine guns, to the Taliban under the guise that the material would be used to fight the Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan. Instead, the official said, the weapons were showing up in some of Afghanistan’s southern provinces, including Helmand and Kandahar — both areas with little Islamic State presence.

"



'via Blog this'

You Are Richer than John D. Rockefeller

You Are Richer than John D. Rockefeller - Foundation for Economic Education - Working for a free and prosperous world: "Honestly, I wouldn’t be remotely tempted to quit the 2016 me so that I could be a one-billion-dollar-richer me in 1916.  This fact means that, by 1916 standards, I am today more than a billionaire.  It means, at least given my preferences, I am today materially richer than was John D. Rockefeller in 1916.  And if, as I think is true, my preferences here are not unusual, then nearly every middle-class American today is richer than was America’s richest man a mere 100 years ago.

"



'via Blog this'

Bowler Ben Ketola sets world record with fastest 300 game - YouTube

Bowler Ben Ketola sets world record with fastest 300 game - YouTube: "The 23-year-old two-handed bowler rolls 12 strikes in 86.9 seconds
"



'via Blog this'

The kind of person I hope to be known as

Steve Bright: 'Never had any interest in making a lot of money': "In 1998, the American Bar Association presented its prestigious Thurgood Marshall Award to Bright. Attending the gala were high-profile lawyers in tailored wool, designer dresses and splashy jewelry. Bright showed up in a bargain-rack suit he’d bought in Pascagoula, Miss.



 Six years ago, Bright was given a complimentary suite at the luxurious Beverly Hilton where he was to receive a human rights award. But he stayed at a discount hotel so longtime Southern Center secretary Patricia Hale and office manager Julia Robinson-Hicks could stay at the Hilton on their first California trip."



'via Blog this'

Neuralink and the Brain's Magical Future - Wait But Why

Neuralink and the Brain's Magical Future - Wait But Why:

Abraham Lincoln was pleased with himself when he came up with the line:

—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Fair—it’s a good line.

The whole idea of “of the people, by the people, for the people” is the centerpiece of democracy.

Unfortunately, “the people” are unpleasant. So democracy ends up being unpleasant. But unpleasant tends to be a dream compared to the alternatives. Elon talked about this:

I think that the protection of the collective is important. I think it was Churchill who said, “Democracy’s the worst of all systems of government, except for all the others.” It’s fine if you have Plato’s incredible philosopher king as the king, sure. That would be fine. Now, most dictators do not turn out that way. They tend to be quite horrible.

In other words, democracy is like escaping from a monster by hiding in a sewer.

'via Blog this'

The Roots of Muslim Rage - The Atlantic

The Roots of Muslim Rage - The Atlantic:

To this end we must strive to achieve a better appreciation of other religious and political cultures, through the study of their history, their literature, and their achievements. At the same time, we may hope that they will try to achieve a better understanding of ours, and especially that they will understand and respect, even if they do not choose to adopt for themselves, our Western perception of the proper relationship between religion and politics.



'via Blog this'

Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election. - The New York Times

Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election. - The New York Times:

The document, which has been described as both a memo and an email, was written by a Democratic operative who expressed confidence that Ms. Lynch would keep the Clinton investigation from going too far, according to several former officials familiar with the document.

Read one way, it was standard Washington political chatter. Read another way, it suggested that a political operative might have insight into Ms. Lynch’s thinking.

'via Blog this'

Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election. - The New York Times

Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election. - The New York Times:

The document, which has been described as both a memo and an email, was written by a Democratic operative who expressed confidence that Ms. Lynch would keep the Clinton investigation from going too far, according to several former officials familiar with the document.

Read one way, it was standard Washington political chatter. Read another way, it suggested that a political operative might have insight into Ms. Lynch’s thinking.

'via Blog this'

Editorial: In praise of ... Guernica | Opinion | The Guardian

Editorial: In praise of ... Guernica | Opinion | The Guardian:

In occupied Paris, a Gestapo officer who had barged his way into Picasso's apartment pointed at a photo of the mural, Guernica, asking: "Did you do that?" "No," Picasso replied, "you did", his wit fizzing with the anger that animates the piece. 



'via Blog this'

Sheryl Sandberg Finds Comfort for Herself and Offers It to Others - The New York Times

Sheryl Sandberg Finds Comfort for Herself and Offers It to Others - The New York Times: "Sheryl Sandberg followed the oldest data set in the world, the one that says: The children are young, and you must keep going. Slowly the fog began to lift. She found she had something useful to offer at a meeting; she got the children through their first birthdays without their father; she began to have one O.K. day and then another. She made it through a year, all of the “milestone days” had passed and something began to revive within her. Grief is the final act of love, and recovery from it is the necessary betrayal on which the future depends. There is only this one life, and we are the ones who are here to live it.

"



'via Blog this'

OldSchoolDM comments on Dads of Reddit, what's it like to have a daughter?

OldSchoolDM comments on Dads of Reddit, what's it like to have a daughter?: "Snuggle. Watch Disney movies. Have a tea party. Wear the makeup she puts on you. You won't believe the amount of pain and frustration you experience, and the fact that you wouldn't trade it for anything.
"



'via Blog this'

MarkBlackUltor comments on Hello Libyans, can someone verify this video for me? It's about Libyan education, healthcare etc.

MarkBlackUltor comments on Hello Libyans, can someone verify this video for me? It's about Libyan education, healthcare etc.: Hell, I Protested, I fought against him.... and i regret it all, i wish i could turn back time, and have this all never happen, if we go back to 2011 i would fight on his side, because Libyans can't handle freedom, all that came out if it was a horrible Civil War, oh how i regret it all.

'via Blog this'

‘A Shortage of Coffins’ After Taliban Slaughter Unarmed Soldiers - The New York Times

‘A Shortage of Coffins’ After Taliban Slaughter Unarmed Soldiers - The New York Times:

KABUL, Afghanistan — They looked like Afghan Army soldiers returning from the front lines, carrying the bodies of wounded comrades as part of the ruse.

Dressed in military uniforms, a squad of 10 Taliban militants drove in two army Ford Ranger trucks past seven checkpoints. They arrived inside northern Afghanistan’s largest military installation just as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of unarmed soldiers were emerging from Friday Prayers and preparing for lunch.

For the next five hours, the militants went on a rampage, killing at least 140 soldiers and officers in what is emerging as the single deadliest known attack on an Afghan military base in the country’s 16-year war. Some assailants blew themselves up among the soldiers fleeing for their lives, according to survivors, witnesses and officials.

'via Blog this'

It's......it's beautiful : Military

It's......it's beautiful : Military: "It's the "knife hand". When an NCO is chewing your ass, he will make that gesture to you. It's a common sign that you "dun goofed". It's being phased out though, because feelings.
"



'via Blog this'

The Challenge of Our Disruptive Era - WSJ

The Challenge of Our Disruptive Era - WSJ: "I am a historian, and that usually means I’m a killjoy. When people say we’re at a unique moment in history, the historian’s job is to put things in perspective by pointing out that there is more continuity than discontinuity, that we are not special, that we think our moment is unique because we are narcissists and we’re at this moment. But what we are going through now—the past 20 or 30 years, and the next 20 or 30 years—really is historically unique. It is arguably the largest economic disruption in recorded human history. And our politics are not yet up to the challenge."



'via Blog this'

Intersection in Ethiopia with no traffic lights : oddlysatisfying

Intersection in Ethiopia with no traffic lights : oddlysatisfying:

Road fatalities per 100,000 motor vehicles:

Ethiopia ... 4984.3

United States ... 12.9

'via Blog this'

BBC documentary exposes 50-year scandal of baby trafficking by the Catholic church in Spain | Daily Mail Online

BBC documentary exposes 50-year scandal of baby trafficking by the Catholic church in Spain | Daily Mail Online:



Up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades, a new investigation reveals. 

The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco’s dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties. 

'via Blog this'

Torching the Modern-Day Library of Alexandria - The Atlantic

Torching the Modern-Day Library of Alexandria - The Atlantic: "The irony is that so many people opposed the settlement in ways that suggested they fundamentally believed in what Google was trying to do. One of Pamela Samuelson’s main objections was that Google was going to be able to sell books like hers, whereas she thought they should be made available for free. (The fact that she, like any author under the terms of the settlement, could set her own books’ price to zero was not consolation enough, because “orphan works” with un-findable authors would still be sold for a price.) In hindsight, it looks like the classic case of perfect being the enemy of the good: surely having the books made available at all would be better than keeping them locked up—even if the price for doing so was to offer orphan works for sale. In her paper concluding that the settlement went too far, Samuelson herself even wrote, “It would be a tragedy not to try to bring this vision to fruition, now that it is so evident that the vision is realizable.”

"



'via Blog this'

College, Cheaper Than You Think - The New York Times

College, Cheaper Than You Think - The New York Times:

How much would you say it costs to attend a top private college like Dartmouth or Pomona for one year?

I’m guessing that the first number that pops into your mind is quite large, like $60,000.

For most Americans, that’s the wrong answer — and it’s wrong by a lot. The list-price tuition at these college does indeed run so high, but just a small slice of the population pays the list price. Typically, only families earning at least $200,000 a year fail to qualify for financial aid.

'via Blog this'

DC Building Bans Balcony Banners After Residents Use Them to Argue About Politics | Washingtonian

DC Building Bans Balcony Banners After Residents Use Them to Argue About Politics | Washingtonian: "But people in the building say it was the “Make America Great Again” flag that set off a sign war. An apartment one floor above the Trump-friendly apartment hung a flag proclaiming “Resist.” The newest addition, which went up shortly before the start of baseball season, positions the word “Nope” accompanied by an upward arrow directly beneath the Trump sign. And now, what was once a gallery of local sports fandom is just another political shouting match.
"



'via Blog this'

FAQs: The United Methodist Children’s Home Sale of Campus | United Methodist Children’s Home

FAQs: The United Methodist Children’s Home Sale of Campus | United Methodist Children’s Home: "There is a child welfare crisis in our state. 13,000 kids are in the state’s custody. 150 kids sleep in hotel rooms with strangers each month due to a lack of foster homes. UMCH turns away 40 kids a week. All of these situations that kids face call upon us to do more. Knowing these facts, the UMCH Board voted in January to release assets tied to the property by selling its Decatur campus. This decision will help us reach more children and families in need. Funds from the sale will be used to open new offices across North Georgia, and more effectively take all four of our programs to many more children and families in communities across our state.
"



'via Blog this'

Wealthy L.A. Schools' Vaccination Rates Are as Low as South Sudan's - The Atlantic

Wealthy L.A. Schools' Vaccination Rates Are as Low as South Sudan's - The Atlantic:

In some schools, up to 60 to 70 percent of parents have filed these PBEs, indicating a vaccination rate as low as that of Chad or South Sudan. Unlike in Santa Monica, however, parents in South Sudan have trouble getting their children vaccinated because of an ongoing civil war.

And lo, it is these very same L.A. neighborhoods that are experiencing a resurgence of diseases like whooping cough, otherwise known as pertussis. Measles cases have also hit a high in California this year.

'via Blog this'

The Programmers’ Stone » Why No-One’s Noticed This Before

The Programmers’ Stone » Why No-One’s Noticed This Before: "We don’t miss what we haven’t got, and this can lead to seeing things in profoundly different ways. A person who frequently does juxtapositional thinking is aware of the importance of self-consistency in their thinking. If something doesn’t “hang together”, they know they have made an error. Often they use self-consistency as the basis of their thinking, deducing that something must be missing, and then being able to find it. A person who is rarely if ever in a position to do juxtapositional thinking, will not consider or expect self-consistency in this way. Their view of reality is therefore fragmented. If they don’t require their understanding to hang together, they develop the idea of “mere facts”. What are facts? What do they prove? Nothing! Instead they use their focussed attention to concentrate on compliance with a proceduralism, and they don’t let mere facts get in the way. They certainly don’t trust their own good senses.
"



'via Blog this'

theonehandedwriter comments on French Elections: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

theonehandedwriter comments on French Elections: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO):

We are victims of the wild successes of our predecessors and we have inherited a world which we take for granted as if it were natural and normal and it is not. People used to have wars that would kill millions. We used to drink filthy water that the people upstream washed their clothes and shit into and die at 40 from smog filled cities. We used to die from now preventable diseases. This is not normal. We merely think it is. And it's been normal for so long now that people are getting lazy and fucking with the safeguards that keep them from dying miserable and entirely preventable deaths.

Pain is a teacher and we're in short supply of it.

'via Blog this'

ZorbaTHut comments on Model S 60 -> 75 upgrade price reduced to $2000

ZorbaTHut comments on Model S 60 -> 75 upgrade price reduced to $2000:

Making physical products is really expensive. Making more variations of physical products is also really expensive. The ideal situation is where you make as many things as you can, but as few different things as you can, and everyone who's willing to pay more than production cost forks over "as much money as they're willing".

But in reality, nobody's going to voluntarily pay more, so you end up doing this weird marketing dance where you're giving people incremental improvements for a lot more money.

'via Blog this'

Brecht ‘To Those Who Follow in Our Wake’ | Harper's Magazine

Brecht ‘To Those Who Follow in Our Wake’ | Harper's Magazine:

Even the hatred of squalor
Distorts one’s features.
Even anger against injustice
Makes the voice grow hoarse. We
Who wished to lay the foundation for gentleness
Could not ourselves be gentle.

But you, when at last the time comes
That man can aid his fellow man,
Should think upon us
With leniency.

'via Blog this'

Slack, an Upstart in Messaging, Now Faces Giant Tech Rivals - The New York Times

Slack, an Upstart in Messaging, Now Faces Giant Tech Rivals - The New York Times: "Unlike some Silicon Valley companies, Slack believes humans are as important as robots. All executives, including Mr. Butterfield, have fielded the 6,000 customer support calls and 2,800 Twitter messages that come in each week. The average turnaround time for a help request is under an hour.

"



'via Blog this'

America’s Most Admired Lawbreaker - The Huffington Post

America’s Most Admired Lawbreaker - The Huffington Post: "One salesman, who otherwise fit the salt-of-the-earth mold that R.W. Johnson had envisioned for his company’s employees, gave thousands of Risperdal samples in child-sized doses to Austin Pledger’s doctor in Birmingham, Alabama. Yet he insisted under oath in February he didn’t recall stepping around kiddie furniture and toys as he walked into an office with a sign that said “pediatric neurologist,” and that he had no way of knowing that the doctor wasn’t treating adults."



'via Blog this'

A basketball court making use of the space, Dubrovnik : mildlyinteresting

A basketball court making use of the space, Dubrovnik : mildlyinteresting: "Fun fact: This is the ancient site of Dubrovnik's metal forge, re-discovered by archeologists only about a decade ago. Before then this corner of the city had been a pile of construction rubble and ruins. The basketball court is actually the rooftop of a climate-controlled museum that has preserved the entire excavated site. See that sunken door on the right side of the court? That's the museum entrance. Walk in there and a Croatian archeology doctorate candidate will lead you on an hour-long guided tour through the catwalks suspended over the dig site.
"



'via Blog this'

The Real Opening Chord to A Hard Days Night (Randy Bachman's Guitarology) - YouTube

The Real Opening Chord to A Hard Days Night (Randy Bachman's Guitarology) - YouTube: "You could call it the magical mystery chord. The opening clang of the Beatles' 1964 hit, "A Hard Day's Night," is one of the most famous and distinctive sounds in rock and roll history, and yet for a long time no one could quite figure out what it was.

In this fascinating clip from the CBC radio show, Randy's Vinyl Tap, the legendary Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive guitarist Randy Bachman unravels the mystery. "



'via Blog this'

Opinion: Our politics is no longer about policy, or even ideology | Jay Bookman

Opinion: Our politics is no longer about policy, or even ideology | Jay Bookman: "As you can see, the wariness of Democrats is consistent across the board, regardless of who is in power. Among Republicans, however, the difference is stark. Just 22 percent supported the policy when it was proposed by Obama four years ago, but that support jumps almost four-fold when it is proposed by a Republican. In short, support or opposition has almost nothing to do with the actual merits of the policy.

"



'via Blog this'

Is American Retail at a Historic Tipping Point? - The New York Times

Is American Retail at a Historic Tipping Point? - The New York Times:

Between 2010 and 2014, e-commerce grew by an average of $30 billion annually. Over the past three years, average annual growth has increased to $40 billion.

“That is the tipping point, right there,” said Barbara Denham, a senior economist at Reis, a real estate data and analytics firm. “It’s like the Doppler effect. The change is coming at you so fast, it feels like it is accelerating.”

This transformation is hollowing out suburban shopping malls, bankrupting longtime brands and leading to staggering job losses.

'via Blog this'

Doctors have decades of experience fighting “fake news.” Here’s how they win. - Vox

Doctors have decades of experience fighting “fake news.” Here’s how they win. - Vox:

I didn’t change deeply held beliefs because someone convinced me in one discussion, or even a few. It was a process over years. The scientists and others who influenced me weren’t cheerleaders for the establishment. They were critical of weak research and arguments, regardless of whose interests it served. And they didn’t just expect people like me to believe them because they were experts. They wanted to increase the expertise of others in scientific thinking, especially community leaders.

In that process, Bastian learned that you can’t simply change minds by telling people that what they believe is wrong and you have the correct information. If those researchers had gone after her and shouted about their beliefs, Bastian probably would have deepened her stance in opposition.

Over time, Bastian said, the researchers convinced her “by being credible and trustworthy,” not just appealing to emotion. They even inspired her to get into science.

'via Blog this'

From ‘Zombie Malls’ to Bonobos: America’s Retail Transformation - The New York Times

From ‘Zombie Malls’ to Bonobos: America’s Retail Transformation - The New York Times: "“Zombie malls,” as they are known, are increasingly dotting the suburban landscape. The lights are on, the escalators keep moving, but their purpose in life has gone. Burlington Center has less than 20 tenants — including a Sears and a Foot Locker — but once had more than 100. Last Wednesday a woman came to the mall looking for shoes, and left frustrated because the Payless store had just shuttered.

"



'via Blog this'

I found oil 15 feet under my land.. what should I do? : legaladvice

I found oil 15 feet under my land.. what should I do? : legaladvice:

I was trying to dig out this ugly metal pole out of my yard, and realized it went really, really deep after not too long. My curiosity got the best of me and over the course of several years, with the help of a pick axe and a shovel, I dug a slant and I managed to get to the bottom of the pole so I could pull it out. Then I discovered porous rock, i've dug a little to the side and there is still some there.

My question is now, what do I do? Is it worth anything? Do I even own land this deep?

Kentucky, USA

Edit: definitely a septic tank.

'via Blog this'

Surprise: three write-in votes propel Hadley resident to School Committee

Surprise: three write-in votes propel Hadley resident to School Committee:

HADLEY — In politics, sometimes a handful of votes makes the difference.

In this case, all it took to propel 38-year-old Keith Shannon to the School Committee were three write-in votes — from himself, his wife Geri Labay and a family friend. He said his candidacy was intentional.

“I wasn’t sure that three was going to be enough to get on the School Committee,” Shannon said Wednesday, a day after the annual town election. He said he found out he won by reading the Daily Hampshire Gazette Wednesday morning.

“I saw that I got in with three write-in votes,” Shannon said. “It’s a little daunting because there is a time commitment” but, he added, “it’s very exciting.”

There were two open seats on the five-member School Committee this year and because only Tara Brugger filed as a candidate, one seat remained open. So the person who received the most write-in votes would also get a seat.

'via Blog this'

Every attempt to manage academia makes it worse | Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week

Every attempt to manage academia makes it worse | Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week: "The problem is a well-known one, and indeed one we have discussed here before: as soon as you try to measure how well people are doing, they will switch to optimising for whatever you’re measuring, rather than putting their best efforts into actually doing good work.

"



'via Blog this'

My Dad worked with many Mexican folks over the years, both legal and illegal, and his story breaks my heart. : offmychest

My Dad worked with many Mexican folks over the years, both legal and illegal, and his story breaks my heart. : offmychest:

I was an undocumented immigrant until I was 18 years old. My mom works as a housekeeper and my dad works in construction doing brick masonry. They paid for my college education, my apartment rent, and even put in a little extra so I could go out and have fun. All while taking care of a mortgage, bills, and my other siblings. The majority of my friends have always been wealthy white people and my mom is well aware. She would make little comments that would break my heart like "I'm sorry I can't afford to give you what their parents give them." Or the worst one "Sometimes I wonder if you're embarrassed that I clean other people's toilets for a living." You have no idea how many times I would have to tell her how fucking proud I am to be their daughter. I have absolutely no shame in what my parents do because I know they worked their asses off to get me to where I am today, an IT Sys Admin.

Please tell your father that he is an amazing man. At the end of the day, all we want is what other people receive without question...respect. And if his workers acted the way they did, its because they respect the fuck out of your dad because he has shown them respect too. Mexicans are all about honor. And let me tell you, your dad is as honorable as they come.

'via Blog this'

Realizing it's real, from my time in base Honor Guard : MilitaryStories

Realizing it's real, from my time in base Honor Guard : MilitaryStories:

All these old guys were wearing ballcaps. Vietnam vets. Every single one. Lapel pins were in evidence. Two guys were rolling up in wheelchairs. One more was missing an arm. Mixed in was family, along with a weeping young man in US Army dress with silver LT bars.

It started to hit me at that point, watching these old vets carry their brother the last ten feet from the hearse to the resting spot. Couldn't let it show. Gotta have that bearing. Cold as ice. Job's gotta get fucking done, and done right.

I don't remember the graveside eulogy. I just remember the sea of faces, a weeping young grandson in his army dress uniform- the Next of Kin- and a bunch of grim faced, teary eyed vets watching us.

My boys did good. Taps went perfect. Flag was folded to golden standards, the one-three-five star pattern sharp enough to cut. I took the flag, and knelt, and started the speech to that young Army LT.

"On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Air Force, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of appreciation for your grandfather's loyal and faithful service to his nation."

Flanked by men twice, three times his age, he clutched that flag while I stood to salute it. Perfect facing movement, and my detail marched away, towards our waiting vehicle.

We didn't get to leave yet. Every single person came over to thank us. From the gruff "Thanks, good work." from one guy to the rough embrace of a weeping officer, it hit. It fucking rattled. Christ. It rattles me thinking about that now. We treated it like it was a sterile detail, a job to get done.

And now all I see is eyes, hands, hear words echoing. Praise and thanks that I still feel like we didn't quite earn. I didn't serve along this tough old SSGT. I don't know why we earned a spot in his send off alongside an old crew of veterans and his own blood. I mean, I get why we were important to the ceremony, but I felt really fucking unworthy after that.

We stood there, generations of us, around our GOV for a while. I learned more about that brave SSGT than the papers in the car would ever tell. Guy was an Aerial gunner in 'nam, and helped medevac guys in the shit repeatedly. The guy with no arm said that the Helo crew saved his life.

Me and the boys bid them farewell, and the car ride back was silent. We went our separate ways, and I feel no shame for saying I came into my barracks room and wept. Fucking hell. It was never just a job after that. It was a brother or sister I never met. Part of my damn family that the reaper dared take. It was real, and from then on, it's never stopped.

'via Blog this'

Her words: Read the transcript of our interview with Epic Systems' Judy Faulkner | Local News | host.madison.com

Her words: Read the transcript of our interview with Epic Systems' Judy Faulkner | Local News | host.madison.com:

But I took a class once where they asked an interesting question and that is: Why do you go to work?

And they gave five answers, I have changed it to six, and the six are: 1: for the paycheck, 2: for something interesting to do, 3: for your coworkers, so that you have others that you like to be with and work with, 4: for your customer to meet the commitments to your customer, 5: for the competition, if you think that’s challenging and fun, 6: for the mission.

'via Blog this'

Advice on Running a Government Agency Like a Startup, from Someone Who’s Tried It

Advice on Running a Government Agency Like a Startup, from Someone Who’s Tried It:

I have yet to see the case study of massive change management of innovation where a group of people came in and, like a whirlwind, changed everyone’s thoughts and executed the whole thing themselves. It just doesn’t happen that way.

What you saw early on [with 18F] was a lot of friction around the messaging. Innovators were going to parachute in and save government. Every time I read that, I cringed. I thought, “Oh, that’s just put us back a year.” The reality is we had clearance from above to take more risks. Because of that, the people who were in government who couldn’t take risks could come to us, and we could collaborate on something. We became an idea channel.

It is unfortunate when the appearance is that somehow this person invented the idea, and they’re going to save government. That’s not how it works. Government’s going to have to save itself. It’s too big.

'via Blog this'

BREAKING: Republican Wins Republican Seat. GOP Leaders Blame Conservatives. | The Resurgent

BREAKING: Republican Wins Republican Seat. GOP Leaders Blame Conservatives. | The Resurgent: "Storm clouds are on the horizon and I have a sneaking suspicion that, like Obama voters with him, Trump voters will only really turn out for Trump, not the GOP. But we should all resist the temptation to fall into conventional wisdom and forecast more from this race than there is.

"



'via Blog this'

Coylie3 comments on Donald Trump says North Korea 'looking for trouble' Having suggested US to offer China better trade deal for helping solve North Korea situation

Coylie3 comments on Donald Trump says North Korea 'looking for trouble' Having suggested US to offer China better trade deal for helping solve North Korea situation:

Mosquitoes can carry some of the worst diseases. Blood borne diseases are usually pretty bad. Malaria, West Nile virus, most (if not all) forms of encephalitis, Yellow Fever, Zika, the list goes on.

You know what else is pretty bad? Nukes. The same ones that North Korea has been trying to get working for years. They've been failing, sure, but people learn from failure. They've been getting better with their missiles.

So I guess, in a sense, you're right. They are the equivalent of a mosquito. Just a mosquito carrying a disease that can kill millions of people.

'via Blog this'

sonnytron comments on In 2012, United Airlines Employees Called Disabled Vet "retard" & Abused His Service Dog

sonnytron comments on In 2012, United Airlines Employees Called Disabled Vet "retard" & Abused His Service Dog:

None of us who never enlisted know a fucking thing about what it's like to be enlisted in the military, to the same extent as an enlistee. That is something you can ALWAYS say and I never try to defend myself from having it said to me. For all the shit I know, I still don't know shit.



'via Blog this'

Here's The Real Reason Airlines Like United Overbook Your Flights

Here's The Real Reason Airlines Like United Overbook Your Flights: "That leaves angry potential customers with two main options: lobby the government to make overbooking illegal, or band together with fellow passengers at the airport to force the airlines to pay more to bump someone from a flight. Or you could ditch airlines altogether and drive if that’s a possibility. But until overbooking becomes an illegal act or an economic liability, airlines are going to keep doing it.

"



'via Blog this'

Loans ‘Designed to Fail’: States Say Navient Preyed on Students - The New York Times

Loans ‘Designed to Fail’: States Say Navient Preyed on Students - The New York Times:

New details unsealed last month in the state lawsuits against Navient shed light on how Sallie Mae used private subprime loans — some of which it expected to default at rates as high as 92 percent — as a tool to build its business relationships with colleges and universities across the country. From the outset, the lender knew that many borrowers would be unable to repay, government lawyers say, but it still made the loans, ensnaring students in debt traps that have dogged them for more than a decade.

While these risky loans were a bad deal for students, they were a boon for Sallie Mae. The private loans were — as Sallie Mae itself put it — a “baited hook” that the lender used to reel in more federally guaranteed loans, according to an internal strategy memo cited in the Illinois lawsuit.

'via Blog this'

S-Town is a stunning podcast. It probably shouldn't have been made. - Vox

S-Town is a stunning podcast. It probably shouldn't have been made. - Vox:

Reed describes him as a “local Boo Radley,” but he owes far more to Jim Williams — the last semi-closeted real-life antiquarian living on legacy antebellum property to inspire his own Southern gothic tell-all.

John is all of the following: a queer liberal conspiracist who socializes with neighborhood racists; a manic depressive consumed by predictions of cataclysmic global catastrophe; an off-the-grid hoarder of gold who takes in stray dogs; a genius with a photographic memory who’s spent his whole life caring for his mother while designing a massive and elaborate hedge maze in his backyard; and one of the most skilled antique clock restorers in the world.

All that, and he may be sitting on a fortune in buried treasure.

'via Blog this'

Was the Art of 'S-Town' Worth the Pain? - The Atlantic

Was the Art of 'S-Town' Worth the Pain? - The Atlantic: "It’s possible, of course, that no pain was caused by S-Town—that everyone was perfectly fine and happily signed off on the revealing nature of the podcast, or that McLemore would have been pleased with the complex memorial to his tumultuous life. But these questions are worth asking in a larger way, especially if S-Town helps give rise to a trend in podcasting where in-depth explorations of a single life are sold as binge-worthy narratives. If that’s the case, it seems worth issuing the same sort of caution that Bishop gave to Lowell more than 40 years ago: Evaluate the moral price of producing good art and what damage it might cause to those involved when their secrets are instantly available for the entertainment consumption of thousands or millions of listeners. ­­S-Town may be a groundbreaking new kind of podcast; it also, like many poems, memoirs, and articles before it, confesses other people’s pain in a public—and at times questionable—way.

"



'via Blog this'

A Town Forgotten – Chris Arnade – Medium

A Town Forgotten – Chris Arnade – Medium:

Cairo is a stark version of countless towns and neighborhoods that fill the US. They are not rare, or confined to one place or race. They are in every state, red and blue. The glib cliches for these communities (especially minority ones) have become derogatory: Left-behind, fly-over, ghetto, inner-city, urban or rural blight.

They are derogatory because they come loaded with judgement.

Regardless, we need to speak and write about these communities. Most importantly, we need to listen to those who live there.

'via Blog this'

Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata"

Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata":

"Keep interested in your own career,

however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism. "



'via Blog this'

‘I Shouldn’t Be Here’

‘I Shouldn’t Be Here’: "It was confusing, though, because now the people around her were screaming. Also confusing: The gunshots continued out of rhythm with the beat. Drake never started rapping. People ran and screamed and the bangs just kept coming, on and on and on, as if the blasts and not the music now controlled the movements of the club.



She felt something. A light pelting, tiny fragments of cement or brick or drywall hitting her skin. It was then, when the sensation of touch matched those of sight and sound, that she realized something had gone horribly wrong."



'via Blog this'

What Hospitals Waste - ProPublica

What Hospitals Waste - ProPublica: "Talk to experts and many agree that waste would be a good place to start. In 2012 the National Academy of Medicine estimated the U.S. health care system squandered $765 billion a year, more than the entire budget of the Defense Department. Dr. Mark Smith, who chaired the committee that authored the report, said the waste is “crowding out” spending on critical infrastructure needs, like better roads and public transportation. The annual waste, the report estimated, could have paid for the insurance coverage of 150 million American workers — both the employer and employee contributions.
"



'via Blog this'

How the World's Heaviest Man Lost it All | GQ

How the World's Heaviest Man Lost it All | GQ:

When I asked him what it was like to have this relationship, he took awhile to respond and then said, "I can't put it into words." When I talked to Leslie, whose name has been changed for this article, she asked me if I understood what it was like to be alone; not just to be lonely but a deeper aloneness, a life only with yourself. It was the worst thing in the world.

Mason had forgotten so much when he was trapped in his bed and in his body; he had forgotten the smell of the air, and often yearned even to be able to stand in a parking lot in Ipswich. Even here in the U.S., where he had become an inspiration to people who wanted to lose weight and who wrote to him on Facebook—he'd motivated his own church pastor in Athol to lose more than 300 pounds—he'd spent years essentially solitary, alone in his little room with a bread-maker and his pencils and the vegetables that were a part of his healthy diet, alone sitting on the stoop waiting for the 4 o'clock bus, alone with his sagging skin.

'via Blog this'

How the World's Heaviest Man Lost it All | GQ

How the World's Heaviest Man Lost it All | GQ:

When I asked him what it was like to have this relationship, he took awhile to respond and then said, "I can't put it into words." When I talked to Leslie, whose name has been changed for this article, she asked me if I understood what it was like to be alone; not just to be lonely but a deeper aloneness, a life only with yourself. It was the worst thing in the world.

Mason had forgotten so much when he was trapped in his bed and in his body; he had forgotten the smell of the air, and often yearned even to be able to stand in a parking lot in Ipswich. Even here in the U.S., where he had become an inspiration to people who wanted to lose weight and who wrote to him on Facebook—he'd motivated his own church pastor in Athol to lose more than 300 pounds—he'd spent years essentially solitary, alone in his little room with a bread-maker and his pencils and the vegetables that were a part of his healthy diet, alone sitting on the stoop waiting for the 4 o'clock bus, alone with his sagging skin.

'via Blog this'

How World War I Shapes U.S. Foreign Policy - The Atlantic

How World War I Shapes U.S. Foreign Policy - The Atlantic: "To understand why the U.S. fought in 1917, begin by considering the outcome if the United States had not fought. Minus U.S. reinforcements on land and sea, it’s difficult to imagine how the Allies could have defeated a Germany that had knocked revolutionary Russia out of the war."



'via Blog this'

This Chicago Cop Is Accused Of Framing At Least 51 People For Murder - BuzzFeed News

This Chicago Cop Is Accused Of Framing At Least 51 People For Murder - BuzzFeed News: "Here’s the easy story of Guevara: It’s the tale of one allegedly rogue cop accused by at least 51 people of framing them for murders from the 1980s through the early 2000s in the rough-and-tumble Humboldt Park section of Chicago. His alleged misdeeds led 48 men and one woman to be sentenced to a total of more than 2,300 years in prison. Three were acquitted. Five received life sentences. Three were sentenced to death but spared when in 2003 Gov. George Ryan, disturbed by a rash of wrongful convictions, commuted all death sentences to life or less. Two men died behind bars, including Daniel Peña, an illiterate man who testified Guevara beat him into signing a confession he couldn’t read.
"



'via Blog this'

How Jared Kushner can attract top talent to the government

How Jared Kushner can attract top talent to the government: "I expect the Office of American Innovation to be a relatively small office that will leverage other parts of the government, including USDS and 18F, to be successful. Every White House puts its own spin on key initiatives — the test here will be how effectively Kushner can use the head start he has from the Obama Administration’s efforts in this space to avoid repeating past mistakes."



'via Blog this'

John Glenn laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery

John Glenn laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery: "April 6, 2017 11:10 AM EDT - Astronaut and former U.S. Senator John Glenn, who was the first American to orbit Earth, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. He died on Dec. 8 at 95 years old. (NASA)
"



'via Blog this'

Place - the chaos and beauty of the internet

0YNMzU9.png (1000×1000):



http://i.imgur.com/0YNMzU9.png



'via Blog this'

A Retiree Discovers an Elusive Math Proof—And Nobody Notices | WIRED

A Retiree Discovers an Elusive Math Proof—And Nobody Notices | WIRED: "The “feeling of deep joy and gratitude” that comes from finding an important proof has been reward enough. “It is like a kind of grace,” he said. “We can work for a long time on a problem and suddenly an angel—[which] stands here poetically for the mysteries of our neurons—brings a good idea.”

"



'via Blog this'

Attack and Defense of the American Flag

place GIF | Create, Discover and Share on Gfycat:

https://gfycat.com/InfamousShyEeve



'via Blog this'

Jon Batiste Performing Blackbird - 09 FEB 2016 - YouTube

Jon Batiste Performing Blackbird - 09 FEB 2016 - YouTube: ""



'via Blog this'

adventures in garbage millennial confirmation bias – scatterplot

adventures in garbage millennial confirmation bias – scatterplot: "The GSS surveys are pretty small – about 2,000-3,000 per wave – so once you split by sample, and then split by age, and then exclude the older millennials (age 26-34) who don’t show any negative trend in gender equality, you’re left with cells of about 60-100 men ages 18-25 per wave. Standard errors on any given year are 6-8 percent.

"



'via Blog this'