Sunday, September 20, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Great Learning Tools
As seen on Atlas Obscura - Videos available to stream now for Amazon Prime Members
https://www.littlepim.com/?utm_source=Atlas%20Obscura&utm_campaign=b5f152224d-September_Sweeps&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-b5f152224d-59905913
http://www.littlepassports.com/?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=b5f152224d-September_Sweeps&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-b5f152224d-59905913
http://littlebits.cc/shop
http://www.goldieblox.com/?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=b5f152224d-September_Sweeps&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-b5f152224d-59905913
https://www.littlepim.com/?utm_source=Atlas%20Obscura&utm_campaign=b5f152224d-September_Sweeps&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-b5f152224d-59905913
http://www.littlepassports.com/?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=b5f152224d-September_Sweeps&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-b5f152224d-59905913
http://littlebits.cc/shop
http://www.goldieblox.com/?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=b5f152224d-September_Sweeps&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-b5f152224d-59905913
Should Be Strung Up By Their Balls
From USA Today -
U.S. priests accused of sex abuse get second chance in South America
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The Catholic Church has allowed priests accused of sexually abusing children in the United States and Europe to relocate to poor parishes in South America, a yearlong GlobalPost investigation has found.
Reporters confronted five accused priests in as many countries: Paraguay , Ecuador , Colombia , Brazil and Peru. One priest who relocated to a poor parish in Peru admitted on camera to molesting a 13-year-old boy while working in the Jackson, Miss. , diocese. Another is currently under investigation in Brazil after allegations arose that he abused disadvantaged children living in an orphanage he founded there.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/09/17/us-priests-sex-abuse-relocate-south-america/32551455/
Upgrade Havoc
I was always one of those folks who liked to upgrade my computer and other electronic gadgets as soon as they became available.
That is, until I tried to upgrade my Macbook to Yosemite . . . TWICE . . . .and FAILED. What a calamity that was! Twice glitches caused it to load incorrectly. Thank God I had backed everything up, so I reverted to the previous version and all was well in my world.
That is, until iOS9 upgrade showed up for my phone/gadgets this week, and I was faced with the choice of upgrading again.
After much internal debate, I went for it.
Again, thank God, everything loaded properly and is working great.
Upgrading was heavy on my mind this week, as we experienced a system-wide upgrade of our Windows operating system at work.
To say it did not go well, is an incredible understatement.
Adding to the headaches is the fact that there is no one on staff who is proficient in the new system, so it's a case of the blind leading the blind.
Frustration has been the order of the day.
So you can see why choosing to upgrade today, after the fiasco at work all week, was such a big deal.
Overall, upgrading is probably a good thing - adding features and improving on services.
When it works, it's fantastic.
When it doesn't, you want to chuck the computer/phone/gadget across the room.
Thankfully it works more times than it doesn't.
That is, until I tried to upgrade my Macbook to Yosemite . . . TWICE . . . .and FAILED. What a calamity that was! Twice glitches caused it to load incorrectly. Thank God I had backed everything up, so I reverted to the previous version and all was well in my world.
That is, until iOS9 upgrade showed up for my phone/gadgets this week, and I was faced with the choice of upgrading again.
After much internal debate, I went for it.
Again, thank God, everything loaded properly and is working great.
Upgrading was heavy on my mind this week, as we experienced a system-wide upgrade of our Windows operating system at work.
To say it did not go well, is an incredible understatement.
Adding to the headaches is the fact that there is no one on staff who is proficient in the new system, so it's a case of the blind leading the blind.
Frustration has been the order of the day.
So you can see why choosing to upgrade today, after the fiasco at work all week, was such a big deal.
Overall, upgrading is probably a good thing - adding features and improving on services.
When it works, it's fantastic.
When it doesn't, you want to chuck the computer/phone/gadget across the room.
Thankfully it works more times than it doesn't.
A Six-Pack of Fun
From USA Today -
Amazon selling six-packs of its $50 tablet computers
Elizabeth Weise, USATODAY 11:25 a.m. EDT September 17, 2015
SAN FRANCISCO – Holiday shopping could get interesting this year with Amazon's announcement of a new 7" Fire tablet for $49.99.
While not exactly a stocking-stuffer price, the Seattle company is also selling the tablets in a six-pack for just under $250, bringing them down to $41 each.
The new tablets specifically go for what David Limp, a senior vice president for Amazon devices, calls its "sweet spot, the consumption of media."
The tablets feature a quad-core processor, front- and rear-facing cameras and up to 128 gigabytes of expandable storage
The new tablets are available for pre-order on Thursday and will begin shipping on Sept. 30.
While Apple has taken aim at the enterprise market with its new iPad Pro, Amazon sees its future in entertainment. On Thursday it is also introducing two new Fire HD tablets, one 8" and one 10.1".
Designed for entertainment, they're just 7.7 millimeters thick and set to the aspect ratio of a wide-screen movie.
The 8" tablet will sell for $149.99 and the 10" for $229.99. Both are available for preorder Thursday and will begin shipping Sept. 30, Amazon said.
There's also a new version of Amazon's Fire Kids Edition. The 7" tablet comes with a kid-proof case and a two-year replacement guarantee, in case it turns out not to be kid-proof. It will retail for $99.99.
With these new products, Amazon is also rolling out its latest operating system, Fire OS 5, code-named "Bellini."
A surprising new reading feature comes on all the new tablets, built into Fire OS 5.
Called "Word Runner," it shows a book's text one word at a time. Amazon calls this a speed reading feature.
Some research has shown that this format allows the user to read more quickly because they don't need to move their eyes as they follow the words across a line.
The technique is called rapid serial visual presentation and has been long studied by scientists as a way to increase reading speeds and improve understanding.
Several apps exist which display text in this format, but Amazon appears to be the first reader to build it into the operating system.
Amazon's Word Runner allows readers to go to up to 900 words a minute, though that's far too fast for anyone but Mr. Spock to actually take anything in.
Word Runner starts slow and allows the user to increase their reading to a speed that is comfortable. It's easy to stop and scan a line if you missed something and a tap takes you back to the regular page view.
The algorithm also slows down slightly at punctuation, paragraph breaks and difficult or long words.
Amazon on Thursday also announced new versions of its Amazon Fire TV. The streaming media player is now faster and more powerful than last year. It also comes with a voice remote that allows users to search and play media merely by speaking.
Fire TV will sell for $99.99. A gaming edition, which comes with a game controller, more memory and two free games, will sell for $139.99. The Fire TV stick, a streaming dongle that plugs into a TV, is available with the voice remote for $49.99.
The TV systems will begin shipping on October 5.
Amazon selling six-packs of its $50 tablet computers
Elizabeth Weise, USATODAY 11:25 a.m. EDT September 17, 2015
 |
| Amazon_Fire_six_pack |
SAN FRANCISCO – Holiday shopping could get interesting this year with Amazon's announcement of a new 7" Fire tablet for $49.99.
While not exactly a stocking-stuffer price, the Seattle company is also selling the tablets in a six-pack for just under $250, bringing them down to $41 each.
The new tablets specifically go for what David Limp, a senior vice president for Amazon devices, calls its "sweet spot, the consumption of media."
The tablets feature a quad-core processor, front- and rear-facing cameras and up to 128 gigabytes of expandable storage
The new tablets are available for pre-order on Thursday and will begin shipping on Sept. 30.
While Apple has taken aim at the enterprise market with its new iPad Pro, Amazon sees its future in entertainment. On Thursday it is also introducing two new Fire HD tablets, one 8" and one 10.1".
Designed for entertainment, they're just 7.7 millimeters thick and set to the aspect ratio of a wide-screen movie.
The 8" tablet will sell for $149.99 and the 10" for $229.99. Both are available for preorder Thursday and will begin shipping Sept. 30, Amazon said.
There's also a new version of Amazon's Fire Kids Edition. The 7" tablet comes with a kid-proof case and a two-year replacement guarantee, in case it turns out not to be kid-proof. It will retail for $99.99.
With these new products, Amazon is also rolling out its latest operating system, Fire OS 5, code-named "Bellini."
A surprising new reading feature comes on all the new tablets, built into Fire OS 5.
Called "Word Runner," it shows a book's text one word at a time. Amazon calls this a speed reading feature.
Some research has shown that this format allows the user to read more quickly because they don't need to move their eyes as they follow the words across a line.
The technique is called rapid serial visual presentation and has been long studied by scientists as a way to increase reading speeds and improve understanding.
Several apps exist which display text in this format, but Amazon appears to be the first reader to build it into the operating system.
Amazon's Word Runner allows readers to go to up to 900 words a minute, though that's far too fast for anyone but Mr. Spock to actually take anything in.
Word Runner starts slow and allows the user to increase their reading to a speed that is comfortable. It's easy to stop and scan a line if you missed something and a tap takes you back to the regular page view.
The algorithm also slows down slightly at punctuation, paragraph breaks and difficult or long words.
Amazon on Thursday also announced new versions of its Amazon Fire TV. The streaming media player is now faster and more powerful than last year. It also comes with a voice remote that allows users to search and play media merely by speaking.
Fire TV will sell for $99.99. A gaming edition, which comes with a game controller, more memory and two free games, will sell for $139.99. The Fire TV stick, a streaming dongle that plugs into a TV, is available with the voice remote for $49.99.
The TV systems will begin shipping on October 5.
Too Much?
From NJ.com - Apologies for the formatting.
How to build a sports superstar in 2015: The engineering of 15-year-old Josh McKenzie
By Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on September 01, 2015 at 8:00 AM, updated September 01, 2015 at 10:02 PM
He is 15 years old, 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds of cartoonish muscles on top of muscles. He had six-pack abs when he was 6.
Today, he bench-presses one-and-a-half times his body weight and can leap
from a standing position to the top of a car. He averages four touchdowns
per game and hasn't lost a wrestling match since 2012, making him the
nation's top-ranked football player and wrestler for his grade. And even
though he doesn't begin high school for another two weeks, he already
is one of the most talked about athletes in New Jersey.
His name is Josh McKenzie.
But people just call him Man-Child, D-Train, Animal, Machine or Beast,
and he is a once-in-a-lifetime physical specimen who looks like he was
engineered in a lab, each piece meticulously sculpted, tested and refined.
Josh also embodies the runaway free-for-all youth sports have become.
Specialized training. High school coaches lining up to woo players. Working
out to the point of total exhaustion. Repeating a grade for athletic advantage.
Bouncing from team to team. It's all part of his family's all-in,
college-scholarship-or-bust gamble.
Sound extreme? Consider:
This past year, Josh's family spent more than $15,000 on specialized
training and thousands more to parade him around at showcases,
tournaments and all-star events from Florida to California.
Most of the 10 specialized
personal trainers he will see during the year — that's right, 10 trainers —
rely on state-of-the-art techniques and put Josh through futuristic workouts.
He takes it a step further by wearing a Darth Vader-like elevation mask to restrict breathing and simulate training at elevations.
Today, he bench-presses one-and-a-half times his body weight and can leap
from a standing position to the top of a car. He averages four touchdowns
per game and hasn't lost a wrestling match since 2012, making him the
nation's top-ranked football player and wrestler for his grade. And even
though he doesn't begin high school for another two weeks, he already
is one of the most talked about athletes in New Jersey.
His name is Josh McKenzie.
But people just call him Man-Child, D-Train, Animal, Machine or Beast,
and he is a once-in-a-lifetime physical specimen who looks like he was
engineered in a lab, each piece meticulously sculpted, tested and refined.
Josh also embodies the runaway free-for-all youth sports have become.
Specialized training. High school coaches lining up to woo players. Working
out to the point of total exhaustion. Repeating a grade for athletic advantage.
Bouncing from team to team. It's all part of his family's all-in,
college-scholarship-or-bust gamble.
Sound extreme? Consider:
This past year, Josh's family spent more than $15,000 on specialized
training and thousands more to parade him around at showcases,
tournaments and all-star events from Florida to California.
Most of the 10 specialized
personal trainers he will see during the year — that's right, 10 trainers —
rely on state-of-the-art techniques and put Josh through futuristic workouts.
He takes it a step further by wearing a Darth Vader-like elevation mask to restrict breathing and simulate training at elevations.
~~~~~~~~~~
There's much more to this story that can be found at the link below.
http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/09/the_engineering_of_15_year_old_josh_mckenzie.html#incart_river
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
The Cost of Being Brown & Smart in America
Ahmed Mohamed, the 14 year old student who built a clock to impress his teacher, and was later arrested when it was thought to be a bomb. President Obama got whiff of the nonsense and invited him to the White House.
Be Prepared . . .
For the next round of GOP debates with this spot on Bingo game. Add a chip every time you hear one of these catch phrases uttered.
http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/09/16/republican-debate-bingo-reagan-library/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)