Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Football Player, Rhodes Scholar, Neurosurgeon
From the Washington Post -
Myron Rolle had two dreams: play football and become a doctor. He’s almost there.
By Rick Maese
Rolle, 30, was the only prospective neurosurgeon in Florida State’s graduating class — and also the only former NFL player and the only Rhodes Scholar.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/with-neurosurgery-every-day-feels-like-a-football-game-for-myron-rolle/2017/03/21/40c4e1cc-0da1-11e7-9b0d-d27c98455440_story.html?utm_term=.16066a317d35
Myron Rolle had two dreams: play football and become a doctor. He’s almost there.
By Rick Maese
 |
| Myron Rolle opens his "Match Day" letter that shows where he will continue his medical education and residency. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) |
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/with-neurosurgery-every-day-feels-like-a-football-game-for-myron-rolle/2017/03/21/40c4e1cc-0da1-11e7-9b0d-d27c98455440_story.html?utm_term=.16066a317d35
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Grounds to Sue
From the New Yorker -
HOW THE FIRST AMENDMENT APPLIES TO TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY
By Lincoln Caplan
While it is unlikely that former President Barack Obama would sue Trump for libel, he very likely has a strong case. The First Amendment scholar Geoffrey Stone wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times that “there seems no doubt that Trump’s statement was false, defamatory, and at the very least made with reckless disregard for the truth.” That is the test for damaging the reputation of a public figure or official: Trump either made his assertions with knowledge of their falsity or with disregard of a high degree of probability that they were false. Obama, Stone is confident, could prove that Trump made his false charge, as the Supreme Court defined the standard, with “actual malice.”
But his charge of McCarthyism against Obama points in a different direction. In 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy was censured by the Senate, 67–22, for bringing it “into dishonor and disrepute” and obstructing the constitutional process. The scale of the damage that McCarthy did during his four-year witch hunt for communists in the federal government dwarfs what Trump has done so far, in less than two months in office. The nature of what Trump did, however, by accusing his predecessor of an illegal act without providing any support for the charge, amounts to the same offense that the Senate condemned McCarthy for: abuse of power.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-first-amendment-applies-to-trumps-presidency
HOW THE FIRST AMENDMENT APPLIES TO TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY
By Lincoln Caplan
While it is unlikely that former President Barack Obama would sue Trump for libel, he very likely has a strong case. The First Amendment scholar Geoffrey Stone wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times that “there seems no doubt that Trump’s statement was false, defamatory, and at the very least made with reckless disregard for the truth.” That is the test for damaging the reputation of a public figure or official: Trump either made his assertions with knowledge of their falsity or with disregard of a high degree of probability that they were false. Obama, Stone is confident, could prove that Trump made his false charge, as the Supreme Court defined the standard, with “actual malice.”
But his charge of McCarthyism against Obama points in a different direction. In 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy was censured by the Senate, 67–22, for bringing it “into dishonor and disrepute” and obstructing the constitutional process. The scale of the damage that McCarthy did during his four-year witch hunt for communists in the federal government dwarfs what Trump has done so far, in less than two months in office. The nature of what Trump did, however, by accusing his predecessor of an illegal act without providing any support for the charge, amounts to the same offense that the Senate condemned McCarthy for: abuse of power.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-first-amendment-applies-to-trumps-presidency
Electronic Devices Ban
From the National.ae -
ABU DHABI // Businessmen, parents and frequent travellers from the UAE to the US spoke of their frustration about travelling on long-haul flights without their electronic devices.
~~~~~~~~~~
A Jordanian businessman said he cancelled his US travel plans after the ban was announced.
"This issue is very annoying for me because I am a businessman and when I travel the trip could last for about 16 hours. I use my laptop on board the flight to finish my work or contact my clients through Skype," said Amjad Mohammed, 28.
"It is pointless. I do not know what is the significance of this ban. On the contrary, it stimulates stealing the luggage of passengers.
"If they will feel that I am a danger to them, I do not want to go there and do not need it because I will be humiliated by this approach."
Parents will also have to look at alternative ways to keep young children occupied throughout the flight, travellers said.
Canadian Samarra Abu Samra, 30, a ballet studio director, is flying to the US with her children on Sunday, a day after the ban is due to come into force. She has four-month-old twins, a four-year-old and an eight-year-old.
"I need to start prepping my children for 16 hours of colouring book sessions," she said.
"My kids are allowed to use their iPads on vacation only and on the flights. I have no other option to keep them occupied for the entire flight next week and, unfortunately, it is a day flight so they will not sleep either."
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/frequent-flyers-to-us-frustrated-by-electronics-ban
ABU DHABI // Businessmen, parents and frequent travellers from the UAE to the US spoke of their frustration about travelling on long-haul flights without their electronic devices.
~~~~~~~~~~
A Jordanian businessman said he cancelled his US travel plans after the ban was announced.
"This issue is very annoying for me because I am a businessman and when I travel the trip could last for about 16 hours. I use my laptop on board the flight to finish my work or contact my clients through Skype," said Amjad Mohammed, 28.
"It is pointless. I do not know what is the significance of this ban. On the contrary, it stimulates stealing the luggage of passengers.
"If they will feel that I am a danger to them, I do not want to go there and do not need it because I will be humiliated by this approach."
Parents will also have to look at alternative ways to keep young children occupied throughout the flight, travellers said.
Canadian Samarra Abu Samra, 30, a ballet studio director, is flying to the US with her children on Sunday, a day after the ban is due to come into force. She has four-month-old twins, a four-year-old and an eight-year-old.
"I need to start prepping my children for 16 hours of colouring book sessions," she said.
"My kids are allowed to use their iPads on vacation only and on the flights. I have no other option to keep them occupied for the entire flight next week and, unfortunately, it is a day flight so they will not sleep either."
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/frequent-flyers-to-us-frustrated-by-electronics-ban
Quote
From Slate -
“A giant middle finger”: The Trump administration’s new laptop ban—restricting large electronics on direct flights to the U.S. out of 10 countries on eight airlines—is more than just an inconvenience, Daniel Gross writes. It’s the latest in Trump’s “business class warfare,” and insults the very people you would think he would want to keep happy.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/03/21/trump_s_laptop_ban_is_a_giant_middle_finger_to_business_travelers.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
“A giant middle finger”: The Trump administration’s new laptop ban—restricting large electronics on direct flights to the U.S. out of 10 countries on eight airlines—is more than just an inconvenience, Daniel Gross writes. It’s the latest in Trump’s “business class warfare,” and insults the very people you would think he would want to keep happy.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/03/21/trump_s_laptop_ban_is_a_giant_middle_finger_to_business_travelers.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Responding With His Money
From the Huffington Post -
While Trump Attacks Colin Kaepernick, The Quarterback Is Donating To Meals On Wheels
When the president goes low, Colin Kaepernick goes high.
By Maxwell Strachan
On Monday at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, President Donald Trump took aim at NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided last season not to stand for the national anthem in protest of the mistreatment of people of color in the U.S.
“There was an article today … that NFL owners don’t want to pick [Kaepernick] up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump,” Trump said. “Do you believe that?”
He added, “I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag.’”
Kaepernick responded Tuesday not with his mouth, but with his money. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier today that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was donating $50,000 to Meals on Wheels America, which could face reduced federal funding if Trump’s budget were to be approved. (Worth noting: Meals on Wheels only gets a small percentage of its funding from the Community Development Block Grant and other federal programs that Trump has proposed cutting.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump_us_58d185f0e4b0ec9d29e022ed?gml7qghd7xwhwu3di&
While Trump Attacks Colin Kaepernick, The Quarterback Is Donating To Meals On Wheels
When the president goes low, Colin Kaepernick goes high.
By Maxwell Strachan
On Monday at a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, President Donald Trump took aim at NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided last season not to stand for the national anthem in protest of the mistreatment of people of color in the U.S.
“There was an article today … that NFL owners don’t want to pick [Kaepernick] up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump,” Trump said. “Do you believe that?”
He added, “I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag.’”
Kaepernick responded Tuesday not with his mouth, but with his money. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier today that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was donating $50,000 to Meals on Wheels America, which could face reduced federal funding if Trump’s budget were to be approved. (Worth noting: Meals on Wheels only gets a small percentage of its funding from the Community Development Block Grant and other federal programs that Trump has proposed cutting.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-kaepernick-donald-trump_us_58d185f0e4b0ec9d29e022ed?gml7qghd7xwhwu3di&
Loving Your Brain
From the Good -
A Former Olympic Snowboarder On His Journey From Tragedy To Mindfulness
After a brain injury derailed his career, Kevin Pearce dedicated his life to teaching others to love their brain
by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred
In 2009, Kevin Pearce was considered to be one of the best snowboarders in the world. Then, while training to compete against rival Shaun White in the 2010 Olympics, Pearce collided with the half-pipe wall, shattering his left eye socket and causing bleeding to his brain. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury that almost killed him, and after a six-day coma and years of recovery, his competitive snowboarding career was over. The day of the accident, Pearce was riding with symptoms of a recent concussion; he wasn’t aware that training after a concussion amplifies the risk for the often-fatal Second Impact Syndrome. (He was wearing a helmet in each incident.) Now, Pearce and his brother, Adam, have founded the LoveYourBrain Foundation, a nonprofit which aims to educate people about brain injury and the healing powers of yoga and meditation.
“We’re hoping we can help athletes and young people see the long-term effects that TBI can have and help people understand how fragile our brains are,” Adam says. “The more we can show people what we have been through with this really difficult experience, we can help people make smart decisions to reduce their risks.”
https://sports.good.is/features/kevin-pearce-snowboard
A Former Olympic Snowboarder On His Journey From Tragedy To Mindfulness
After a brain injury derailed his career, Kevin Pearce dedicated his life to teaching others to love their brain
by Sheila Mulrooney Eldred
In 2009, Kevin Pearce was considered to be one of the best snowboarders in the world. Then, while training to compete against rival Shaun White in the 2010 Olympics, Pearce collided with the half-pipe wall, shattering his left eye socket and causing bleeding to his brain. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury that almost killed him, and after a six-day coma and years of recovery, his competitive snowboarding career was over. The day of the accident, Pearce was riding with symptoms of a recent concussion; he wasn’t aware that training after a concussion amplifies the risk for the often-fatal Second Impact Syndrome. (He was wearing a helmet in each incident.) Now, Pearce and his brother, Adam, have founded the LoveYourBrain Foundation, a nonprofit which aims to educate people about brain injury and the healing powers of yoga and meditation.
“We’re hoping we can help athletes and young people see the long-term effects that TBI can have and help people understand how fragile our brains are,” Adam says. “The more we can show people what we have been through with this really difficult experience, we can help people make smart decisions to reduce their risks.”
https://sports.good.is/features/kevin-pearce-snowboard
Dope Grannies
http://www.ozy.com/provocateurs/dope-grannies-can-cannabis-help-senior-citizens-survive/65957
She Escaped!
From BlackWebAmerica -
An Alabama woman is lucky to be alive – thanks to a Facebook video. A week ago, nursing student Brittany Diggs was forced into the trunk of her own car by a man demanding money. Diggs was terrified, until she remembered watching a Facebook video that explained how to get out of a car trunk via a latch newer cars have inside their trunks.
Essence.com reports:
Brittany Diggs appeared on the Today show Monday, describing the terrifying ordeal she experienced on Tuesday when a man approached her with a gun and demanded money while she was walking to her apartment in Birmingham.
https://blackamericaweb.com/2017/03/21/facebook-and-insulin-pump-help-abducted-woman-free-herself-from-car-trunk/
Nasty Tweets Lead to Donations
From Kotaku -
Game Developers Respond To Nasty Tweets By Donating Thousands To 'Girls Make Games'
By Jason Schreier
Over the weekend, Naughty Dog artist Alex Neonakis started getting nasty Twitter messages from GamerGaters and other internet cretins. Exasperated, she tweeted some screencaps, along with a message: “I just donated to @GirlsMakeGames in honor of these lovely boys. Thanks guys!” Other developers followed her lead.
By Tuesday, hundreds of game developers had donated thousands of dollars to Girls Make Games, an organization that provides workshops and summer camps to young women who are interested in developing video games. (Before you start asking “why isn’t there a ‘Boys Make Games’?”, consider that, by the ESA’s account, just 22% of game industry employees are women. That’s why.)
http://kotaku.com/game-developers-respond-to-nasty-tweets-by-donating-tho-1793483940
Game Developers Respond To Nasty Tweets By Donating Thousands To 'Girls Make Games'
By Jason Schreier
Over the weekend, Naughty Dog artist Alex Neonakis started getting nasty Twitter messages from GamerGaters and other internet cretins. Exasperated, she tweeted some screencaps, along with a message: “I just donated to @GirlsMakeGames in honor of these lovely boys. Thanks guys!” Other developers followed her lead.
By Tuesday, hundreds of game developers had donated thousands of dollars to Girls Make Games, an organization that provides workshops and summer camps to young women who are interested in developing video games. (Before you start asking “why isn’t there a ‘Boys Make Games’?”, consider that, by the ESA’s account, just 22% of game industry employees are women. That’s why.)
http://kotaku.com/game-developers-respond-to-nasty-tweets-by-donating-tho-1793483940
Unclaimed Property
From the NY Times California Today -
There is more than $8 billion just sitting in the unclaimed property fund run by California.
Some of it could be yours.
The state controller requires that banks, insurers and other companies turn over customers’ property after three years of account inactivity.
It comes in the form of stock dividends, tax refunds, wages — even the contents of safe deposit boxes.
The controller’s office says more than 32 million individuals and businesses in its database have unclaimed property. (I plugged in my name and found an old $20 bank balance.)
To find out if you’re owed money, it’s as easy a Google search. Give it a go here.
There is more than $8 billion just sitting in the unclaimed property fund run by California.
Some of it could be yours.
The state controller requires that banks, insurers and other companies turn over customers’ property after three years of account inactivity.
It comes in the form of stock dividends, tax refunds, wages — even the contents of safe deposit boxes.
The controller’s office says more than 32 million individuals and businesses in its database have unclaimed property. (I plugged in my name and found an old $20 bank balance.)
To find out if you’re owed money, it’s as easy a Google search. Give it a go here.
https://ucpi.sco.ca.gov/UCP/Default.aspx
http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2017/03/21/california-today?nlid=38867499
Accessible Coding School
From KQED - Please share this.
Oakland Coding School’s New Pay Model: No Tuition Until You Land a Job
By Alyssa Jeong Perry
Then Vashti clicked on an online ad for Learners Guild, a 10-month developer program located in downtown Oakland. The program is one of a handful of coding schools that offer “income-share agreements,” which means students don’t have to pay until they get a job making more than $50,000 a year. And depending on their salary, graduates will fork over 12 to 20 percent of it for three years.
The coding school also offers a monthly stipend. For Vashti and the other students at Learners Guild, the stipend and income-share agreement allowed them to pursue a career change.
~~~~~~~~~~
Learners Guild president Ian Inaba believes that by using this income-share agreement model, the school removes barriers that can keep women and people of color out of tech. He said that the school is more diverse than the tech industry at large — 50 percent of students in the program are African-American and Latino, and 35 percent are female.
“There’s no reason why there aren’t women or African-American, Latino programmers,” Inaba said.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/03/18/oakland-coding-schools-new-pay-model-no-tuition-until-you-land-a-job/
Oakland Coding School’s New Pay Model: No Tuition Until You Land a Job
By Alyssa Jeong Perry
Then Vashti clicked on an online ad for Learners Guild, a 10-month developer program located in downtown Oakland. The program is one of a handful of coding schools that offer “income-share agreements,” which means students don’t have to pay until they get a job making more than $50,000 a year. And depending on their salary, graduates will fork over 12 to 20 percent of it for three years.
The coding school also offers a monthly stipend. For Vashti and the other students at Learners Guild, the stipend and income-share agreement allowed them to pursue a career change.
~~~~~~~~~~
Learners Guild president Ian Inaba believes that by using this income-share agreement model, the school removes barriers that can keep women and people of color out of tech. He said that the school is more diverse than the tech industry at large — 50 percent of students in the program are African-American and Latino, and 35 percent are female.
“There’s no reason why there aren’t women or African-American, Latino programmers,” Inaba said.
https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/03/18/oakland-coding-schools-new-pay-model-no-tuition-until-you-land-a-job/
What Toxic Looked Like
From Upworthy -
These old photos reveal why we needed (and still need) the EPA.
MATTHEW GAULT
http://www.upworthy.com/these-old-photos-reveal-why-we-needed-and-still-need-the-epa?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f
These old photos reveal why we needed (and still need) the EPA.
MATTHEW GAULT
http://www.upworthy.com/these-old-photos-reveal-why-we-needed-and-still-need-the-epa?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f
Highest & Lowest Paying Jobs
From Thrillist -
THESE MAPS SHOW THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST PAYING JOBS IN ALL 50 STATES
By SAM BLUM
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/zippia-maps-show-the-highest-and-lowest-paying-jobs-in-each-state
THESE MAPS SHOW THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST PAYING JOBS IN ALL 50 STATES
By SAM BLUM
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/zippia-maps-show-the-highest-and-lowest-paying-jobs-in-each-state
Single Parents Day
From USA Today -
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/21/best-single-parents-day-posts-weve-seen-today/99446378/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/21/best-single-parents-day-posts-weve-seen-today/99446378/
The Padre for Life
From Now I Know - I'm not a baseball fan, but this is a great story.
The Padre for Life
http://nowiknow.com/the-padre-for-life/
The Padre for Life
http://nowiknow.com/the-padre-for-life/
A Flying Cruise
From Bloomberg -
See All the World’s Greatest Places in One Month On a Flying Cruise
The ultra-elite trend is hoping to tap a broader crowd.
by Nikki Ekstein
So you want to see all of the world’s greatest sights … in 29 days?
Good news: For the first time ever, it’s a realistic proposition.
But there’s a catch: You’ll have to do it on a private jet. And it’ll run you $159,000 per person.
At least that’s what Edie Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, is proposing with the company’s soon-to-launch AirCruises, whose first “Around the World: Iconic Sights” tour will pit stop in Easter Island, Uluru, Lhasa, Jaipur, Victoria Falls, and Prague (among others)—all between Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/best-around-the-world-private-jet-trips-four-seasons-crystal?bcomANews=true
See All the World’s Greatest Places in One Month On a Flying Cruise
The ultra-elite trend is hoping to tap a broader crowd.
by Nikki Ekstein
So you want to see all of the world’s greatest sights … in 29 days?
Good news: For the first time ever, it’s a realistic proposition.
But there’s a catch: You’ll have to do it on a private jet. And it’ll run you $159,000 per person.
At least that’s what Edie Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Crystal Cruises, is proposing with the company’s soon-to-launch AirCruises, whose first “Around the World: Iconic Sights” tour will pit stop in Easter Island, Uluru, Lhasa, Jaipur, Victoria Falls, and Prague (among others)—all between Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-20/best-around-the-world-private-jet-trips-four-seasons-crystal?bcomANews=true
Monday, March 20, 2017
Love This "This is Us" Review
From Very Smart Brothas -
I BINGED WATCHED ‘THIS IS US’ AND MY FEELINGS ARE IN SHAMBLES. I MAY NEVER RECOVER. ZOMG!
Panama Jackson, 3/20/17
http://verysmartbrothas.com/watch-this-is-us/
I BINGED WATCHED ‘THIS IS US’ AND MY FEELINGS ARE IN SHAMBLES. I MAY NEVER RECOVER. ZOMG!
Panama Jackson, 3/20/17
http://verysmartbrothas.com/watch-this-is-us/
Sesame Street Parodies Trump
From the Washington Post -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/entertainment/sesame-streets-brutal-parodies-of-donald-trump/2017/03/20/2a53a75e-0d72-11e7-aa57-2ca1b05c41b8_video.html
This is What Terrorism Looked Like For Us
From the Huffington Post - Click the first link below for interactive map
This Interactive Map Reveals The History Of Lynching In America
Take a comprehensive, shocking look at lynchings from the 1830s to the 1960s.
By Zeba Blay
From the early 1900s to the late 1930s, African American sociologist Monroe Nathan Work researched every known lynching in the United States. Now, his tireless work has become the inspiration for an interactive map that offers a striking visualization of racist domestic terrorism spanning decades.
The Monroe Work Today research group launched a map earlier this year that allows users to discover the roughly 4,770 people of color lynched in the United States from the 1830s to the 1960s. By clicking on each colored point on the map, users can read information about each known individual, including their name and the circumstances of their lynching.
http://www.monroeworktoday.org/explore/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-interactive-map-reveals-the-history-of-lynching-in-america_us_58d0204fe4b0ec9d29de4056?section=us_black-voices
This Interactive Map Reveals The History Of Lynching In America
Take a comprehensive, shocking look at lynchings from the 1830s to the 1960s.
By Zeba Blay
From the early 1900s to the late 1930s, African American sociologist Monroe Nathan Work researched every known lynching in the United States. Now, his tireless work has become the inspiration for an interactive map that offers a striking visualization of racist domestic terrorism spanning decades.
The Monroe Work Today research group launched a map earlier this year that allows users to discover the roughly 4,770 people of color lynched in the United States from the 1830s to the 1960s. By clicking on each colored point on the map, users can read information about each known individual, including their name and the circumstances of their lynching.
http://www.monroeworktoday.org/explore/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/this-interactive-map-reveals-the-history-of-lynching-in-america_us_58d0204fe4b0ec9d29de4056?section=us_black-voices
Is This the Answer?
From Wired -
Running Delivery Trucks on Trolley Wires Isn’t as Crazy as It Sounds
By Jack Stewart
ELECTRIC TRUCKS OFFER all the advantages of electric cars, namely, they’re greener. Trucks are a big source of the noxious emissions linked to smog and climate change. Minimizing the number of stinky, dirty diesels rumbling through town carries obvious public health benefits. But powering delivery trucks, let alone an 18-wheeler, with a big honkin’ battery simply isn’t practical. So engineers are taking another look at a century old solution: Stringing electrical cables over the road.
Siemens, best known in the transportation world for its trains, and the truck manufacturer Scania developed a hybrid electric truck that draws power from overhead cables like a bus or trolley. You can find some of the trucks undergoing testing on a 1.25-mile stretch of highway in Gävle, Sweden, and crews installing cables alongside a stretch of the 710 and 405 highways in Los Angeles.
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/running-delivery-trucks-trolley-wires-isnt-crazy-sounds/?mbid=nl_32017_p7&CNDID=
Running Delivery Trucks on Trolley Wires Isn’t as Crazy as It Sounds
By Jack Stewart
ELECTRIC TRUCKS OFFER all the advantages of electric cars, namely, they’re greener. Trucks are a big source of the noxious emissions linked to smog and climate change. Minimizing the number of stinky, dirty diesels rumbling through town carries obvious public health benefits. But powering delivery trucks, let alone an 18-wheeler, with a big honkin’ battery simply isn’t practical. So engineers are taking another look at a century old solution: Stringing electrical cables over the road.
Siemens, best known in the transportation world for its trains, and the truck manufacturer Scania developed a hybrid electric truck that draws power from overhead cables like a bus or trolley. You can find some of the trucks undergoing testing on a 1.25-mile stretch of highway in Gävle, Sweden, and crews installing cables alongside a stretch of the 710 and 405 highways in Los Angeles.
https://www.wired.com/2017/03/running-delivery-trucks-trolley-wires-isnt-crazy-sounds/?mbid=nl_32017_p7&CNDID=
Period Tracker
Thank God I don't need this, but for you ladies who are still visited by Aunt Flo each month, there's an app that can help. It's called Clue.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clue-period-tracker-period-ovulation-tracker/id657189652?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clue-period-tracker-period-ovulation-tracker/id657189652?mt=8
How About Dinner?
From 100 Days 100 Dinners -
For millennia, sharing a meal has stood as one of the few things that all of us—whoever we are and wherever we come from—have in common. In the wake of this divisive election, we're hungrier than ever for spaces to break bread, be heard, and build bridges across lines of difference.
Over the course of the first 100 days of the new Administration, we invite you to pull up a chair.
https://www.100days100dinners.us
For millennia, sharing a meal has stood as one of the few things that all of us—whoever we are and wherever we come from—have in common. In the wake of this divisive election, we're hungrier than ever for spaces to break bread, be heard, and build bridges across lines of difference.
Over the course of the first 100 days of the new Administration, we invite you to pull up a chair.
https://www.100days100dinners.us
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Filed Under "No Sh*t Sherlock"
From the Huffington Post -
White House Admits Trump ‘Insurance For Everybody’ Guarantee Isn’t Going To Happen
“The only way to have universal care, if you stop to think about it, is to force people to buy it under penalty of law.”
By Amanda Terkel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-insurance-mulvaney_us_58cea736e4b00705db502fef?mvq1e5ddvz6txd2t9&
White House Admits Trump ‘Insurance For Everybody’ Guarantee Isn’t Going To Happen
“The only way to have universal care, if you stop to think about it, is to force people to buy it under penalty of law.”
By Amanda Terkel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-insurance-mulvaney_us_58cea736e4b00705db502fef?mvq1e5ddvz6txd2t9&
More Affirmations for Kids
From Planet of Success -
Positive affirmations for children
Positive affirmations for children
- I am loved.
- I listen to my heart.
- I am safe.
- I have lots of friends who love me.
- My dreams are coming true.
- I am helpful.
- I am friendly.
- Every problem has an answer.
- I am kind.
- I can do it.
- I play well with others.
- I’m intelligent.
- I learn from my mistakes.
- I act responsible.
- I am calm.
- I love myself even though I sometimes fail.
http://www.planetofsuccess.com/blog/2015/powerfully-positive-affirmations-for-kids/
Daily Student Affirmations
From the Affirmation Spot -
- Today and every day, my thirst for learning is alive and well in me!
- I can learn anything! I can know anything! I can be anything!
- This semester is MY learning experience and I take from it what is useful to me.
- I love the challenge of finals! I am acing all my finals this semester.
- I am a student and being a student is ALL about the possible!
- I am a great student and getting better each and every day!
- Learning new things is a challenge and I love challenges!
- I am prepared for my tests. I love taking tests. Tests are a breeze for me.
- I thrive and I succeed at school! Learning is my gateway to an abundant future.
- When I am exposed to information that benefits me, I absorb it like a sponge!
https://affirmationspot.me/2012/01/30/student-and-learning-affirmations/
Ooops!
From Deadspin -
South African Soccer Player Accidentally Thanks Both Wife And Girlfriend In Post-Game Talk
By Emma Baccellieri
http://deadspin.com/south-african-soccer-player-accidentally-thanks-both-wi-1793405981
South African Soccer Player Accidentally Thanks Both Wife And Girlfriend In Post-Game Talk
By Emma Baccellieri
http://deadspin.com/south-african-soccer-player-accidentally-thanks-both-wi-1793405981
Yes We Can!
From the Root -
Black and Brown Elementary School Winners of Indianapolis Robotics Championship Told to ‘Go Back to Mexico’
By Angela Helm
Some bigoted parents in Indiana prove that the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the diseased tree.
They tried to ruin what should have been a very special moment for five black and Latinx 9-and 10-year-olds after they won a citywide robotics championship in Indianapolis.
“Go back to Mexico!” two or three kids and their parents screamed at the proud team parents, according to some who were there, proving that black/brown excellence just makes some white folks downright nasty.
~~~~~~~~~~
“For the most part, the robotics world is kind of a white world,” said Lisa Hopper, the team’s coach and a Pleasant Run second-grade teacher. “They’re just not used to seeing a team like our kids.
“And they see us and they think we’re not going to be competition. Then we’re in first place the whole day, and they can’t take it,” she said.
http://www.theroot.com/black-and-brown-elementary-school-winners-of-indianapol-1793403809
Black and Brown Elementary School Winners of Indianapolis Robotics Championship Told to ‘Go Back to Mexico’
By Angela Helm
Some bigoted parents in Indiana prove that the rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the diseased tree.
They tried to ruin what should have been a very special moment for five black and Latinx 9-and 10-year-olds after they won a citywide robotics championship in Indianapolis.
“Go back to Mexico!” two or three kids and their parents screamed at the proud team parents, according to some who were there, proving that black/brown excellence just makes some white folks downright nasty.
~~~~~~~~~~
“For the most part, the robotics world is kind of a white world,” said Lisa Hopper, the team’s coach and a Pleasant Run second-grade teacher. “They’re just not used to seeing a team like our kids.
“And they see us and they think we’re not going to be competition. Then we’re in first place the whole day, and they can’t take it,” she said.
http://www.theroot.com/black-and-brown-elementary-school-winners-of-indianapol-1793403809
Math Resources
From Education Technology -
20 Excellent YouTube Channels for Math Teachers
http://selectedreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/20-excellent-yo_39_46315730dd3209c9030ab7366082aca8184fdb19.pdf
20 Excellent YouTube Channels for Math Teachers
http://selectedreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/20-excellent-yo_39_46315730dd3209c9030ab7366082aca8184fdb19.pdf
Stupid is as Stupid Does
From the Washington Post -
So far, Trump has been mercifully incompetent
By Dana Milbank
This tragicomedy adds irony when you consider that the main character is the same one who campaigned by saying “they laugh at our stupidity” and “we are led by very, very stupid people” and “I have the best words, but there’s no better word than ‘stupid.’ ”
Now the world has reason to laugh at us — because we’re with stupid.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-once-said-we-were-led-by-very-very-stupid-people-hes-finally-right/2017/03/17/1c6f915a-0b3a-11e7-b77c-0047d15a24e0_story.html?utm_term=.6ee75b5984ce&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
So far, Trump has been mercifully incompetent
By Dana Milbank
This tragicomedy adds irony when you consider that the main character is the same one who campaigned by saying “they laugh at our stupidity” and “we are led by very, very stupid people” and “I have the best words, but there’s no better word than ‘stupid.’ ”
Now the world has reason to laugh at us — because we’re with stupid.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-once-said-we-were-led-by-very-very-stupid-people-hes-finally-right/2017/03/17/1c6f915a-0b3a-11e7-b77c-0047d15a24e0_story.html?utm_term=.6ee75b5984ce&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Saturday, March 18, 2017
FAMU Has a National Champion!
Go Rattlers!
From the Tallahassee Democrat - H/T Forrest
Florida A&M’s Carter completes wrestling journey as national champion
Rattlers’ heavyweight Rickey Carter won an NCWA heavyweight crown last weekend in Dallas
By Brian Miller
Carter captured a National Collegiate Wrestling Association national championship last weekend in Allen, Texas, winning his 285-pound weight class with a 2-1 overtime decision over Central Florida’s Jesse Gaudin in Saturday’s finals match.
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/2017/03/17/florida-ams-carter-completes-wrestling-journey-national-champion/99328724/
From the Tallahassee Democrat - H/T Forrest
Florida A&M’s Carter completes wrestling journey as national champion
Rattlers’ heavyweight Rickey Carter won an NCWA heavyweight crown last weekend in Dallas
By Brian Miller
Carter captured a National Collegiate Wrestling Association national championship last weekend in Allen, Texas, winning his 285-pound weight class with a 2-1 overtime decision over Central Florida’s Jesse Gaudin in Saturday’s finals match.
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/2017/03/17/florida-ams-carter-completes-wrestling-journey-national-champion/99328724/
Friday, March 17, 2017
Budget Woes
From the Washington Post - (Bold is mine)
Trump budgets for a dumber, dirtier America
By Eugene Robinson
President Trump’s first budget is an attempt to reshape the federal government in his own image — crass, bellicose, shortsighted, unserious and ultimately hollow.
Unsurprisingly, Trump titled it “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again.” The reality is that if Congress were to accept these numbers — which it can’t possibly do — America would be made dumber, dirtier, hungrier and sicker. That may be Trump’s idea of greatness, but it’s certainly not mine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-budgets-for-a-dumber-dirtier-america/2017/03/16/3373adc2-0a82-11e7-b77c-0047d15a24e0_story.html?utm_term=.b5413d9b577d
Trump budgets for a dumber, dirtier America
By Eugene Robinson
President Trump’s first budget is an attempt to reshape the federal government in his own image — crass, bellicose, shortsighted, unserious and ultimately hollow.
Unsurprisingly, Trump titled it “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again.” The reality is that if Congress were to accept these numbers — which it can’t possibly do — America would be made dumber, dirtier, hungrier and sicker. That may be Trump’s idea of greatness, but it’s certainly not mine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-budgets-for-a-dumber-dirtier-america/2017/03/16/3373adc2-0a82-11e7-b77c-0047d15a24e0_story.html?utm_term=.b5413d9b577d
He's Helping to Put UC Davis on the Map
From CNN -
NCAA tournament: UC Davis' Chima Moneke spans the globe
By Jill Martin
(CNN)It's been a long journey for Chima Moneke, and it's not over yet.
The son of Nigerian diplomats has lived on five different continents. He hasn't seen his parents since 2009, when he moved back to Australia. He considers Canberra his home town.
Now in North America, Moneke is a junior forward at the University of California Davis. For the first time in program history, the Aggies are in the NCAA tournament, the premier college basketball postseason bonanza that can turn obscure student athletes into pro prospects overnight.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/sport/ncaa-tournament-uc-davis-chima-moneke/index.html
NCAA tournament: UC Davis' Chima Moneke spans the globe
By Jill Martin
(CNN)It's been a long journey for Chima Moneke, and it's not over yet.
The son of Nigerian diplomats has lived on five different continents. He hasn't seen his parents since 2009, when he moved back to Australia. He considers Canberra his home town.
Now in North America, Moneke is a junior forward at the University of California Davis. For the first time in program history, the Aggies are in the NCAA tournament, the premier college basketball postseason bonanza that can turn obscure student athletes into pro prospects overnight.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/16/sport/ncaa-tournament-uc-davis-chima-moneke/index.html
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Yea or Nay for Y'all
Getting in touch with my Southern roots.
From the Atlantic -
America Needs ‘Y’all’
English has no standard second-person plural word, and it’s time for that to change.
By VANN R. NEWKIRK II
How y’all doing?
A greeting as Southern as a bowl of grits, it rolls off the tongue in a single open-mouth utterance. Sweeter than honey and often saturated with hidden meaning, it can open up a dialogue with a roomful of strangers with ease.
Part of that ease hinges on the incredible versatility of the phrase’s most important word. “Y’all,” that strange regional and ethnic conjunction, offers a simplicity to speech that can’t be found elsewhere. It is a magnificently elegant linguistic creation.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/03/the-case-for-yall/473277/
From the Atlantic -
America Needs ‘Y’all’
English has no standard second-person plural word, and it’s time for that to change.
By VANN R. NEWKIRK II
How y’all doing?
A greeting as Southern as a bowl of grits, it rolls off the tongue in a single open-mouth utterance. Sweeter than honey and often saturated with hidden meaning, it can open up a dialogue with a roomful of strangers with ease.
Part of that ease hinges on the incredible versatility of the phrase’s most important word. “Y’all,” that strange regional and ethnic conjunction, offers a simplicity to speech that can’t be found elsewhere. It is a magnificently elegant linguistic creation.
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/03/the-case-for-yall/473277/
If You Live in the South and Fashion is Your Thing . . .
Check this out.
From the New York Times -
Is This Store the Best-Kept Secret in Fashion?
By STEVEN KURUTZ
NASHVILLE — The novelist Ann Patchett, who lives in this city, has said that she brings out-of-town visitors to two places: the Parthenon, the replica of the ancient Greek structure in Centennial Park, and United Apparel Liquidators, or U.A.L. as devotees know it. Both are temples of a sort.
The small clothing chain has three stores in the Nashville area. The flagship is also in the city, in a strip mall of no distinction, half-hidden between a nail salon and a Chinese takeout place. Ms. Patchett took the author of “Eat, Pray, Love,” Elizabeth Gilbert, shopping there one day last year, and during a literary talk that night, they dished about the Christian Dior flats that Ms. Gilbert purchased.
~~~~~~~~~~
And yet, many fashion insiders have never heard of the place. Its founders, Bill and Melody Cohen, who run the business with their former daughter-in-law, Stephanie Cohen, are savvy if eccentric businesspeople, who for 37 years have operated what the shopping website Racked called the “best-kept secret” in fashion. They locate their stores in secondary markets in the South, in small cities like Hattiesburg, Miss., and Slidell, La., where one doesn’t expect to find, say, a $10,000 crystal-embroidered Dolce & Gabbana bustier dress for sale next to a pool hall with $2 bottles of Michelob Ultra.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/fashion/best-kept-secret-in-fashion-shopping-nashville-ual.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ffashion&action=click&contentCollection=fashion®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront
From the New York Times -
Is This Store the Best-Kept Secret in Fashion?
By STEVEN KURUTZ
NASHVILLE — The novelist Ann Patchett, who lives in this city, has said that she brings out-of-town visitors to two places: the Parthenon, the replica of the ancient Greek structure in Centennial Park, and United Apparel Liquidators, or U.A.L. as devotees know it. Both are temples of a sort.
The small clothing chain has three stores in the Nashville area. The flagship is also in the city, in a strip mall of no distinction, half-hidden between a nail salon and a Chinese takeout place. Ms. Patchett took the author of “Eat, Pray, Love,” Elizabeth Gilbert, shopping there one day last year, and during a literary talk that night, they dished about the Christian Dior flats that Ms. Gilbert purchased.
~~~~~~~~~~
And yet, many fashion insiders have never heard of the place. Its founders, Bill and Melody Cohen, who run the business with their former daughter-in-law, Stephanie Cohen, are savvy if eccentric businesspeople, who for 37 years have operated what the shopping website Racked called the “best-kept secret” in fashion. They locate their stores in secondary markets in the South, in small cities like Hattiesburg, Miss., and Slidell, La., where one doesn’t expect to find, say, a $10,000 crystal-embroidered Dolce & Gabbana bustier dress for sale next to a pool hall with $2 bottles of Michelob Ultra.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/fashion/best-kept-secret-in-fashion-shopping-nashville-ual.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ffashion&action=click&contentCollection=fashion®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront
Get This People!
Use technology to beat Trump at his own game. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
From the Daily Good -
This New Anti-Trump Tech Is The Most Genius Thing Of 2017
by Kate Ryan
Nearly two months into Trump’s presidency, we’ve seen all the stories imploring us to write, call, and fax our senators about the issues that matter most to us. We’ve done our best to digest and implement most of them. Of course, GOOD is certainly guilty of adding to the mounting pile of well-intentioned suggestions, mostly because we can’t imagine not. But we really mean it this time when we say there’s a tech tool that will take the headache out of reaching out to your congresspeople. It’s called “Resistbot,” and it’s by far the easiest way to gradually chip away at Trump’s spirit.
Here’s how it works:
Text “resist” to 50409.
You’ll be prompted to provide your name, zip code, and a message you’d like to send to your senators.
https://www.good.is/articles/anti-trump-tech?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This works!
I just did it.
I wrote a quick sentence about fighting the drastic budget cuts and that info was formatted into letters to my two senators. Once I ok'd them, they were faxed to them in Washington, DC.
Quick and easy.
RESIST!!!
From the Daily Good -
This New Anti-Trump Tech Is The Most Genius Thing Of 2017
by Kate Ryan
Nearly two months into Trump’s presidency, we’ve seen all the stories imploring us to write, call, and fax our senators about the issues that matter most to us. We’ve done our best to digest and implement most of them. Of course, GOOD is certainly guilty of adding to the mounting pile of well-intentioned suggestions, mostly because we can’t imagine not. But we really mean it this time when we say there’s a tech tool that will take the headache out of reaching out to your congresspeople. It’s called “Resistbot,” and it’s by far the easiest way to gradually chip away at Trump’s spirit.
Here’s how it works:
Text “resist” to 50409.
You’ll be prompted to provide your name, zip code, and a message you’d like to send to your senators.
https://www.good.is/articles/anti-trump-tech?utm_source=thedailygood&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailygood
~~~~~~~~~~~~
This works!
I just did it.
I wrote a quick sentence about fighting the drastic budget cuts and that info was formatted into letters to my two senators. Once I ok'd them, they were faxed to them in Washington, DC.
Quick and easy.
RESIST!!!
Chores by Age
As seen on Pinterest.
From the blog Sunshine & Hurricanes -
The Importance of Chores for Children (Printable Chore Chart)
By KIRA LEWIS
http://www.sunshineandhurricanes.com/the-importance-of-chores-for-children-printable-chore-chart-included/
http://www.sunshineandhurricanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ChoreAgeChart-2.pdf
From the blog Sunshine & Hurricanes -
The Importance of Chores for Children (Printable Chore Chart)
By KIRA LEWIS
http://www.sunshineandhurricanes.com/the-importance-of-chores-for-children-printable-chore-chart-included/
http://www.sunshineandhurricanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/ChoreAgeChart-2.pdf
The Whole City is Reading
I love this!
From Vulture -
How to Talk to All the Other People on the New York Subway Also Reading Americanah As Part of the City’s Book Program
By Jackson McHenry
Today, the New York mayor’s office announced that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2014 novel Americanah is the city’s “One Book, One New York” pick. The novel, which follows a Nigerian woman named Ifemelu who immigrates to the U.S., was chosen after NYC commuters cast a series of votes in the subway system.
http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/americanah-chimamanda-adichie-one-book-one-new-york.html
From Vulture -
How to Talk to All the Other People on the New York Subway Also Reading Americanah As Part of the City’s Book Program
By Jackson McHenry
Today, the New York mayor’s office announced that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2014 novel Americanah is the city’s “One Book, One New York” pick. The novel, which follows a Nigerian woman named Ifemelu who immigrates to the U.S., was chosen after NYC commuters cast a series of votes in the subway system.
http://www.vulture.com/2017/03/americanah-chimamanda-adichie-one-book-one-new-york.html
Yves Béhar designs Samsung television as a framed work of art
Shhh. Be careful though. It might be spying on you.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Funny Father
From the Huffington Post -
Ryan Reynolds Might Be One Of The Funniest Dads On Twitter
The actor shares his musings on raising two kids under 3.
By Caroline Bologna
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ryan-reynolds-twitter-dad_us_589a4854e4b04061313a25e0?
Ryan Reynolds Might Be One Of The Funniest Dads On Twitter
The actor shares his musings on raising two kids under 3.
By Caroline Bologna
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ryan-reynolds-twitter-dad_us_589a4854e4b04061313a25e0?
Child Prodigy
From the Daily Mail -
Child virtuoso AGED 11 will make history as the world's youngest conductor as he commands the 75-strong Nottingham Symphony Orchestra
By RACHAEL BURFORD
A British child prodigy is set to make history as the world's youngest orchestra conductor at just 11 years old.
Talented Matthew Smith is a Grade 5 standard violinist and also plays the guitar, drums, piano and viola.
Incredibly he will take the lead when Nottingham Symphony Orchestra (NSO) play Die Fledermaus at the Royal Concert Hall in the city on April 2.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4312256/Child-virtuoso-make-history-youngest-conductor.html#ixzz4bP3yuqh3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4312256/Child-virtuoso-make-history-youngest-conductor.html#ixzz4bP3gn8il
Child virtuoso AGED 11 will make history as the world's youngest conductor as he commands the 75-strong Nottingham Symphony Orchestra
By RACHAEL BURFORD
A British child prodigy is set to make history as the world's youngest orchestra conductor at just 11 years old.
Talented Matthew Smith is a Grade 5 standard violinist and also plays the guitar, drums, piano and viola.
Incredibly he will take the lead when Nottingham Symphony Orchestra (NSO) play Die Fledermaus at the Royal Concert Hall in the city on April 2.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4312256/Child-virtuoso-make-history-youngest-conductor.html#ixzz4bP3yuqh3
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4312256/Child-virtuoso-make-history-youngest-conductor.html#ixzz4bP3gn8il
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Monday, March 13, 2017
Hilarious Indeed!
From the Huffington Post -
Twitter Hilariously Burns Kellyanne Conway For Microwave Comment
Because it’s **BEEPING** insane.
By Elyse Wanshel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/twitter-responds-kellyanne-conway-microwave-camera-comment_us_58c6ce27e4b0d1078ca86b60?
Twitter Hilariously Burns Kellyanne Conway For Microwave Comment
Because it’s **BEEPING** insane.
By Elyse Wanshel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/twitter-responds-kellyanne-conway-microwave-camera-comment_us_58c6ce27e4b0d1078ca86b60?
HBCU @ SXSW
From USA Today -
Push to get more African-Americans into tech leads to SXSW
By Jarrad Henderson
Mariah Cowling promised her father she would apply to Spelman College, with dreams of becoming an aerospace engineer. There was just one problem: the historically black women's liberal-arts college didn't have an engineering program.
So she became a computer science major instead. That's how Cowling, who is headed to Microsoft as a coder in its virtual reality division after she graduates from Atlanta's Spelman in May, finds herself surrounded by tens of thousands of tech professionals at the SXSW Interactive Festival here.
She's one of 100 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) participating in the HBCU@SXSW initiative, a partnership between South By Southwest Convention and Festivals and organizations such as Opportunity Hub, Huddle Ventures and Stemmed. These have teamed up to help students of color attend the popular music, interactive and film festival in Austin.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/13/push-get-more-african-americans-into-tech-leads-sxsw/99103260/
Push to get more African-Americans into tech leads to SXSW
By Jarrad Henderson
Mariah Cowling promised her father she would apply to Spelman College, with dreams of becoming an aerospace engineer. There was just one problem: the historically black women's liberal-arts college didn't have an engineering program.
So she became a computer science major instead. That's how Cowling, who is headed to Microsoft as a coder in its virtual reality division after she graduates from Atlanta's Spelman in May, finds herself surrounded by tens of thousands of tech professionals at the SXSW Interactive Festival here.
She's one of 100 students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) participating in the HBCU@SXSW initiative, a partnership between South By Southwest Convention and Festivals and organizations such as Opportunity Hub, Huddle Ventures and Stemmed. These have teamed up to help students of color attend the popular music, interactive and film festival in Austin.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/13/push-get-more-african-americans-into-tech-leads-sxsw/99103260/
Making Connections
From the Hollywood Reporter - (Bold is mine)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Why 'Get Out' Is 'Invasion of the Black Body Snatchers' for the Trump Era
by Kareem Abdul-Jabba
It's horrifying watching poor Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) paralyzed in that chair while his will and body are being stolen, because growing up, I felt as paralyzed as him. Watching James Baldwin struggle with the frustrations of black bodies being destroyed both physically and mentally in the documentary reminded me of my own struggles as a young black man in the '60s. I was the poster child for the Good Boy, which to many Americans meant Good Negro. Everyone was telling black children that if you studied hard and did what you were told, you could be successful and welcomed into white society. I studied hard and earned good grades. I practiced hard and earned a good living. But I knew as a child that my name and religion were not my own. Alcindor was the Christian slave monger who owned my ancestors. I was paralyzed by that past, by white America's expectations for how a black man should behave, by how much gratitude I should constantly express for allowing me to succeed. I overcame that paralysis when I adopted a religion and name that I felt connected me more to my cultural roots. Reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X and James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time inspired me to find my own voice. When I used that voice to speak about political and social injustice, some Americans responded with hatred and death threats. Ironically, I was just doing what people came to America to do since it was founded: reinvent myself according to my beliefs rather than someone else's.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-why-get-is-invasion-black-body-snatchers-trump-985449
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Why 'Get Out' Is 'Invasion of the Black Body Snatchers' for the Trump Era
by Kareem Abdul-Jabba
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-why-get-is-invasion-black-body-snatchers-trump-985449
Cautionary Tale
From the LA Times -
His NFL-to-prison cautionary tale leaves students transfixed. Here is Ryan Leaf's story, in his own words
By Sam Farmer
There was a joke going around campus when I was at Washington State. It went, “What’s the difference between God and Ryan Leaf?” The punchline was, “God doesn’t think he’s Ryan Leaf.”
When I came into the NFL, there were three things that were very important to me: money, power and prestige. I was powerful now because I was a famous athlete. I had prestige because I was doing what everybody wanted to do. And I had a lot of money.
When I’m talking to parents, I tell them an analogy. My emotional level was kind of stunted when I was about 13, so I tell them to try this experiment at home: Give your 13-year-old child $31 million and see how that works out.
So I’m 21, have $31 million, and I wasn’t responsible to anyone anymore for money or really anything. If anybody said “no” to me, I would discard them from my life. That included my parents at one point. I just had zero perspective on what was important.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-ryan-leaf-20170311-story.html
His NFL-to-prison cautionary tale leaves students transfixed. Here is Ryan Leaf's story, in his own words
By Sam Farmer
There was a joke going around campus when I was at Washington State. It went, “What’s the difference between God and Ryan Leaf?” The punchline was, “God doesn’t think he’s Ryan Leaf.”
When I came into the NFL, there were three things that were very important to me: money, power and prestige. I was powerful now because I was a famous athlete. I had prestige because I was doing what everybody wanted to do. And I had a lot of money.
When I’m talking to parents, I tell them an analogy. My emotional level was kind of stunted when I was about 13, so I tell them to try this experiment at home: Give your 13-year-old child $31 million and see how that works out.
So I’m 21, have $31 million, and I wasn’t responsible to anyone anymore for money or really anything. If anybody said “no” to me, I would discard them from my life. That included my parents at one point. I just had zero perspective on what was important.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-ryan-leaf-20170311-story.html
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Confiscated From Migrants
From the New Yorker -
A JANITOR’S COLLECTION OF THINGS CONFISCATED FROM MIGRANTS IN THE DESERT
By Peter C. Baker
Tom Kiefer was a Customs and Border Protection janitor for almost four years before he took a good look inside the trash. Every day at work—at the C.B.P. processing center in Ajo, Arizona, less than fifty miles from the border with Mexico—he would throw away bags full of items confiscated from undocumented migrants apprehended in the desert. One day in 2007, he was rummaging through these bags looking for packaged food, which he’d received permission to donate to a local pantry. In the process, he also noticed toothbrushes, rosaries, pocket Bibles, water bottles, keys, shoelaces, razors, mix CDs, condoms, contraceptive pills, sunglasses, keys: a vibrant, startling testament to the lives of those who had been detained or deported. Without telling anyone, Kiefer began collecting the items, stashing them in sorted piles in the garages of friends. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he told me recently. “But I knew there was something to be done.”
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-janitors-collection-of-things-confiscated-from-migrants-in-the-desert?intcid=mod-latest
A JANITOR’S COLLECTION OF THINGS CONFISCATED FROM MIGRANTS IN THE DESERT
By Peter C. Baker
 |
| When migrants are apprehended, Customs and Border Protection agents dispose of personal-hygiene items such as toilet paper during intake. Thomas Kiefer INSTITUTE |
Tom Kiefer was a Customs and Border Protection janitor for almost four years before he took a good look inside the trash. Every day at work—at the C.B.P. processing center in Ajo, Arizona, less than fifty miles from the border with Mexico—he would throw away bags full of items confiscated from undocumented migrants apprehended in the desert. One day in 2007, he was rummaging through these bags looking for packaged food, which he’d received permission to donate to a local pantry. In the process, he also noticed toothbrushes, rosaries, pocket Bibles, water bottles, keys, shoelaces, razors, mix CDs, condoms, contraceptive pills, sunglasses, keys: a vibrant, startling testament to the lives of those who had been detained or deported. Without telling anyone, Kiefer began collecting the items, stashing them in sorted piles in the garages of friends. “I didn’t know what I was going to do,” he told me recently. “But I knew there was something to be done.”
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-janitors-collection-of-things-confiscated-from-migrants-in-the-desert?intcid=mod-latest
A Master Thief
From the New Yorker -
A PICKPOCKET’S TALE
The spectacular thefts of Apollo Robbins.
By Adam Green
Robbins, who is thirty-eight and lives in Las Vegas, is a peculiar variety-arts hybrid, known in the trade as a theatrical pickpocket. Among his peers, he is widely considered the best in the world at what he does, which is taking things from people’s jackets, pants, purses, wrists, fingers, and necks, then returning them in amusing and mind-boggling ways. Robbins works smoothly and invisibly, with a diffident charm that belies his talent for larceny. One senses that he would prosper on the other side of the law. “You have to ask yourself one question,” he often says as he holds up a wallet or a watch that he has just swiped. “Am I being paid enough to give it back?”
In more than a decade as a full-time entertainer, Robbins has taken (and returned) a lot of stuff, including items from well-known figures in the worlds of entertainment (Jennifer Garner, actress: engagement ring); sports (Charles Barkley, former N.B.A. star: wad of cash); and business (Ace Greenberg, former chairman of Bear Stearns: Patek Philippe watch). He is probably best known for an encounter with Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service detail in 2001. While Carter was at dinner, Robbins struck up a conversation with several of his Secret Service men. Within a few minutes, he had emptied the agents’ pockets of pretty much everything but their guns. Robbins brandished a copy of Carter’s itinerary, and when an agent snatched it back he said, “You don’t have the authorization to see that!” When the agent felt for his badge, Robbins produced it and handed it back. Then he turned to the head of the detail and handed him his watch, his badge, and the keys to the Carter motorcade.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/07/a-pickpockets-tale
A PICKPOCKET’S TALE
The spectacular thefts of Apollo Robbins.
By Adam Green
Robbins, who is thirty-eight and lives in Las Vegas, is a peculiar variety-arts hybrid, known in the trade as a theatrical pickpocket. Among his peers, he is widely considered the best in the world at what he does, which is taking things from people’s jackets, pants, purses, wrists, fingers, and necks, then returning them in amusing and mind-boggling ways. Robbins works smoothly and invisibly, with a diffident charm that belies his talent for larceny. One senses that he would prosper on the other side of the law. “You have to ask yourself one question,” he often says as he holds up a wallet or a watch that he has just swiped. “Am I being paid enough to give it back?”
In more than a decade as a full-time entertainer, Robbins has taken (and returned) a lot of stuff, including items from well-known figures in the worlds of entertainment (Jennifer Garner, actress: engagement ring); sports (Charles Barkley, former N.B.A. star: wad of cash); and business (Ace Greenberg, former chairman of Bear Stearns: Patek Philippe watch). He is probably best known for an encounter with Jimmy Carter’s Secret Service detail in 2001. While Carter was at dinner, Robbins struck up a conversation with several of his Secret Service men. Within a few minutes, he had emptied the agents’ pockets of pretty much everything but their guns. Robbins brandished a copy of Carter’s itinerary, and when an agent snatched it back he said, “You don’t have the authorization to see that!” When the agent felt for his badge, Robbins produced it and handed it back. Then he turned to the head of the detail and handed him his watch, his badge, and the keys to the Carter motorcade.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/07/a-pickpockets-tale
He Was Sold by the Jesuits to Save Georgetown
From the New York Times RACE / RELATED -
He was an enslaved teenager on a Jesuit plantation in Maryland on the night that the stars fell. It was November of 1833, and meteor showers set the sky ablaze.
His name was Frank Campbell. He would hold tight to that memory for decades, even when he was an old man, living hundreds of miles away from his birthplace. In 1838, he was shipped to a sugar plantation in Louisiana along with dozens of other slaves from Maryland. They were sold by the nation’s most prominent Jesuit priests to raise money to help save the Jesuit college now known as Georgetown University.
Mr. Campbell would survive slavery and the Civil War. He would live to see freedom and the dawning of the 20th century. Like many of his contemporaries from Maryland, he would marry and have children and grandchildren. But in one respect, he was singular: His image has survived, offering us the first look at one of the 272 slaves sold to help keep Georgetown afloat.
http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2017/03/12/race-related?nlid=38867499
 |
| A photograph of Frank Campbell was found in a scrapbook at Nicholls State University in Louisiana. The children with Mr. Campbell are unidentified. |
He was an enslaved teenager on a Jesuit plantation in Maryland on the night that the stars fell. It was November of 1833, and meteor showers set the sky ablaze.
His name was Frank Campbell. He would hold tight to that memory for decades, even when he was an old man, living hundreds of miles away from his birthplace. In 1838, he was shipped to a sugar plantation in Louisiana along with dozens of other slaves from Maryland. They were sold by the nation’s most prominent Jesuit priests to raise money to help save the Jesuit college now known as Georgetown University.
Mr. Campbell would survive slavery and the Civil War. He would live to see freedom and the dawning of the 20th century. Like many of his contemporaries from Maryland, he would marry and have children and grandchildren. But in one respect, he was singular: His image has survived, offering us the first look at one of the 272 slaves sold to help keep Georgetown afloat.
http://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/2017/03/12/race-related?nlid=38867499
Hiring the Right Person
From the New York Times -
How to Hire the Right Person
By Adam Bryant
Over the course of speaking with almost 500 leaders for my weekly “Corner Office” series, I’ve asked every one of them, “How do you hire?” Their answers are always insightful because after years of interviewing countless job candidates, they’ve learned the best approaches to help them get right to the core of who a candidate is and how he or she will work with a team. Learn the strategies these chief executives have developed through trial and error to help you go beyond the polished résumés, pre-screened references and scripted answers, to hire more creative and effective members for your team. And if you’re on the other side of the job hunt, you can gain insight on what your interviewer is really looking for in a candidate.
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/how-to-hire-the-right-person
How to Hire the Right Person
By Adam Bryant
Over the course of speaking with almost 500 leaders for my weekly “Corner Office” series, I’ve asked every one of them, “How do you hire?” Their answers are always insightful because after years of interviewing countless job candidates, they’ve learned the best approaches to help them get right to the core of who a candidate is and how he or she will work with a team. Learn the strategies these chief executives have developed through trial and error to help you go beyond the polished résumés, pre-screened references and scripted answers, to hire more creative and effective members for your team. And if you’re on the other side of the job hunt, you can gain insight on what your interviewer is really looking for in a candidate.
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/how-to-hire-the-right-person
Hot Pockets History
From Saveur -
THE FORGOTTEN IMMIGRANT ORIGINS OF AMERICA’S MOST ICONIC MICROWAVABLE SNACK
How two Iranian brothers invented the beloved Hot Pocket
BY MATTHEW SEDACCA
The short version of the story goes like this: In the late ‘60s, the Merages were attending universities in California. After earning an MBA in business, Paul Merage worked entry-level marketing positions at Maxwell House coffee. But both wanted to start their own company, a dream ingrained by their father, and according to a 2015 profile in Family Business, David believed success would happen in California. (The Merage family did not respond to requests for an interview.)
After a business trip to Europe in the mid-70s, the brothers saw potential demand in the American market for frozen Belgian waffles, according to a 2016 Tedium article, working for months to perfect a reipce. For months, the two worked on a recipe for easy-to-prepare Belgian waffles. In 1977, despite minimal experience in the industry, they founded the food manufacturing company Chef America Inc. in Chatsworth, California. Then, after earning millions marketing their waffles to restaurants and coffee shops, the brothers decided to compete with lunch and dinner-time offerings. The Hot Pocket came soon after.
http://www.saveur.com/hot-pockets-merage-brothers-history#page-2
THE FORGOTTEN IMMIGRANT ORIGINS OF AMERICA’S MOST ICONIC MICROWAVABLE SNACK
How two Iranian brothers invented the beloved Hot Pocket
BY MATTHEW SEDACCA
The short version of the story goes like this: In the late ‘60s, the Merages were attending universities in California. After earning an MBA in business, Paul Merage worked entry-level marketing positions at Maxwell House coffee. But both wanted to start their own company, a dream ingrained by their father, and according to a 2015 profile in Family Business, David believed success would happen in California. (The Merage family did not respond to requests for an interview.)
After a business trip to Europe in the mid-70s, the brothers saw potential demand in the American market for frozen Belgian waffles, according to a 2016 Tedium article, working for months to perfect a reipce. For months, the two worked on a recipe for easy-to-prepare Belgian waffles. In 1977, despite minimal experience in the industry, they founded the food manufacturing company Chef America Inc. in Chatsworth, California. Then, after earning millions marketing their waffles to restaurants and coffee shops, the brothers decided to compete with lunch and dinner-time offerings. The Hot Pocket came soon after.
http://www.saveur.com/hot-pockets-merage-brothers-history#page-2
Sister Sledge - We Are Family
From CNN -
Joni Sledge of vocal group Sister Sledge dies at 60
By Ralph Ellis and Tony Marco, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/us/joni-sledge-of-sister-sledge-dies/index.html
Joni Sledge of vocal group Sister Sledge dies at 60
By Ralph Ellis and Tony Marco, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/us/joni-sledge-of-sister-sledge-dies/index.html
Saturday, March 11, 2017
General Jeff
From OZY -
THE 'MAYOR' OF SKID ROW WANTS TO BRING DOWN THE WHOLE SYSTEM
By Jemayel Khawaja
General Jeff, legally known as Jeff Page, was a three-sport athlete at Compton High School and a pioneering contributor to the West Coast hip-hop scene in the early 1990s, performing as a DJ and in pop-and-lock dance troupes, and mingling with the likes of Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik. After trying and failing to mediate peace between the Crips and Bloods in his hometown of South LA, Page fell upon hard times in 2006. “I was homeless in South Central Los Angeles, sleeping in abandoned houses, warehouses, outdoors,” he tells me. “Burnt out, down and out, I showed up on Skid Row rolling a suitcase with some clothes, an Akai drum machine and a thousand dollars in my sock.” He felt like Skid Row could use his help. “I know it was an extreme thing to do,” he says. “I have no idea where the impetus came from.”
Page moved to a single room occupancy building on Skid Row within months. In the meantime, he familiarized himself with “the lingo, the movements, the thought process” of his new neighbors, looking for a way to improve the lives of the people around him. He noticed streetlights were broken, which created a dark and dangerous atmosphere at night and paved the way for unsavory activities. After manually gathering data on the lights, Page ambushed the head of the Bureau of Street Lighting with his findings. Two days later, government trucks rolled up to repair the broken lights. “I felt really good that day,” Page recollects. “That night — lights! We could see! The drug dealers were pissed!”
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-mayor-of-skid-row-wants-to-bring-down-the-whole-system/70838
THE 'MAYOR' OF SKID ROW WANTS TO BRING DOWN THE WHOLE SYSTEM
By Jemayel Khawaja
General Jeff, legally known as Jeff Page, was a three-sport athlete at Compton High School and a pioneering contributor to the West Coast hip-hop scene in the early 1990s, performing as a DJ and in pop-and-lock dance troupes, and mingling with the likes of Snoop Dogg and DJ Quik. After trying and failing to mediate peace between the Crips and Bloods in his hometown of South LA, Page fell upon hard times in 2006. “I was homeless in South Central Los Angeles, sleeping in abandoned houses, warehouses, outdoors,” he tells me. “Burnt out, down and out, I showed up on Skid Row rolling a suitcase with some clothes, an Akai drum machine and a thousand dollars in my sock.” He felt like Skid Row could use his help. “I know it was an extreme thing to do,” he says. “I have no idea where the impetus came from.”
Page moved to a single room occupancy building on Skid Row within months. In the meantime, he familiarized himself with “the lingo, the movements, the thought process” of his new neighbors, looking for a way to improve the lives of the people around him. He noticed streetlights were broken, which created a dark and dangerous atmosphere at night and paved the way for unsavory activities. After manually gathering data on the lights, Page ambushed the head of the Bureau of Street Lighting with his findings. Two days later, government trucks rolled up to repair the broken lights. “I felt really good that day,” Page recollects. “That night — lights! We could see! The drug dealers were pissed!”
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-mayor-of-skid-row-wants-to-bring-down-the-whole-system/70838
Biracial Twins
From the Daily Kos -
Biracial twins are the universe's beautiful answer to white supremacists
By Walter Einenkel
http://m.dailykos.com/story/2017/3/10/1642217/-Biracial-twins-are-the-universe-s-beautiful-answer-to-white-supremacists?detail=email&link_id=1&can_id=8bda5eb174a253edad76f618fda958b7&source=email-biracial-twins-are-the-universes-beautiful-answer-to-white-supremacists-2&email_referrer=biracial-twins-are-the-universes-beautiful-answer-to-white-supremacists-2&email_subject=biracial-twins-are-the-universes-beautiful-answer-to-white-supremacists
Biracial twins are the universe's beautiful answer to white supremacists
By Walter Einenkel
 |
| Lucy and Maria Aylmer are twins, born at the same time from the same parents |
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