A friend of mine let me know about a great new site called Flavors.me – in about 10 minutes anyone (even Mom) can setup a customizable website that aggregates all their existing social media sites into one place (LinkedIn, Facebook, Vimeo, Filckr, blogs, etc)- creating a personal website that can act as a business card of sorts. There is a good Vimeo Video that shows off its functionality.
It is currently in Beta testing, so you will have to ask for a code to start your own… mine is here. Once they get customizable URL’s this will be a killer site.
Gov. Corzine is slated to sign into law ‘New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act‘- making the garden state the 14th state in the nation to allow medical marijuana patients the right to safe access to their medication. Two years after the bill was first introduced, the NJ State Assembly voted in favor of the bill, 48-14, and the Senate approved by a vote of 25-13. A decided victory for NJ patients rights – but nowhere near the laws passed in the 13 other states.
The NJ legislation is the strictest one yet. It limits access to only those who suffer from severe chronic conditions including “cancer, glaucoma, positive HIV/AIDS status or other chronic, debilitating diseases or medical conditions that produce, or the treatment of which produces, wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms,” according to the Senate news release. So conditions such as “stress” or “anxiety” will not make the cut. Sorry… everyone else in NJ.
Medical Marijuana. Silver Haze to be exact.
Patients who are given Medical ID cards will be able to buy up to 2 ounces of cannabis a month at state-monitored dispensaries called ‘alternative treatment centers‘. They will not be able to grow their own, and insurance will not cover the medication. It will take time for the bill to take effect, as various state divisions and departments figure out how to regulate and distribute the medicine to patients. Baby steps… Baby steps.
Arguing with those who deny global warming can be frustrating… (they tend to be older and conservative) So how do you convince them?
Well you start with the facts.
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of the facts and evidence” -John Adams
It is “very likely” — a 90 percent chance or better — that burning fossil fuels caused unnatural temperature increases over the last half-century.
Temperatures are likely to rise from 2 to 11.5 degrees by 2100. (The world has warmed about 9 to 12 degrees since the depths of the last ice age 20,000 years ago.)
Sea levels are likely to rise 7 to 23 inches by the end of the century, although an additional rise of 3.9 to 7.8 inches is possible.
Desertlike conditions will expand in the Sahara, South Africa, and Mexico. In general, poor countries will take the worst direct hits.
The number of hurricanes will decrease, but stronger storms are likely.
Sources: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; University of Washington Climate Impacts Group; The Associated Press.
By the way if it snows randomly in Miami, that does not mean global warming is therefore debunked.
Seeing the effects of climate change via extreme sea ice loss (using time lapse photography) may help make the evidence that much more apparent. Extreme ice loss is the canary in the coal mine, folks.
See TED talks video below featuring some jaw-dropping images -Scientific Measurable Proofof global warming, (click ahead to the 9 minute mark, or the 7 minute mark if you want a quick overview of global warming science as well)
It is happening. We have a duty as Americans to acknowledge that fact and press our government to make the necessary changes.
Bottom line-pretending that global warming is a hoax drawn up by creator of the internet Al Gore is just plain silly- I mean the science isn’t new:
The basic idea [of greenhouse gas-driven warming], of course, goes back more than a century, but the real number crunching started in the 1950s, and even drew the attention of the filmmaker Frank Capra, who produced a series of television programs on science (in the post-Sputnik days when science was a high priority), that included “The Unchained Goddess,” a remarkable 1958 film on weather and climate.
You would think that there are some things ALL Americans could agree on- like “hey… terrorist attacks are bad… for everyone”. But if you listen to the conservative right, you might hear some wishful thinking…
Just last night Bill O’Reilly warned his viewers saying “The issue of terrorism could bring down the Obama administration; one more successful attack on this country and all hell will break loose…if there is one more attack and there are dead American children it will ruin the Obama administration.”
Bill- do you hear yourself?! You seem to be goading terrorists so that after an attack you can point the finger at Obama? Practically begging Al Qaeda to attack this country again so that “all hell will break loose” and the administration will look “weak on terror”… Well, for everyone’s sake I certainly hope you don’t get everything you wish for.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney aka Satan’s lapdog continues his fear mongering campaign warning that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will try to launch a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and worries the Obama administration’s policies are weak on terror and will make it more likely an attempt would succeed.
Counter terrorism adviser John Brennon calls Cheney’s remarks ignorant. Ignorant and uninformed is one thing- but borderline hoping for a terrorist attack on US soil and criticizing the administration on national security issues only for political gain is dispicable.
Cheney conveinently forgets that it was his administration that released detainees to Saudi Arabia, who later traveled to Yemen to participate in the attempted Christmas bombing.
If you haven’t seen this video, definitely watch it- but not in front of the kids. Especially if you want to have a normal Thanksgiving dinner. Sarah Palin, like her or not (NOT), must either be incredibly stupid or incredibly misled by horrible PR. Turkeys being slaughtered behind you as you talk about Oil prices is not usually a good idea.
At first look, one starts to believe (or hopes to believe) that some clever bleeding-heart-liberal with some nifty editing skills somehow magically superimposed a Sarah Palin interview about which she describes what Thanksgiving means to her – and maliciously juxtaposes those heartwearming Turkey Day cliches in front of the most horrific and grueling scene of the Turkeys being decapitaded.
Is it sad? Yes. Confusing? A bit.
Can you really take this woman seriously? You betcha!
Down for a Roadtrip? Maybe one that heads towards the southland? If so I have one little piece of advice for you: “be prepared to deal with the dead.”
That is- if you believe in ghosts, which I do not…but a certain significant other does. And that’s why we landed at The Marshall House, a wonderfully old hotel located in downtown Savannah.
Marshall House
The hotel is totally haunted, according to several “Most Haunted Places” lists. And my girlfriend.
Apparently due to the mass graves from the civil war, you walk over approximately one civil war era skeleton every two feet in the historic district. Since the Marshall house was converted into a hospital during the civil war, its extra creepy. Despite not getting much sleep, it was quite the trip. Savannah is a beautiful place. And the Marshall house is an incredible hotel. Incredibly haunted. I swear I have never been so frightened. I kept imagining a limbless war veteran staring at me from the dark corner of our room… and that was enough to keep the tv on all night.
I read a great article a friend had lent me from the Conde Naste Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys called “Sipping it Slow”, which put us in the mood for sure. We enjoyed playing tourist for a couple of days, although avoided hopping on any of those tour buses. I am sure it would have been informative, but I just cant get on a tour bus- it just feels weird to me.
To be honest, we did get snaked for $20 to see three rooms inside the Sorrel-Weed House, another haunted jaunt.
As a first time vistit to the south I think we got a feel for the slow southern vibe… which i miss already. Breathing in the fresh southern air… and grits… and lowcountry broil, crawfish and crabs.
Us with Paula Deen. The cardboard cut-out version.
Boy I am getting fat. see some photo’s (not of me eating fried seafood, i promise.)
Hulu is now open to the public. If you haven’t checked it out, you should at least watch a few seasons of Arrested Development.
It’s streaming ad-supported video, and the quality and selection could improve (and I expect eventually will), but Hulu is certainly looking in the right direction. I have a feeling once more people are watching this content on their big screen TV’s (I use a mini dvi to hdmi for that) as opposed to just on their computer screens, there will be more widespread use of sites like this…
We all like oil. It goes into almost everything around us. The plastic bottle of water, the car you drive, the heat in your house. What a great gift from the past. What a fascinating natural resource.
The problem is that when we burn oil it releases carbon into our atmosphere, which causes our planet to heat up. Not sure if you would find any credible climatologist to deny this fact. If you do please comment- but I mean credible- no right wing ExxonMobil lackey/scientist spewing misinformation on Fox News). Yet there is still a debate going on about the effects of carbon emissions on our planets’ temperature, and I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps just to confuse the issue of gl0bal warming? If you have confusion around the issue, then people will be slow to change.
One thing is for sure: Oil is a finite resource. We are addicted to it, and need to get off of it. It makes us dependent on foreign countries that have large pools of oil- which causes our government to get involved militarily in those less than friendly areas.
Bottom line: Most of our energy consumption is from our automobiles. SO lets focus on that. Developing nations like China and India will cost certainly contribute to the warming of the planet. But that does not excuse the US from taking the lead. Why not be one step ahead of the rest of the world. Isn’t that the American way?
What is the most promising green energy out there? When will it come into effect? Is the sky falling? Is anybody listening?
This New York Times Articlegot me thinking: Where do we get our entertainment from? Where will we get it 5 years from now? 10 Years?
Think about it…In the beginning there was just a TV. This little box has since entertained and informed an entire planet. Lately technology has changed the way we watch TV. Everything is digital (analog TV signals are going to be extinct after 2009). HD content is becoming more commonplace. Internet broadband access is increasing, allowing people to view streaming video, and video on demand. Connect your computer to your TV and BAM!
Better yet use SlingCatcher, which lets you broadcast internet media to your TV. It’s an interesting product, which is described in depth here.
Hulu is currently in Beta testing…but there is OPENHulu for those who don’t have an invite. This is going in the right direction, I think. One of my concerns is how people will watch their online content in the future. Currently online content providers are dispersed among the internet. Is the average person really expected to have to go to several different goofy named sites like Hulu (a name that has several meanings in other languages according to this WSJ.com article). We will need more than just what Hulu can provide. What we need is a media aggregator. With content coming from every available source- so I can customize what I watch to my tastes, and so can you. Its all about ease of use, user interface, and CONTENT. No longer having to sit through 3 minutes of commercials that don’t appeal to me…
I am still trying to figure out what we will feed our TV’s in the future- will Time Warner Cable or Cablevision come up with something more than those awfully designed “Video On-Demand” menu’s? Will Tivo/DVR’s evolve into something bigger, better, and more useful? Will I ever get to see old episodes of the A-Team on my big screen when I want to watch them? Ohhhhh… I hope so, Mr. T. – I hope so. And when it does, I will know we will have finally arrived.
