Month: April 2008

Overloaded Internet

Video boom threatens to gridlock the internet | Technology | The Observer
Information meltdown

· Electricity reached one quarter of Americans 46 years after its introduction. Telephones took 35 years and televisions 26 years. In just six years, broadband reached 25 per cent penetration.

· It took two centuries to fill the shelves of the Library of Congress with more than 57 million manuscripts, 29 million books and periodicals, 12 million photographs, and more. Now, the world generates an equivalent amount of digital information nearly 100 times each day.
Internet Innovation Alliance Continue reading “Overloaded Internet”

The top 10 myths of jury trials

SPEAKOUT: Debunking the top 10 myths of jury trials : rockymountainnews.com
Interesting points on Justice in America from a top Trail Consultant, #2 caught my eye. Click more to see all of them. 2. Innocence will protect you in a criminal trial.

Regrettably, this is usually not the case. Specifically, for anyone who faces a jury, there is roughly an 85 percent chance that the trial will end up with a conviction. Tim Masters just might have something to say on this subject. Studies indicate that from 7 percent to 10 percent of those in prison today are actually innocent persons who got caught in this process. Continue reading “The top 10 myths of jury trials”

Five Myths About Drinking Water

Five Myths About Drinking Water : NPR
Myth No. 1: Drink Eight Glasses Each Day

Scientists say there’s no clear health benefit to chugging or even sipping water all day. So where does the standard advice of drinking eight glasses each day come from? “Nobody really knows,” says Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a kidney expert at the University of Pennsylvania. Continue reading “Five Myths About Drinking Water”

Underwater Astonishments (video)

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.494964&w=425&h=350&fv=bgColor%3DFFFFFF%26file%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fmovies%2FDAVIDGALLO-2007_high.flv%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26fullscreenURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fstatic.videoegg.com%2Fted%2Fflash%2Ffullscreen.html%26forcePlay%3Dfalse%26logo%3D%26allowFullscreen%3Dtrue]

Thanks to underwater photographer Chip Welfeld for this amazing video. You should check-out Chip’s also. pictures.from www.ted.com posted with vodpod

Only 1 of 2 students graduate high school in US cities

Only 1 of 2 students graduate high school in US cities: study
Only about one-half (52 percent) of students in the principal school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma.”

Based on 2003-2004 data, the report said that across the country the graduation average for public school students is 69.9 percent, with the best success rate in suburbs — 74.9 percent — and rural districts — 73.2 percent.

Asian-Americans score the highest graduation rate, at 80 percent, with whites at 76.2 percent and Hispanics at 57.8 percent. Women graduate at a much higher rate than men, 73.6 percent to 66.0 percent.

In the country’s city schools, the study found that in urban areas generally, just 60.4 percent graduate, and in the principal school districts of the top 50 cities, barely half graduate. Detroit, Michigan’s main school district scored a graduation rate of 24.9 percent. New York, the country’s largest city, has a graduation rate for its main school district of 45.2 percent, and Los Angeles, the second largest, of 45.3 percent.

Billion-dollar IT failure at Census Bureau

Billion-dollar IT failure at Census Bureau | IT Project Failures | ZDNet.com

The US Census Bureau faces cost overruns up to $2 billion on an IT initiative replacing paper-based data collection methods with specialized handheld devices for the upcoming 2010 census. The Bureau has not implemented longstanding Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations and may therefore be forced to scrap the program. Harris Corp., the contractor associated with this incompetently managed initiative, was awarded a $600 million contract to develop the handhelds and related software.

Managing an $11 billion initiative is a daunting task and unforeseen problems are inevitable. Nonetheless, the GAO, going back to January, 2005, repeatedly identified significant procurement, management, and operational risks associated with this project.

Biofuel Export Subsidy Scam

Demands for crackdown on biofuels scam | Environment | The Guardian
Up to 10% of biofuel exports from the US to Europe are believed to be part of the rogue scheme reaping big profits for agricultural trading firms.

The “splash and dash” scam involves shipping biodiesel from Europe to the US where a dash of fuel is added, allowing traders to claim 11p a litre of US subsidy for the entire cargo. It is then shipped back and sold below domestic prices, undercutting Europe’s biofuel industry.