October 31, 2013

Real time Birth and Death map.

This is wild:

This simulation gives an eerily omniscient vantage on the world as it fills.
In 1950, there were 2.5 billion humans. Today there are just over 7 billion. In another 30 years, according to U.S. Census Bureau projections, there will be more than 9 billion.

Brad Lyon has a doctoral degree in mathematics and does software development. He wanted to make those numbers visual. Last year he and designer Bill Snebold made a hugely popular interactive simulation map of births and deaths in the U.S. alone—the population of which is on pace to increase 44 percent by 2050. Now, Lyon takes on the world.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/a-real-time-map-of-births-and-deaths/280609/


Link to the interactive map:
https://googledrive.com/host/0B2GQktu-wcTiZlAyTTFEaFVuOUk/

Fixed link, if this does not work for you (it seem intermittent), Open the first link and click no simulation map.

October 31, 2013

Air traffic control modernization hits turbulence

AP
Oct. 31, 2013 3:14 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten years after Congress gave the go-ahead to modernize the nation's air traffic control system, one of the government's most ambitious and complex technology programs is in trouble.

The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, was promoted as a way to accommodate an anticipated surge in air travel, reduce fuel consumption and improve safety and efficiency. By shifting from radar-based navigation and radio communications — technologies rooted in the first half of the 20th century — to satellite-based navigation and digital communications, it would handle three times as many planes with half as many air traffic controllers by 2025, the Federal Aviation Administration promised.


<snip>

Lawmakers, too, are frustrated. NextGen has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress, but with the government facing another round of automatic spending cuts, supporters fear the program will be increasingly starved for money.

"It's hard not to be worried about NextGen funding ... because it's a future system," said Marion Blakey, who was the head of the FAA when the program was authorized by Congress in 2003 and now leads a trade association that includes NextGen contractors. "There is a temptation to say the priority is keeping the existing systems humming and we'll just postpone NextGen."

In September, a government-industry advisory committee recommended that, given the likelihood of budget cuts, the FAA should concentrate on just 11 NextGen initiatives that are ready or nearly ready to come online. It said the rest of the 150 initiatives that fall under NextGen can wait.

"You can't have an infrastructure project that is the equivalent of what the (interstate) highway program was back in the '50s and the '60s and take this ad hoc, hodgepodge approach to moving this thing forward," said Air Line Pilots Association First Vice President Sean Cassidy, who helped draft the recommendations.

The threat of funding cuts comes just as NextGen is nearing a tipping point where economic and other benefits should start to multiply if only the FAA and industry would persevere, said Alaska Airlines Chairman Bill Ayers, a supporter.

Responding to industry complaints, the FAA has zeroed in on an element of NextGen that promises near-term benefits: new procedures that save time and fuel in landings while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Planes equipped with highly calibrated GPS navigation are able fly precise, continuous descents on low power all the way to the runway rather than the customary and time-consuming stair-step approaches in which pilots repeatedly decrease power to descend and then increase power to level off.

Last spring, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport became the first large airport where airlines can consistently use one of the new procedures. Known as HAWKS, the procedure shortens the approach from the southwest by about 42 miles. Multiplied over many planes every day it adds to up to significant savings, an enticing prospect for airlines, which typically operate on razor-thin profit margins.

<sniP>

http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-10-31-Air%20Traffic%20Future/id-db4f37419d0e4008b246910f0f0ad8a5

October 30, 2013

Reasons you should not fart in bed...

O you fart in bed?

IF THIS STORY DOESN'T MAKE YOU CRY FOR LAUGHING SO HARD, LET ME KNOW AND I'LL PRAY FOR YOU.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A COUPLE WHO HAD BEEN HAPPILY MARRIED FOR YEARS. THE ONLY FRICTION IN THEIR MARRIAGE WAS THE HUSBAND'S HABIT OF FARTING LOUDLY EVERY MORNING WHEN HE AWOKE. THE NOISE WOULD WAKE HIS WIFE AND THE SMELL WOULD MAKE HER EYES WATER AND MAKE HER GASP FOR AIR.

EVERY MORNING SHE WOULD PLEAD WITH HIM TO STOP RIPPING THEM OFF BECAUSE IT WAS MAKING HER SICK.

HE TOLD HER HE COULDN'T STOP IT AND THAT IT WAS PERFECTLY NATURAL. SHE TOLD HIM TO SEE A DOCTOR, SHE WAS CONCERNED THAT ONE DAY HE WOULD BLOW HIS GUTS OUT.

THE YEARS WENT BY AND HE CONTINUED TO RIP THEM OUT. THEN ONE CHRISTMAS DAY MORNING, AS SHE WAS PREPARING THE TURKEY FOR DINNER AND HE WAS UPSTAIRS SOUND ASLEEP, SHE LOOKED AT THE INNARDS, NECK, GIZZARD, LIVER AND ALL THE SPARE PARTS, AND A MALICIOUS THOUGHT CAME TO HER.

SHE TOOK THE BOWL AND WENT UPSTAIRS WHERE HER HUSBAND WAS SOUND ASLEEP AND, GENTLY PULLING THE BED COVERS BACK, SHE PULLED BACK THE ELASTIC WAISTBAND OF HIS UNDERPANTS AND EMPTIED THE BOWL OF TURKEY GUTS INTO HIS SHORTS..

SOME TIME LATER SHE HEARD HER HUSBAND WAKEN WITH HIS USUAL TRUMPETING WHICH WAS FOLLOWED BY A BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM AND THE SOUND OF FRANTIC FOOT STEPS AS HE RAN INTO THE BATH ROOM.

THE WIFE COULD HARDLY CONTROL HERSELF AS SHE ROLLED ON THE FLOOR LAUGHING, TEARS IN HER EYES! AFTER YEARS OF TORTURE SHE RECKONED SHE HAD GOT HIM BACK PRETTY GOOD.

ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES LATER, HER HUSBAND CAME DOWNSTAIRS IN HIS BLOODSTAINED UNDERPANTS WITH A LOOK OF HORROR ON HIS FACE.

SHE BIT HER LIP AS SHE ASKED HIM WHAT WAS THE MATTER. HE SAID, 'HONEY YOU WERE RIGHT.' 'ALL THESE YEARS YOU HAVE WARNED ME AND I DIDN'T LISTEN TO YOU'.

'WHAT DO YOU MEAN?' ASKED HIS WIFE.

'WELL, YOU ALWAYS TOLD ME THAT ONE DAY I WOULD END UP FARTING MY GUTS OUT, AND TODAY IT FINALLY HAPPENED.

BUT BY THE GRACE OF GOD, WITH SOME VASELINE AND TWO FINGERS. I THINK I GOT MOST OF THEM BACK IN BY THE GRACE OF GOD, WITH SOME VASELINE AND TWO FINGERS. I THINK I GOT MOST OF THEM BACK IN

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/archive/index.php/t-73547.html

October 29, 2013

Packard factory in Detroit could be home to modular home builder

Detroit's iconic Packard plant could soon be back in business


Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau

As Detroit hopes to bounce back after filing for bankruptcy, two iconic factories that helped the Motor City become America's 20th century industrial hub could gain a new life in the near future.

During World War Two they both anchored the mighty military production base that came to be known as the “Arsenal of Democracy,” but today, the old Packard and Willow Run assembly plants are symbols of Detroit's decay and of the city's once-formidable manufacturing base.


At their peak, factories in Detroit and its suburbs produced millions of cars annually. That manufacturing prowess was central to the U.S. military effort during both World Wars, but many of the factories that rolled out bombers, tanks and other war machinery are long gone and of the few that remain, most are in fading condition.

<snip>

So, when an auction was held for the remains this month it was anything but certain an acceptable bid would come along. But authorities received an unexpected offer of $6,038,000 – and from a particularly surprising source: a Texas family doctor who reportedly will team up with “partners and investors from Detroit, Wall Street and international firms,” to turn the decrepit hulk into an “economic engine” that could become part of what many hope is the nascent revival of Detroit.

<snip>

According to Dave Marshall, a spokesman for the investment group, the goal is to produce modular homes at the old Packard factory, “(which) will be constructed on the site and shipped all over the world.” Marshall’s statement promised that, “Building supplies will also be made here.”


The sprawling, 35-acre complex consists of 40 individual buildings, most in serious need of repair. Simply cleaning up the site will be costly, observers caution. That has led to repeated failure as one rescue plan after another has collapsed, including a proposal to turn the facility into a modern mixed-use complex of shops, restaurants and other venues.


http://www.nbcnews.com/business/detroits-iconic-packard-plant-could-soon-be-back-business-8C11487943

October 29, 2013

He must be thinking about re-election...

Ohio Governor Defies G.O.P. With Defense of Social Safety Net

"I'm concerned about the fact there seems to be a war on the poor. That if you're poor, somehow you're shiftless and lazy."

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In his grand Statehouse office beneath a bust of Lincoln, Gov. John R. Kasich let loose on fellow Republicans in Washington.

“I’m concerned about the fact there seems to be a war on the poor,” he said, sitting at the head of a burnished table as members of his cabinet lingered after a meeting. “That if you’re poor, somehow you’re shiftless and lazy.”

“You know what?” he said. “The very people who complain ought to ask their grandparents if they worked at the W.P.A.”

Ever since Republicans in Congress shut down the federal government in an attempt to remove funding for President Obama’s health care law, Republican governors have been trying to distance themselves from Washington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/us/politics/ohio-governor-defies-gop-with-defense-of-social-safety-net.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131029&_r=0


It gets better explaining that Scott Walker schooled Washington lawmakers.

We are supposed to believe these tools after what they did or attempted to do since being elected?

October 23, 2013

FDA: Reports of pet illnesses, deaths related to jerky treats going back to 2007

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cautioning pet owners feeding their beloved animals chicken jerky treats after reports of illnesses and deaths that may be related to the treats since 2007.

The FDA says they have received reports involving more than 3600 sick dogs and 10 sick cats, including more than 580 deaths, which may be related to the consumption of the jerky treats from multiple brands.

Though the FDA has seen a decrease in the amount of complaints from pet owners and veterinarians since February 2013 saying their animal became sick after ingesting the jerky products, they are still receiving new complaints.

Most of the complaints are linked to jerky products sourced from China, according to the FDA.



Read more: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/national/FDA-Reports-of-pet-illnesses-deaths-related-to-jerky-treats-going-back-to-2007#ixzz2iXytaJ27


When I saw this report on TV they said they didn't know exactly what the problem was causing these pet deaths yet there was one common link - "China."

When buying treats or even food for your pet, read the label and avoid anything from China!

October 21, 2013

THIS IS COOL: Group Makes 3D Backups Of World Landmarks

LONDON (AP) -- We all know to back up our files and photos, but what about our castles and churches?

A nonprofit named CyArk has created digital copies of more than 100 of the world's best-known monuments, mapping Roman ruins, ancient statues, and even an entire island. Now it plans 400 more, with the goal of preserving the world's most important sites against war, wear, and the impact of climate change.

"There is never going to be enough time or money to preserve everything," CyArk co-founder Barbara Kacyra said Monday at a launch event at the Tower of London.

"If you can't physically save something, your next best thing is to digitally preserve it."

Oakland, California-based CyArk works by using 3D laser scanners, radar, and a host of other technologies to create detailed maps of famous monuments — from Mt. Rushmore to the Leaning Tower of Pisa — measuring nooks and nicks with millimeter precision.

Not only do the lasers capture minute damage invisible to most cameras, the 3D data can be used to create hyper-realistic models and flyover programs used by tourists and educators.
http://www.mbtmag.com/news/2013/10/group-makes-3d-backups-world-landmarks?et_cid=3550556&et_rid=82488838&type=headline


Here is an example of a German Castle and how you can virtually tour it as a result:

http://www.farowebshare.com/?autoLoad=2049ca79-b45d-44cc-812c-65d8de2c5402&s

Click on one of the snapshots in the upper left corner of the window.
To rotate, hold your left mouse button and move the mouse
When you find a target in the picutre, you can click on it to move to that location.

This will waste hours of your time.

October 15, 2013

This needs some exposure: Family Driven from Home After Daughter's Rape by Student Athlete

Family Driven from Maryville, Missouri Home After Daughter's Rape by Student Athlete

A pair of sexual assaults that occurred one day last year in Maryville, Missouri, weren't much different from ones that happen every day: there were teenagers, there was alcohol, and there were rapes that the perpetrators claimed were consensual.

As reported by the Star, on Saturday, January 8, 2012, Maryville High School freshman cheerleader Daisy (whose identity has been made public by her mother) had been having a sleepover with her 13-year-old friend. The girls were drinking liquor hidden in her bedroom and texting Matthew Barnett, 17, a football player and acquaintance of her older brother. Daisy had a crush on the older boy, who had been at the Coleman home just days earlier watching TV. That night around 1a.m., the two girls snuck out of the house to meet up with Barnett and a group of his friends, sneaking through a basement window at Barnett's house.

There, Daisy was handed two glasses of booze, one after the other. She doesn't remember being raped by Barnett, while one of his friends, a 15-year-old boy, raped her 13-year-old friend as she said "no" multiple times. One boy who was there that night, Jordan Zech, 17, a football player and wrestler, captured Daisy's assault on on iPhone video.

Daisy was so drunk she had to be carried out of the Barnett home; multiple kids confirmed that as she was being taken back to her house, she was crying. Daisy's 13-year-old friend found her way back into the Coleman house, but Daisy was left in a tee shirt and sweatpants on the front lawn overnight. When her mother, Melinda Coleman, found her the next morning after she heard noises from outside, Daisy's hair was frozen.


http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/10/family-driven-maryville-missouri-home-after-teen-sex-scandal/70489/


Barnett is the grandson of a republican state represntative Rex Barnett, no wonder the charges were dropped.

October 10, 2013

Pentagon unit held 'phony' ceremonies for MIAs, using planes that can't fly

By Bill Dedman
Investigative Reporter, NBC News

HONOLULU — A unit of the U.S. Department of Defense has been holding so-called "arrival ceremonies" for seven years, with an honor guard carrying flag-draped coffins off of a cargo plane as though they held the remains of missing American service men and women returning that day from old battlefields.

After NBC News raised questions about the arrival ceremonies, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday that no honored dead were in fact arriving, and that the planes used in the ceremonies often couldn't even fly but were towed into position.

The solemn ceremonies at a military base in Hawaii are a sign of the nation's commitment to returning and identifying its fallen warriors. The ceremonies have been attended by veterans and families of MIAs, led to believe that they were witnessing the return of Americans killed in World War II, Vietnam and Korea.
http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/10/20889368-pentagon-unit-held-phony-ceremonies-for-mias-using-planes-that-cant-fly?lite&gt1=43001

October 10, 2013

Business lobby could slip into open warfare with the Tea Party

Business Groups See Loss of Sway Over House G.O.P.

WASHINGTON — As the government shutdown grinds toward a potential debt default, some of the country’s most influential business executives have come to a conclusion all but unthinkable a few years ago: Their voices are carrying little weight with the House majority that their millions of dollars in campaign contributions helped build and sustain.

Their frustration has grown so intense in recent days that several trade association officials warned in interviews on Wednesday that they were considering helping wage primary campaigns against Republican lawmakers who had worked to engineer the political standoff in Washington.

Such an effort would thrust Washington’s traditionally cautious and pragmatic business lobby into open warfare with the Tea Party faction, which has grown in influence since the 2010 election and won a series of skirmishes with the Republican establishment in the last two years.

“We are looking at ways to counter the rise of an ideological brand of conservatism that, for lack of a better word, is more anti-establishment than it has been in the past,” said David French, the top lobbyist at the National Retail Federation. “We have come to the conclusion that sitting on the sidelines is not good enough.”

Some warned that a default could spur a shift in the relationship between the corporate world and the Republican Party. Long intertwined by mutual self-interest on deregulation and lower taxes, the business lobby and Republicans are diverging not only over the fiscal crisis, but on other major issues like immigration reform, which was favored by business groups and party leaders but stymied in the House by many of the same lawmakers now leading the debt fight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/us/business-groups-see-loss-of-sway-over-house-gop.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131010&_r=0