Posts from — September 2011

Sean Paul at The Agonist compares the Middle East with the Old West, and likens the Palestinians to the Comanches. YMMV, but I can see the analogy.

Meanwhile the ABC has some analysis of what the author believes is the real existential threat to Israel, the Ultra-Orthodox Jews.

I was aware of some of this, but I don’t think I considered the long-term implications having having the fastest growing segment of the Jewish population in Israel being totally unproductive.

According to Archæoastronomy the equinox occurred at 4:04 PM CDT this morning.

It’s time to man the rakes in northern climes.

Position: 16.0N 54.5W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [300°] near 14 mph [22 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 260 miles [415 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1006 mb ↑.

Currently about 490 miles [ 790 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

The wind shear is really impacting the storm, but it managed to regain some strength through the afternoon.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Introducing …

Buzz off!

[Editor: The Big Tipper. He is not a feral cat. He is probably an abandoned cat, left behind when someone moved, or dumped. It is all too common these days. He has been around a while, but I only see him near sun down, which is why the flash went off. Fortunately, as a tom, he can stay. Females are chased off by the ferals.]

Friday Ark

We have been stuck in a cycle of thunderstorms coming onshore at odd moments, which makes everything soggy, because if it isn’t actually raining, the humidity is so high you are dripping with sweat in seconds.

The fun news is that we probably won’t get hit by the falling satellite, but no one is sure: NASA not sure where space junk will come down

Most of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is made of aluminum and will burn up on re-entry, NASA said. Of the satellite’s 6 tons, only about half a ton of it will make it back to Earth. The components that won’t burn are made of stainless steel, titanium and beryllium. NASA has identified 26 pieces they expect to survive, ranging in size from around 10 pounds to hundreds of pounds.

There’s an accident report I’d like to read: ‘Well, sir, was it the half ton of beryllium, or the 1000 pounds of of titanium that smashed into your Yugo?’

WIRED magazine looks at 8 Netflix alternatives compared. Not a lot to choose from, and they all look more expensive than Netflix. YMMV.

CBS has been the only media outlet actually offering any coverage of the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ demonstrations that are on-going. The only reference I could locate on CNN was a Tech article on the 16^th about the use of social media, and even that only shows up on the International edition. The corporate media doesn’t seem interested in thousands of people holding a week-long demonstration.

[Read more →]

Position: 14.1N 49.9W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [285°] near 12 mph [19 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Wind Gusts: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 230 miles [370 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1000 mb ↑.

Currently about 820 miles [1315 km] East-Southeast of the Leeward Islands.

The storm is being weakened by strong upper-level wind shear that was forecast.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

The BBC reports that Babbage Analytical Engine designs to be digitised

A project to construct one of the earliest mechanical computers based on sketches by its designer, Charles Babbage, has received a major boost.

The Science Museum in London has agreed to help by digitising the mathematician’s original plans.

Eventually the images will be used to create a full working model of the Analytical Engine.

Conceived in the late 1830s, it foreshadowed the modern computer revolution by more than a century.

IBM had a portion of the Analytical Engine built just to see if it would work, and it did. The basic problem that Babbage had was that the precision machining necessary for his design didn’t exist during his lifetime.

It will be the ultimate ‘steampunk’ computer.

According to the CBC: Obama says Palestine statehood will take compromise

U.S. President Barack Obama says there is no short cut to resolving the decades-old conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Obama expresses frustration at the failure of both parties to bridge their differences and at the Palestinian leader for planning to seek a declaration of statehood through the Security Council. The U.S. has said it will veto such an effort.

Obama said Palestinians deserve to live in a sovereign state of their own, and their vision has been delayed too long. But a genuine peace will only come through compromise and negotiation, he said.

Zero still hasn’t learned it takes two sides to negotiate. The Palestinians have been trying it for decades and Israel keeps reneging on agreements. The reality is the Likud don’t want to negotiate until after they have plundered everything of value in the West Bank, and then they will offer the Palestinians small islands of poverty.

One would have thought that Zero would have learned something from trying to negotiate with the Republicans, but apparently not.

A lot of people are linking to the video and transcript of Elizabeth Warren responding to the distortions being spread by the plutocrats and their minions, about how things work in reality. She slaps down all of the libeRandian ignorance about ‘self-made’ businesses.

Listening to her it is difficult for the younger people to understand that what she is talking about isn’t liberal. She would have been classified politically as a fiscally conservative Republican not all that long ago, quite similar to my former Congresscritter when I lived in Rochester, New York, Barber Conable.

On a similar theme, Ellroon has my new favorite graphic.

Position: 13.7N 46.2W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [280°] near 15 mph [24 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 230 miles [370 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1000 mb.

Currently about 1065 miles [1715 km] East of the Leeward Islands.

The current intensity forecast doesn’t have the storm becoming a hurricane because of unfavorable conditions closer to the islands.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Position: 12.2N 40.1W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [270°] near 9 mph [15 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 80 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 175 miles [280 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1006 mb ↓.

Currently about 1585 miles [2555 km] East-Southeast of the northern Leeward Islands.

This was Invest 98 that has been on the verge of doing something for a couple of days, and finally decided to make its move.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

So, dumping all of the tax gimmicks that make it possible for millionaires to pay at a lower rate than the median household income is ‘class war’. This is a minor response to the massive income transfer that has been going on for decades.

The excuse for a separate capital gains schedule was to encourage investment, but that hasn’t happened. The extra money is dumped into T-bills and other tax-free investments, not into the economy of the US. When stocks are held for seconds, it isn’t an investment, it is gambling. Income should be treated as income, regardless of the source. That will certainly simplify the tax code.

The more pressing problem today, based on the number of people posting, is the decision of Netflix to separate its DVD and streaming services into two distinct systems. From a management standpoint it makes a lot of sense, because they are two distinct services with individual requirements. Of course it means that my Mother’s bill go down because she isn’t paying for something that she doesn’t use, so I’m not totally uninterested.

The reasoning is simple, currently you look for a movie, and until you find it, you don’t know if it available for streaming and/or DVD. With separate systems, if you are looking for something to stream, you search the site for streaming. Frankly, if you need streaming and DVDs, you spend too much time watching TV and need to get a life. Both services combined are still cheaper that HBO was when I had cable back in the 1980s.

It’ll be double rations of grog all around in the galley as ye throw the pasta and pesto down your gullet for the final day of Pasta Week, on Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Arr…
Belay that! ‘T’would be better done by swilling lambrusco directly from the flask!
Arr…

Update: In celebration of the day, the Pirate Party of Germany has won 15 seats in the Berlin parliament!

After waiting for years for something to change, the Palestinian Authority has decided to apply to the UN for statehood. That is, after all, how Israel came into being.

The BBC decided to commission a poll on the issue

A global BBC poll suggests more people support UN recognition of Palestine as an independent state than oppose it.

Across the 19 countries surveyed, 49% backed the proposal while 21% said their government should oppose it.

The Palestinians say they will ask for full membership at the UN this week but the US says it will veto the move.

International Middle East envoy Tony Blair told the BBC he wants to make sure the move does not undermine chances of a return to peace talks.

The Palestinians are seeking international recognition of their state based on 1967 borders – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Israel and the US say a Palestinian state can only be achieved through direct negotiation.

They downplayed the results, as 49% is more than twice 21%.

Mr. Blair still thinks there will be talks, when Israel refuses to hold them, coming up with new excuses as it steals ever more land in the West Bank.

[Read more →]