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NPR covered this story as well.

Actually, NPR covered this story back in January, and mentioned Caltech's Gary Lorden as the consultant for the show. A Google search will find many other references from then until now.

NPR covered this story as well. I found it interesting that the Simpsons had a writer with such an advanced degree in mathematics.

There was a related NPR report not too long ago about the way birds learn to string notes together. Listen here.

The environmentalist aesthetic is to love villages and despise cities.

as part of his observation that urbanization is slowing population growth (which he contends is slowing growth).

Actually, my observation is exactly the opposite. I seem to hear more sympathy for packing everyone together than for spreading them out in the modern environmentalist rhetoric. That's why "sprawl" has become a cuss-word among this bunch.

For another example, look at the current opinion of Walmart. Just today I heard an NPR story about Walmart that criticized them for their environmental impact (pollution and rainwater runoff from their parking lots, plus the extra air pollution from people driving there, I guess).

I guess my point is that the "environmental movement" is a little conflicted; they apparently either like or dislike centralization and efficiencies of scale, depending on the context.

I'm going to assume that this is the same study that this All Things Considered story was talking about. If so, ABC seriously screwed up it's interpretation of the study. As I recall, the study showed that OLDER people who fell into the moderately overweight category actually lived longer. The researcher NPR talked to said that this made sense because having a little extra reserve fuel stored as fat could make a difference in allowing the body to sustain itself while fighting off a disease at that age. If this is the case, then the government's one-size-fit's-all method of determining what is a "healthy" weight has to be reconsidered. It can be done...the USDA just did it with the food pyramid. It's now 1 of 12 (I think) possible pyramids depending on certain factors in your life.

If anyone wants further news about this, I found this to be interesting.

Basically, during the fall of one of the latter Chinese dynasties, protests against Japan were encouraged as the people had less faith in Confucianism and thus the emperor thought their anger against the Japanese could be used to rally national unity. In the same way, perhaps the current government's ideological grip is being lost as a communist economy is giving way to a much more open-market one and thus China again looks for a way to rally national unity.

Some could even argue that allowing for free forms of expression against the Japanese government could lessen desire for other, less desirable, open demonstrations (ala Tienaman Square).

Has it ever occured to this ignorant cartel that perhaps people download things besides music? I'm so pissed off at the music industry anymore that I only listen to public radio stations like NPR and my local University's station.

You wouldn't believe how much better music actually sounds when it comes from an artist instead of a billfold.

I hope there isn't any other fallout from this

Well, I suppose they could turn it into the Kansas Museum Of They're-Only-Theories.

I think it's great, actually, that there's a tech/aerospace-centric museum in Kansas (its current curatorial difficulties notwithstanding), but I guess I'm finding that spark of interest in applied science hard to square with the whole retro-dark-ages-religiosity thing. Especially in a state that makes a living off of living things (advanced crops) that didn't exist even a few years ago, or that have to do regular battle with strains of bacteria in their cattle that have (evolved!) resistance to certain drugs. I hope the Cosmosphere continues to thrive despite the awkward press, and that a few Kansan kids have their Critical Thinking Epihpanies while gazing at the cool flying machines on display. I don't think the stolen t-shirt or water valve were probably going to help much on that front anyway.

Your arguments would be stronger without the tiresome Bush-bashing that always seems to enter any discussion of social, scientific, or political affairs of the day.

Bush's administration has only been in power for four years (elected 2000, took office early 2001); that's hardly enough time to affect the vast education system in the United States in any significant way.

Sure, they could potentially wreak some havoc, but I see them merely influencing it in petty ways such as increased federal support for parochial schools and voucher systems and reduced federal support for teachers' unions. None of which are particularly awful things to do, in fact; the unions seem to be opposed to every change and innovation that comes down the pike except for higher salaries.

Now, cutting innovative programs at the federal level and federal science budgets such as that of NIH and DARPA, that's bad stuff that will hurt the U.S. in the long term. However even so, U.S. spending on science and technology is still very high, higher than anywhere else even today.

As for this China-India rapprochement, I think it's a mere political ploy. India needs Chinese manufacturing right now, but India is definitely gunning for the hardware market and would love to undercut China. Indeed it's been widely reported that China is beginning to experience some labor shortages that may drive up factory wages there. Google for "china worker shortage" to find many articles about this issue.

These two countries are natural competitors with no love lost between them. Mao's invasion of Assam in 1962 and the 1987 border skirmish are pretty recent events, well within the memory of most adults now alive. Clearly this announcement is just a way for China to intimidate the U.S. and rack up a few diplomatic points at little cost, and a way for India to annoy Pakistan (and remind the U.S. that India is an important country in the region).

Listen to the XM CEO on NPR.org

XM Satellite Radio has added more than a half million subscribers in the last 3 months and shares of XM have quintupled over the last 2 years. Questions discussed in the npr broadcast: Can XM continue its meteoric growth? When will satellite radio become profitable? Is there room for both XM and rival Sirius?

in bad form replying to my own post, but here's a link to the npr audio on the discovery.

NPR STORY

Isn't it about time that Slashdot gets a 'Canada' Topic Icon? We have a USA one.

How about an exploding Maple Leaf? I hear they forgot to tap the trees this year ...

Seriously, Canada is bigger than the USA, it has higher bandwidth, it produces more music, and it has more freedoms and the will to fight for them ... give Canada an icon on /.

Not that I want your friend to become unemployed, but I've pretty much opted out as a customer of American mainstream broadcast media. Doing so is surprisingly easy these days.

There are still some decent content on U.S. TV (the Simpsons, almost anything on Turner Classic Movies), but 90% of it is crap that I easily ignore. We're cable customers, but we can barely justify the expense, other than the broadband access.

Public and internet radio fill the music and news requirements in our house. And there's the Beeb..

If Big Broadcast Media choked to death on its own vomit, we might not even notice it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=1216161

This morning, National Public Radio ran a piece on the upcoming SCOTUS arguments. To my disappointment, it was a industry-friendly puff piece that didn't even attempt to find a valid use for the file-sharing technology. It could have been written by an RIAA PR rep, especially given the number of times they used the phrase "downloading copyrighted works". The only opposing view was a short whine by someone with Grokster about their business model.

Usually, NPR excels in their reporting. But on this subject (as well as the subject of low-power FM broadcasting, another place where public radio puts its own interests above those of the public) they fall way short.

"Not commerical" means not-for-profit.

* NPR
* Jazz
* Classical

Any discussion of the Theremin is incomplete without a reference to Pamelia Kurstin, most recently using it on tour with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

NPR. Of course this is predicated that you've got a good NPR station that plays something besides 17th century chamber music.

I'm operating under the assumption that you live in the US, but it probably applies even if you don't.

NPR!

Public radio is a great source of *interesting* talk radio. None of that "duh-whatever" radio you're talking about. Not only that, but they have shows that cover just about every possible interest: cars, technology, news, music, science, space, etc. And they're all interesting.

I highly recommend giving it a listen on your local affiliate. Once you realize you can't live without them, you'll probably end up donating some money like I did. I just wish I'd known about them sooner. They excellent!

It's going to sound lame, but you can get some reasonably good audio from 2600.

2600

Or Sun has their Java evangelists create real audio lectures.

Also, I purchased Verbal Advantage

Verbal Advantage

When going through DC I listen to C-SPAN Radio, or whenever available.

C-SPAN Radio

When available, I listen to NPR.

NPR

If it's the wee hours, I listen to Coast to Coast AM

Coast to Coast AM

I also like Neil Boortz.

I also purchased "Word Smart" and "Grammar Smart" on Amazon.com, which are published by the Princeton Review.

NPR has lots of great shows online. You can grab them with a stream ripper or similar (if you use a Mac, Audio Hijack works). In particular, I'd recommend Talk of the Nation: Science Friday and This American Life.

Check out the offerings distributed by Public Radio International. The archives of many of their shows are available to listen to for free. Specifically, check out This American Life , To the Best of Our Knowledge , and Sound & Spirit . If you're able to record these shows from the archives (using some sort of scheduled stream-ripper like iRecordMusic or WireTap Pro), or purchase them (through Audible or ITMS), they can make an hour-long commute feel like mere minutes.

And for your Monday morning commute, make sure you've got the latest installment of Wait Wait -- Don't Tell Me! , the NPR news quiz.

NPR show on EV1.

While you're at it subscribe to the All Things Considered RSS feed... http://www.npr.org/rss/rss.php?prgCode=ATC

I don't doubt your sincerity, but you are wrong.
It's better to rent

and from The Economist
http://www.economist.com/finance/displayStory.cfm? story_id=3722894
The figures look even more striking in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it is possible to rent an $800,000 house for $2,000 a month. Making the same assumptions about rents and house prices, but also deducting tax relief on a fixed-rate mortgage and adding property taxes, a buyer would pay $120,000 more over seven years than if he had rented. House prices in San Francisco would need to rise by at least 4% a year (2% in real terms) for it to prove cheaper to buy a house. Since 1950 American house prices in real terms have risen by an annual average of just over 1%. To expect them to rise faster from their current dizzy heights smacks of irrational exuberance, to say the least.

Coincidently on the drive home NPR had a story about this very topic. Apparently due to the recent increases in real estate value compared to rent increases, it currently makes more sense for people to rent than to own. You get an equivalent place for less money both in the short and long run. They also suspect that we are seeing a large bubble in the real estate market that is going to burst in the near future.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4531732

Right, well then try this or this, then. Either way, the point is the same: we aren't moving at the same speed as others.

A picture of her in action http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4527297/

Linkie.

Better pic here of the girl in action: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4527297

Great. Now "Her name is Yoshimi..." running thru my head all evening.

NPR also covered the story. Here's a link to their story.

When I'm at my computer doing a mind-numbing task, I listen to http://www.npr.org/ or http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/. BBC news is very international, informative, and they ask penetrating, no-bullshit questions; they really make CNN look like the brain-dead losers they are. NPR has good news, interesting interviews (Fresh Air) and some really funny programs (Car Talk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me). I'd listen to it on my iPod if I could figure out how in the hell to do that, right now the only option NPR gives you is streaming (and my university connection craps out constantly).

Second, I doubt that SCO's outcome will adversely any non-manager employee.

Once you've "in," nothing matters anymore. In extreme cases you might get fired and be forced to retire in luxury.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4473363 [NPR.org]

This same story was also covered on NPR... Here's a Link!

If the website guy is correct and Vader forcechokes Padme, who dies giving birth, it contradicts Return of the Jedi when Leia tells Luke she vaguely remembers her mother, being sad and all that stuff.

Not necessarily. It is well known that eyewitness accounts of any event can differ dramatically, even immediately after the event. People who are in a bank robbery, for example, and never see the robbers, are likely to provide a description of the robbers in later tellings. This is not embellishment because their minds actually remember seeing the robber, even though in fact they did not.

See the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and an NPR segment on All Things Considered.

NPR has several mentions and talks on blink. He also spoke at the Commonwealth Club

Overall, some of his discussions (for example, about the police shootings in New York or the effects on a high speed car chase on one's lack of judgement) were interesting and worthwhile to understand. But his inaccurate comments on the Getty Kouros turned me off on the work. Factual inaccuracies have a tendency to make you, um, blink. He presented it as obvoius that it was a forgery, but the tremendous amount of scholarship to date cannot confirm or deny whether it was a genuine or forged work. It's hard to trust a work's conclusions when the facts they are based on ignore the truth.

NPR has several mentions and talks on blink. He also spoke at the Commonwealth Club

Overall, some of his discussions (for example, about the police shootings in New York or the effects on a high speed car chase on one's lack of judgement) were interesting and worthwhile to understand. But his inaccurate comments on the Getty Kouros turned me off on the work. Factual inaccuracies have a tendency to make you, um, blink. He presented it as obvoius that it was a forgery, but the tremendous amount of scholarship to date cannot confirm or deny whether it was a genuine or forged work. It's hard to trust a work's conclusions when the facts they are based on ignore the truth.

> For anyone interested, I'd also recommend the
> book "Thinking in Pictures" by Temple Grandin
> (an autistic woman who has redesigned livestock
> handling machinery). She is quite eloquent and
> probably the most famous autistic person (she
> has also been interviewed by Terry Gross, which
> I suppose is online)

here it is:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4278538

i just listened to and very much enjoyed it. highly recommended.

I'm not sure if anyone else in the thread mentioned it, but for many people the hysteria died down and people began to return to Chernoble.

IMO, not the brightest decision (unless they start glowing ;) ).

Here is the story refered to in the parent

The basic American claim that the treaty is unjust towards wealthier nations, while benefits countries like China and India, is true. There can be no argument that the US would be restricted much more than the #2 consumer of petroleum, China, under Kyoto. The question is, can the will of the world force the US into a position that it views as unjust towards itself? It's a thorny one, but recent history suggest that the United States will not be swayed by foreign legislation. Thus the financial incentive is the best hope of Kyoto ever being ratified by the US.

If Europe wants the US to ratify Kyoto, all they have to do is make the dollars and common sense will follow. One side is right here, and one side isn't. If Europe is right, and this does create a financial windfall, the US will follow. If the US is right, and Europe's economy suffers greatly, they will withdraw from Kyoto.

NPR had a story about this last month. First off, it's Oregon that's driving this project, not California, although California's interested in Oregon's results. Second, Oregon is currently testing a system that will work much like Mobil's SpeedPass system. Essentially, you'll have a GPS device in your car that'll keep track of where you drive. It can log your miles into zones. When you buy gas, it uploads the mileage info to the pump which then automagically adds the appropriate tax to your gas purchase.

The system as it is currently envisioned won't necessarily track exactly where you've been--just whether it was in-state or out-of-state. However, it promises to be able to do far more than simply track in-state or out-of-state mileage. It can also track whether any of your mileage was logged in a highly-congested area (much like London's congestion tax for driving in certain congested parts of the city), or during high congestion times (a rush-hour tax to encourage off-hours commuting), and tax you accordingly.

It remains to be seen whether the added cost of putting the devices in cars and equipping gas pumps with the readers is worth it, though.

NPR had a story about this last month. First off, it's Oregon that's driving this project, not California, although California's interested in Oregon's results. Second, Oregon is currently testing a system that will work much like Mobil's SpeedPass system. Essentially, you'll have a GPS device in your car that'll keep track of where you drive. It can log your miles into zones. When you buy gas, it uploads the mileage info to the pump which then automagically adds the appropriate tax to your gas purchase.

The system as it is currently envisioned won't necessarily track exactly where you've been--just whether it was in-state or out-of-state. However, it promises to be able to do far more than simply track in-state or out-of-state mileage. It can also track whether any of your mileage was logged in a highly-congested area (much like London's congestion tax for driving in certain congested parts of the city), or during high congestion times (a rush-hour tax to encourage off-hours commuting), and tax you accordingly.

It remains to be seen whether the added cost of putting the devices in cars and equipping gas pumps with the readers is worth it, though.

I don't trust commercial press anymore. But, I do hold non-profit organizations such as NPR in a much higher regard. Perhaps it is still possible for the people to have access to trustworthy news. It doesn't have to be fair and balanced, but it does have to be honest. It would be nice if there were some news portal whose function was to point us in the direction of such sources.

She was mentioned in a 3-part piece on NPR's Morning Edition titled "Paying for Music in the Internet Age".

She's interviewed in part 1 of the series which was aired on the 15th of September [clip length: 5' 42"]. Odd, though, that clip one is the middle link among the three.

She was mentioned in a 3-part piece on NPR's Morning Edition titled "Paying for Music in the Internet Age".

She's interviewed in part 1 of the series which was aired on the 15th of September [clip length: 5' 42"]. Odd, though, that clip one is the middle link among the three.

You haven't been following current news very well. UCLA medical school got in big trouble last fall when cadavers were sold against the wishes of the good people who donated them for medical students.

This is a very big deal because Gross Anatomy students depend on donated bodies to learn how the human body works. Donation of bodies is one of the greatest gifts a human being can offer. NPR aired part 2 of an ongoing series on Thursday regarding people who will their bodies to medical science. Part 1 was aired last September. Both available on-line at the NPR website.

Many NPR listeners have opted to donate their bodies to medical students after hearing one or both NPR stories. Next time you say it's not a big deal, ask someone who really cares.

It should be noted that the article doesn't say the Barrons were the first musicians to compose electronic music, just that they were electronic music pioneers, and that Forbidden Planet was the first film to feature an all-electronic score. In fact, the article links to an earlier NPR piece about the invention of the trautonium in 1929, an electronic instrument that clearly predates the Barrons.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4473787

"NPR's Robert Smith reports on the rise of "podcasts" -- amateur music and talk shows created by the users of Apple's popular iPod personal music devices and other digital music players. Whole "shows" of music and talk can be downloaded from the Internet to individual players automatically, and some of the show hosts have become celebrities among the burgeoning podcast audience."

The only parts of the speech dealing with IT were two separate sentences, floating around in thousands of political slogans. One sentence was pie-in-the-sky "hydrogen fuel" promotion. The other was more IT for medical records:

"improved information technology to prevent medical error and needless costs"

So our privatization president wants to spend more public money subsidizing doctors, hospitals, pharmacos and insurance companies. The free market works great, but not when life, death and billions in profits are motivating corporations to invest in competence and efficiency.

Meanwhile, the president sees a rosy economy, while the American IT sector shrinks. All those trillions of dollars he's spending in his budgets (which he complains is "the spending appetite of the federal government" that must be restrained) were collected during the tech bubble. He's so far from interested in recovery in our industry that he ignores it entirely, while bragging about a fictional general prosperity. While remaining obsessed with hundreds of billions of dollars for the war technology that's keeping us winning hearts and minds in Iraq.