North Korean defectors learn basics of freedom - USATODAY.com

North Korean defectors learn basics of freedom http://usat.me/45342886

Who knows what is really happening inside the DPRK?

Effects of Radiation on the Human Body? [infographic]

http://dailyinfographic.com/effects-of-radiation-on-the-human-body-infographic

TechCrunch

http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/20/why-women-rule-the-internet/

Still and all, nothing compares to Chernobl

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

Comparison of radiation sources (thanks ed)

Rising Rents in San Diego?

http://www.bubbleinfo.com/2011/03/17/rising-rents-in-san-diego/

NYTimes: Q. and A. on the Nuclear Crisis in Japan

From The New York Times:

GREEN: Q. and A. on the Nuclear Crisis in Japan

New York Times reporters are answering questions from readers about the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan.

http://nyti.ms/iivZv6

NYT: U.S. Calls Radiation 'Extremel

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/world/asia/17nuclear.xml

"If the American analysis is accurate and emergency crews at the plant have been unable to keep the spent fuel at that inoperative reactor properly cooled -it needs to remain covered with water at all times -radiation levels could make it difficult not only to fix the problem at reactor No. 4, but to keep servicing any of the other problem reactors at the plant. In the worst case, experts say, workers could be forced to vacate the plant altogether, and the fuel rods in reactors and spent fuel pools would be left to meltdown, leading to much larger releases of radioactive materials."
.

GOOD.is | Where Will the Next Earthquake Hit? (Raw Image)

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/1102/earthquake/flat.html

NYTimes: Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say

From The New York Times:

Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say

Experts in Japan and the United States said that the releases from nuclear plants could go on for weeks or months. Officials are also reporting a new explosion.

http://nyti.ms/h20pz5

(the article says the engineers don't know whether sufficient water is entering the chamber to prevent a meltdown. And until the cooling systems are fixed, the interim cooling method must periodically vent contaminated steam to the atmosphere.  It appears that measured levels of contaminants are increasing. But, no regular monitoring of contaminants is being publicly reported.)

Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet; shifted Earth's axis - CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.earthquake.tsunami.earth/index.html

"The powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami Friday appears to have moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis."

i need a new phone.

it's driving me crazy not to be able to send work emails from my phone.  i really have come to depend on that.  i often (want to) send emails first thing in the morning when i get up and see what's transpired overnight on email.  or, if i've gotten some late emails and want to respond to them right then and there.  or when i think of something i want to ask someone and i want to send it right then and there.  i can't do any of that unless i'm willing to put PIN protect on my phone.  i don't want to do that.  entering a 4 digit pin every time i want to use my phone...i am in and out of my phone constantly, dozens of times a day.  every time i want to take a picture, or check facebook, or send  a text, i have to enter a 4 digit pin.  or if my screen times out, i have to enter that 4 digit pin again.   my workplace requires it in order to get outlook emails on my device.  i had the 4 digit PIN on the dell streak and i HATED IT!!!! and swore i would never do that again.

one of my buddies at work has the atrix and he states that he was able to use the fingerprint sensor as the security control, meaning, no 4 digit PIN.  but when i go to the internets to get an update on the state of the atrix i find a long list of problems:
- purple camera
- random reboots
- overheating
- bad mic during calls and skyping

i'd just like to say that I WAS RIGHT, the new atrix hardware has a whole bunch of wierd issues. don't want to deal with that.  also don't want to reinstall Launcher Pro and recustomize another phone...it takes me a solid day or two to reinstall all my apps, fix the settings, configure LauncherPro, tweak settings, research problems, etc.  all the while ignoring my family.  i've done that 3 times in the last 3 months (samsung gtab, dell streak, htc inspire) and i am sooooo sick of it.  after 3 weeks, i just finally got my PowerAmp playlists set up again on the Inspire.

so for now i will stay with the inspire. i still have the best buy return program (which i got for free) so if i want a new phone later, i'd be able to get between 100-200 credit on the inspire.  and used inspires are going for $350 on ebay right now, which will drop, but that's another avenue.

disappointed again in technology...it's always a choice between the lesser of two evils...

but it could be a lot worse, i could be living in japan right now...what an awful situation.

35 Million Dollar Teardown: The Real Estalker

http://realestalker.blogspot.com/

"What's most betwixting and bewildering to common folks like Your Mama is not that Mister K. shelled out thirty-five million bigguns for the estate but that he proceeded to immediately raze Mister Ramo's 8,705 square foot contemporary to make way for his own behemoth Beverly Hills Barbie Dream House. That's right, chickadoodles, Mister K. bought a $35,000,000 tear down. That, children, is how people with money to burn and cash to flush down the toilet do it."

As a real estate voyeur myself, I love this site!!!

Stay tuned for tasting party

Yay, our Cameron Hughes wine just arrived by FedEx! The box was labelled "Do not deliver to an intoxicated person"!

Facebook Starts Sharing Your Home Address, Phone Number With Developers (UPDATED)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/facebook-home-address_n_809901.html

"In other words, a Facebook app can now access your address and phone number, though that application or website can only obtain this information if you explicitly grant it permission to do so (see screenshot below). Facebook quietly announced this controversial new policy in a blog post published Friday at 9:00PM."
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With Update to ‘Social Search,’ Google Embraces The Crowd

http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wiredbusinessblog/~3/ktSBUu7Zo7Q/

"The Google search engine was implicitly built on the premise that the view of the New York Times' critic should prevail. An analysis of the link structure of the web would reveal the Times as a popular destination. But others argue that in the real world, people are influenced by their friends and contacts, and Google's historic approach is lacking. The best product endorsements, the most useful suggestions of what to read, the most clever tips on how to perform a task, come from people we know."

Hmm. 2 comments.
If I'm a (closet) egomaniac, then only experts opinions matter. And my friends opinions don't. Unless they are aggregated from a large enough pool that they then average out to the same opinion as the experts opinion.

If I want to buy music, or see a movie, I would want friend recommendations. But if I want to buy a vacuum cleaner, i'll go to consumer reports; no question.

I guess I can turn in my Generation X card, cuz I don't get it.