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steve2470
steve2470's Journal
steve2470's Journal
September 8, 2014
I'm feeling lazy today, all the fun details at the link above. Nothing in the Atlantic is threatening to land at the moment.
Tropics are busy ! Invest 90L, Invest 91L, PTC Norbert, Invest 94E, TS Fengshen, TD14
http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/I'm feeling lazy today, all the fun details at the link above. Nothing in the Atlantic is threatening to land at the moment.
September 6, 2014
The Economist has been getting an earful after it published a book review claiming a book unfairly portrayed slave owners. Yeah, you heard me right.
The article published Thursday is a review on Edward Baptist's book, "The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism."
This is the line that has people particularly fired up: "Almost all the blacks in his book are victims, almost all the whites villains. This is not history; it is advocacy."
The Economist didn't waste any time in getting out an apology Friday morning. "There has been widespread criticism of this, and rightly so. Slavery was an evil system, in which the great majority of victims were blacks, and the great majority of whites involved in slavery were willing participants and beneficiaries of that evil."
WTF.
Economist article alleges slavery wasn't all bad
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/economist-article-alleges-slavery-wasnt-all-bad/nhHCQ/The Economist has been getting an earful after it published a book review claiming a book unfairly portrayed slave owners. Yeah, you heard me right.
The article published Thursday is a review on Edward Baptist's book, "The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism."
This is the line that has people particularly fired up: "Almost all the blacks in his book are victims, almost all the whites villains. This is not history; it is advocacy."
The Economist didn't waste any time in getting out an apology Friday morning. "There has been widespread criticism of this, and rightly so. Slavery was an evil system, in which the great majority of victims were blacks, and the great majority of whites involved in slavery were willing participants and beneficiaries of that evil."
WTF.
September 5, 2014
Invest 90L
Pacific:
Hurricane Norbert
Atlantic: Invest 90L; Pacific: Hurricane Norbert
Atlantic:Invest 90L
Pacific:
Hurricane Norbert
September 5, 2014
Remember when 3G was such a big deal that Apple named its new iPhone after what was then the new standard in mobile data transmission? The iPhone 3G, introduced in 2008, was the second iteration of the pioneering smartphone, and in a way the name was as much gloating as it was tribute. When cellular data mostly meant sending crude videos and maybe a song over the network, the old standard was good enough. But the radical new potential for connected mobile computing unleashed by the iPhone meant users would go with whichever carrier could move the most data the fastest. Apple forced the telecoms to up their games, and the competition has yet to cease.
Meanwhile, another kind of network has stagnated. Despite the proliferation of mobile payments companies, from startups like Square to a mobile-revamped PayPal, credit cards remain the standard for paying in-person and online. The money may move digitally, at least after the analog swipe of the card, but it’s still along the same old networks, a kind of parallel internet built to handle credit cards long before the web, much less the iPhone, existed.
But if, as predicted, the next-generation iPhone includes a chip that makes the device scannable at checkout counters, Apple could catalyze a transformation in how money moves that is at least as substantial as the improvements in how data moves that Cupertino forced upon the telecom industry. At first, an iPhone wallet likely would act as a surrogate for credit cards, a way to store the data of multiple cards but using the phone as the way to transfer that data instead of a swipe. But over time, the point of holding onto any of those cards, which become digital abstractions once they’re on the phone, likely will fall away. Instead, for all anyone with an iPhone is concerned, the way to pay will be Apple.
A Better Experience
The subject of Apple’s unique power to change the way payments work came up in a conversation I had yesterday with the co-founder of Dwolla, a Des Moines, Iowa, startup building an internet-based alternative to the existing credit card network standards with the aim of moving money in real time. Send a dollar, get a dollar, the way the internet works. The five-year-old company counts among its users the state of Iowa, which accepts several kinds of tax payments via Dwolla.
How the Next iPhone Could Finally Kill the Credit Card
http://www.wired.com/2014/09/iphone-credit-card/Remember when 3G was such a big deal that Apple named its new iPhone after what was then the new standard in mobile data transmission? The iPhone 3G, introduced in 2008, was the second iteration of the pioneering smartphone, and in a way the name was as much gloating as it was tribute. When cellular data mostly meant sending crude videos and maybe a song over the network, the old standard was good enough. But the radical new potential for connected mobile computing unleashed by the iPhone meant users would go with whichever carrier could move the most data the fastest. Apple forced the telecoms to up their games, and the competition has yet to cease.
Meanwhile, another kind of network has stagnated. Despite the proliferation of mobile payments companies, from startups like Square to a mobile-revamped PayPal, credit cards remain the standard for paying in-person and online. The money may move digitally, at least after the analog swipe of the card, but it’s still along the same old networks, a kind of parallel internet built to handle credit cards long before the web, much less the iPhone, existed.
But if, as predicted, the next-generation iPhone includes a chip that makes the device scannable at checkout counters, Apple could catalyze a transformation in how money moves that is at least as substantial as the improvements in how data moves that Cupertino forced upon the telecom industry. At first, an iPhone wallet likely would act as a surrogate for credit cards, a way to store the data of multiple cards but using the phone as the way to transfer that data instead of a swipe. But over time, the point of holding onto any of those cards, which become digital abstractions once they’re on the phone, likely will fall away. Instead, for all anyone with an iPhone is concerned, the way to pay will be Apple.
A Better Experience
The subject of Apple’s unique power to change the way payments work came up in a conversation I had yesterday with the co-founder of Dwolla, a Des Moines, Iowa, startup building an internet-based alternative to the existing credit card network standards with the aim of moving money in real time. Send a dollar, get a dollar, the way the internet works. The five-year-old company counts among its users the state of Iowa, which accepts several kinds of tax payments via Dwolla.
September 5, 2014
Following the tragic death of actor and comedian Robin Williams last month, rumors surfaced that a freshly-uncovered genie model in the upcoming World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor expansion would pay tribute to Williams. That model has officially been discovered in the Warlords of Draenor beta and confirmed to be a wonderful memorial to a wonderful man.
The news comes via Wowhead user Haldhur, who stumbled across a mysterious item on an island near Talador, one of the new zones in Warlords of Draenor. The item is titled "the Ever-Burning Lamp." If a player interacts with it, it summons the genie model pictured above.
The genie recites the line "INFINITE COSMIC POWER!" followed by "Itty bitty living space." This is a reference to one of the lines from Williams' memorable performance as a genie in the Disney animated film Aladdin.
Near the lamp there's a large broken egg that Wowhead theorizes to be a reference to the Williams-helmed sitcom Mork & Mindy, as well as some small items that could be nods at other starring roles from the beloved actor. Wowhead has discovered at least two more character models in the expansion's data that it believes could end up in the game as further tribute to Williams, but they have not been located as of yet.
Robin Williams memorial character discovered in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor beta
http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/4/6106299/robin-williams-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor-genieFollowing the tragic death of actor and comedian Robin Williams last month, rumors surfaced that a freshly-uncovered genie model in the upcoming World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor expansion would pay tribute to Williams. That model has officially been discovered in the Warlords of Draenor beta and confirmed to be a wonderful memorial to a wonderful man.
The news comes via Wowhead user Haldhur, who stumbled across a mysterious item on an island near Talador, one of the new zones in Warlords of Draenor. The item is titled "the Ever-Burning Lamp." If a player interacts with it, it summons the genie model pictured above.
The genie recites the line "INFINITE COSMIC POWER!" followed by "Itty bitty living space." This is a reference to one of the lines from Williams' memorable performance as a genie in the Disney animated film Aladdin.
Near the lamp there's a large broken egg that Wowhead theorizes to be a reference to the Williams-helmed sitcom Mork & Mindy, as well as some small items that could be nods at other starring roles from the beloved actor. Wowhead has discovered at least two more character models in the expansion's data that it believes could end up in the game as further tribute to Williams, but they have not been located as of yet.
September 4, 2014
Do you love where you live...
or is it simply a way station to your preferred domicile ?
I can say that I do love where I live. Yes, the mountains, beach, San Francisco, riverfront, etc would all be better, but for my own reasons, this suits me and my budget. I'm quite content here, and hopefully will stay that way.
Do you love where you live ? 
eta: I guess I should provide a few details. I'm near Orlando. Condo overlooking a pond, nice trees, nice neighborhood, good neighbors, almost everything within walking distance.
September 4, 2014
Coyotes 30 miles from wilderness, first time seeing it in my neck of the woods
I live roughly 30 miles from total wilderness. Today I saw a sign at my grocery store advising us that coyotes live amongst us. I know this is common in other areas too. I found it interesting. I hope people are nice to the coyotes.
September 4, 2014
THIS, my friends, is EXHIBIT A of WHITE PRIVILEGE....
This has never happened to me in 56 years, despite being an imperfect driver who has also driven a brand new car.
FUCKING INFURIATING. I feel so bad for you, 1SBM. 
September 3, 2014
It's hard to even know what to say in response to this.
Yep. It's just like a firing squad, having people point out that they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy seats—and a Republican majority—in the Senate. It's so unfair that people talk about that! And expose the lies rampant in their anti-Obamacare ads.
Here they are, just a couple of oil barons hoping to do their evil-doing outside of the public eye, and what happens next? The public notices and talks about it. Some other people make their own ads about it. That's not how the First Amendment is supposed to work. Goddamned democracy. No wonder they hate it so much.
Evil billionaires have feelings, too
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/03/1326867/-Evil-billionaires-have-feelings-nbsp-too#It's hard to even know what to say in response to this.
At a private political strategy summit earlier this year, Charles Koch lamented that he and his brother David were being unfairly persecuted for their fight against liberalism and socialism.
According to audio of the June 16 event that was obtained by The Undercurrent and shared exclusively with The Huffington Post on Wednesday, the billionaire oil industrialist claimed he and his brother were "put squarely in front of the firing squad."
According to audio of the June 16 event that was obtained by The Undercurrent and shared exclusively with The Huffington Post on Wednesday, the billionaire oil industrialist claimed he and his brother were "put squarely in front of the firing squad."
Yep. It's just like a firing squad, having people point out that they are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy seats—and a Republican majority—in the Senate. It's so unfair that people talk about that! And expose the lies rampant in their anti-Obamacare ads.
Here they are, just a couple of oil barons hoping to do their evil-doing outside of the public eye, and what happens next? The public notices and talks about it. Some other people make their own ads about it. That's not how the First Amendment is supposed to work. Goddamned democracy. No wonder they hate it so much.
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