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This is also a guy who screwed his friends over once he made the big bucks. Vladimir Pokhilko eventually killed his family and himself. Vadim Gerasimov who ported the original game to MSDOS and was one of the original developers did not receive any credit for his work.

I have been playing Tetris a lot lately on Nintendo DS and on Facebook and love it. However, I hate Pajitnov for not making this game more freely available. I used to play Tetris on a Korean gaming site netmarble.com (it was also available on similar site hangame.com). These versions were also highly addictive and had a huge userbase (easily over 10,000 users). They were shut down due to threats of legal action from the Tetris company... If Tetris were only released under the GPL...

This guy's business partner killed himself and his family. Don't know how that's relevant, but it sure is a fun fact: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1998/09/24/NEWS7742.dtl

They are already in Russia and as far as I tell have not returned to the US (can't find any articles that say that they have returned, only articles that say Reiser's son hasn't/doesn't have to appear in court.)

She had taken a job interview, was accepted for the job (after negotiating an extra few grand because she was now going to be a single mother - you don't bother negotiating if all you're doing is setting up a story line), etc. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/07/BAOFUTA27.DTL

(02-06) 12:48 PST OAKLAND --

Two days before she disappeared, Nina Reiser accepted a $50,000-a-year job with the San Francisco Department of Public Health to help Russian immigrants, the woman who hired her testified Wednesday.

Prosecutors hope Patricia Erwin's testimony will help persuade the jury in the murder trial of Reiser's estranged husband, Hans Reiser, that the missing woman didn't vanish voluntarily - a theory the defense has advanced.

Nina Reiser eagerly discussed the job, to help fellow Russian immigrants with their health concerns, during two interviews in August 2006 and accepted it Sept. 1, 2006, said Erwin, a project manager for the Public Health Department. Reiser was last seen two days after that, and never showed up for work at the San Francisco agency.

"She was very outgoing, friendly," Erwin said in Alameda County Superior Court. "She was easy to connect with. She seemed down-to-earth, and she also seemed very committed to working with us."

Echoing an opinion voiced by other witnesses at the trial, Erwin said the mother of two, then 31 years old, didn't seem to be the kind of person who would abandon her children. "My impression was they were a major part of her life," she said.

Prosecutors say Hans Reiser killed his wife after she dropped off their children at his Oakland hills home Sept. 3, 2006. Her body hasn't been found. The 44-year-old defendant has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys have suggested that Nina Reiser is alive and hiding in Russia.

Also Wednesday, Richard Wilson of the TransUnion credit bureau testified that Hans Reiser was $90,000 in debt as of late last month. The figure includes $29,000 in unpaid child support, he said. Nina Reiser was about $30,000 in debt, Wilson said.

Other witnesses have testified that Hans Reiser complained that his wife was a financial burden to him.

In other testimony, Michael Caniglia, an employee of AT&T Mobility, said Hans Reiser's cell phone was dormant between Sept. 1 and Sept. 5, 2006, when his voice mail was checked at 5:02 p.m.

At 5:04 p.m. that day, an eight-second call was made on his cell phone to Nina Reiser's cell phone, the phone records showed.

Caniglia said Hans Reiser's cell phone received several incoming phone calls in the days after his wife disappeared. But the phone was either out of range, turned off or had its battery removed, he said.

Caniglia testified that the location of cell phones can be determined if they are on - even when no calls are being made - but not if they are turned off or the batteries are removed.

Prosecutor Paul Hora has told jurors that Hans Reiser's cell phone's battery was detached when police detained him several weeks after his wife disappeared and that her cell phone's battery was detached when police found the phone in her abandoned car.

Also, Nina wasn't a "mail-order bride".

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/02/hans-reiser-m-3.html

he 44-year-old popular Linux programmer has pleaded not guilty, claiming his wife abandoned their children, now 6 and 8, and left Oakland for Russia, where the couple met in 1998 while Hans Reiser was overseas developing software.

So let's recap:

1. Hans owed Nina $$$ - $29k at that point. Nina was about $30k in debt - which balances pretty much with the $29k Hans owed her in child support.
2. Nina had no need to leave the country - she had a job, custody of the kids, if

This is discussed numerous places. A quick google pops up this article from the San Francisco Chronicle during the 2004 race. It's really one of the sad things about Nader. He has some good ideas but he often undermines his goals with his actions.

> The judge is neither "stupid" nor "a monkey" -- he acted as should be expected.

Maybe yes, maybe no. This is the same Judge who threw reporters in jail for not revealing a source http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/13/MNVTRH8G7.DTL, and who decided that the open source Artistic license can't be enforced http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/updates.html#2007-08-17, http://lawandlifesiliconvalley.blogspot.com/2007/09/software-freedom-law-center-files-first.html.

Maybe this is just an example of "bad things come in threes"?

I don't see it as a threat to civil liberties. It's like the hypodermic. It's been used for many years as a tool in the psychiatric opression of political dissidents, been used to murder, been used to torture and so on and so forth.

But would you honestly rather the hypodermic had never existed? Of course not.

A hammer can be used to hurt you. Would you have them banned?

Personally, I'm hopeful about this one.

New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said the nation's largest health insurers have rigged rates they pay for physician visits. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insure14feb14,1,4908267.story

Blue Cross of California quickly halted its practice of asking doctors to report conditions it could use to cancel new patients' medical coverage after a widespread wave of criticism. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/02/12/state/n011719S23.DTL&type=health

The 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously said insurers have a responsibility to make sure patients' policy applications are complete and accurate before issuing coverage -- not after expensive claims come in the door. http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/02/11/prsc0211.htm

Just how stupid are you? In the current US health care system, the best way to make money is to not provide services. If someone gets sick, cancel their coverage. Maybe you'll get lucky and they will die before they can sue. Or you can conspire to rig rates so that you pay much less then procedures really cost, leaving the insured to cover the rest.

Ever been turned down for health coverage because of existing conditions? I have. Know anyone with a chronic condition (diabetes) who can barely afford medication? How about choosing between medication and dental care?

I used to work as a consultant. I can no longer afford to do this because of the cost and risk of having no medical coverage.

Now think what would happen if I blow into a tube and I can't get medical coverage because I might get cancer or might be at risk of heart failure? Suppose passing that physical is required before I get a job. You can have health insurance if you get the job, but if you have a health problem you can't get the job in the first place.

Your ignorance is astounding. The kind of abuse that you are denying already exists to a massive extent in the US health care system. Whoever gave you mod points for 'Insightful +5' is just as big a fool. As far as I'm concerned, all you deserve is to get really sick for a long time, loose your health coverage and be consigned to the hellhole that exists for public health care in this country.

do you have that from any *credible* news source? fox news certainly isn't.

Really? You'd prefer Venezuela's state-run news, and Chavez-controlled airwaves? Which information presented in the article I happened to link to did you find to be actually incorrect, historically or in terms of its representations of current events? Or, are you just a blowhard? Ah, I see.

Still, do a little homework. Venezuela can't stand the idea of US firms doing things like setting up rocket launch sites in Guyana . You'll recall that Chavez's nationalization of other people's investments is now his normal behavior, and his inclinations in this area are the same.

Don't like Fox? How about the The SF Gate? . Is that idealogically left-enough of a publication for you? They report on Guyana's complaint about Chavez's military destroying Guyana-operated dredging equipment outside of Venezuela's borders. The border agreement to which Venezuela a signee a century ago is now "null," according to Chavez (funny how he's recently decided that, now that third parties are investing in mineral extraction work in an area he'd like to harvest - since he can't make money off of his heavily sulfurous crude oil without sending to the US for refinement).

I wrote comments on sfgate's site. Its basically a follow up article to one which a 'secruity expert' got infected, and spent 12 hours restoring his computer. Excuuuus me?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/26/MNE7UHOOQ.DTL&hw=infected+frames&sn=002&sc=519

Its easy to modify Windows 2000/XP to not AutoRun. Mark Russinovich shows it in his blog. I got a frame that was infected, but found it out, wihtout getting infected. AutoRun was off, and it had some mightly suspicious software in there. I scanned it before it ran, and found a trojan horse, simliar to the one that came on Maxtor Hard disks. A nasty one none the less...

But as a Security expert, I didnt get infected, and if I did. ( I got infected by a trojan about three years ago, it took me about 20 mins to restore my system. TWENTY MINUTES!

I have the OS ( Windows XP ) on a seperate partition from all my applications and documents. I only back it up completely, after a run of 30 patches ( Dirty or "update teusday' ) give me about 5 or 6, so I only have to back up 2 or 3 times a year. When I did get infected, I restored the backup, applied the patches. 20 mins. Duh!

What about missing DLLs? I can find those online, and have made a list, and put those with those patches I download from Microsoft. ( I never run patches from microsoft. I let others test that feature. ::)) I have all the patches on a CD, ready to install ( except 1 ), and can go from a fresh re-install to completely patched without ever going online ( The three is now down to 1, and its not an executable. )

As the Patriot Act making me jump through hoops to buy Claritin-D is going to stop meth cookers.

Kind of. It is registered in the tax roles, it just can't be accounted for once it is dispersed: "The Department of Defense... once again finds itself under intense scrutiny, only this time because it couldn't account for more than a trillion dollars in financial transactions..." according to a Government Accountability office "A study by the Defense Department's inspector general found that the Pentagon couldn't properly account for more than a trillion dollars in monies spent." -sfgate

Maybe they are building that giant-mega-super-computer after all, or maybe they are funding covert wars and skimming your money for $640 toilet seats and retirement funds. Either way, they are outright taking money from me with no accountability which makes me even more pissed than if it were secret!

Most people who are bright enough to see how much money is being wasted, aren't US Citizens so they don't mind at all.

Oh we see it and we mind, but you seem to think that we are actually in a position to do anything about it. Protests don't do anything when they are made from a First Amendment Zone. We voted our sorry excuse for an opposition party into power and they didn't stop the war. We have attempted to legally address the the deception that paved the way for this war in the first place (see my sig) but that hasn't even appeared in our evening news on a slow news day. None of our viable candidates for the next presidency are willing to pull the troops out. You seem to suffer from the misconception that Americans actually have any control or accountability from our government.

How many million a day is it? I cant figure out where the money is going.

It's going to interests owned by the like of The Carlyle Group and Halliburton

But wait! Puerto Rico has a non-voting delegate in the US House of Representatives, too! Oh, and as a resident of DC, the license plates are one of the many options you can get (you're not required to get that particular design). I suppose you would also say that everyone in Missouri now must have a "Choose Life" license plate.

This is a lame duck president. Congress will wait for a new president before doing anything. Before the budget will get passed there will be at least one continuing resolution where funding will be at the current very low levels across the board for science. Then Congress, realizing it needs to deal with the ballooning budget problems, will need to pass a lean budget for science in order to fund things like welfare. Only NASA will be largely spared since it is so spread-out over many Congressional districts.

There is no hope for science funding in the emergency stimulus bill and only a little hope for a April/May supplemental appropriations bill tacked onto war spending. So there will be a long time at 2008 levels of funding and then cuts and basically level funding for the rest in the eventual 2009 budget passed by Congress and signed by the then president.

Don't believe me, read what the Director of Fermilab thinks:

http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/archive_2008/today08-02-05.html

The only real hope for science funding is through universities really. If you know any university trustees, let them know about the problems. If these wealthy and well connected people feel that their companies are at risk due to the US trailing in science, then they can make an impact with Representative and Senators. We need more people like Craig Barrett, the chairman of Intel, expressing why science funding is key.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/20/EDFDUHP1I.DTL

re McCain; don't forget the whole "he's a racist pig" thing:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/02/18/MN32194.DTL

• The Obama campaign has renewed my sense of patriotism, long buried under the cynical misuse of patriotism as a cudgel to suppress honest debate and dissent. If you haven't seen it yet, this video captures in four minutes much of the feelings his campaign has rekindled for me.
  
• After the last seven years, I want to feel proud of America again, and help send a message that we as a nation reject torture, fear-based authoritarianism, an unaccountable executive, ideologically-driven anti-science policies, and indefinite war with a constantly changing mission.
  
• I believe Barack Obama is the strongest candidate, with the best chance of garnering enough support across parties, races, genders, religions (including us atheists!), and regions to actually credibly claim a mandate for change. He has a proven record of bringing diverse interests together to get meaningful legislation passed: when he authored a law that required the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases, prosecutors and police adamantly opposed the bill, as well as the governor and most legislators who wanted to look tough on crime. But Obama led a campaign to get it passed, and a key element of that was to quietly but effectively bring together prosecutors, public defenders, police organizations, and death penalty opponents work out an agreement that all groups could endorse. Eventually, the bill was passed unanimously and became law. (the American Bar Association later unanimously adopted a similar resolution)
  
• Despite being considered a visionary, Obama is very conservative (in the traditional Burkean sense), with a pragmatic, minimalist, and consensus-based approach to government.

High standardized test scores do not have to come from 'teaching to the test'. Maybe you're thinking of public schools? Home schooling succeeds when parents teach their children how to learn. Does this come from your actual observations?

According to Bush, every American can now get affordable broadband.

Because Bush defines "broadband" as 200Kbps (yes, kilobits). And "everyone" means that even if only one person in a ZIPcode could buy 200Kbps broadband, that ZIPcode is checked off as if everyone in it could get it. And considering the $TRILLIONS Bush has burned in handouts to his cronies (especially the telcos, these days his favorites), the definition of "affordable" is left as an exercise to the reader.

Those relatively few readers whose broadband connection can access this page.

Meanwhile, Japan has already deployed 100Mbps to 85% of its households; their average is 93Mbps; expects ubiquitous access to 100Mbps by 2010. And maybe they're not even lying about it like Bush is.

What other competitive advantages over our foreign competition has the US completely squandered in the decade since we were sitting on top of the world, by spinning our wheels (or tank treads) while the rest of the world has been busy beating us at our own games?

Because running 35 mph, is a whole lot different than launching itself at a 55 degree angle at 35 mph. If the tiger could get any grip at all on the side of the wall, it would have needed less initial velocity jumping from the bottom of the moat. If you don't mind converting to metric, here's a calculator for you. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2007/12/28/MNSKU5OFE.DTL&o=1

You may believe they DID kill it with a shotgun, however you are mistaken. Four officers tracked down the tiger and used their .40-caliber handguns.

You should cite your sources.

- waited for the Zoo to empty out (premeditated)
What? They came to the zoo during normal hours.

- collected tools to do the task (slingshot, and something else (i forgot)
There wasn't any slingshot. And the reason you forget something else is because there was *nothing* else!

- drove drunk (open container of vodka in the car) to the zoo
How the hell do you know that? They could have been drinking after the car was already parked.

- stayed around after zoo was closed (trespassing)
Maybe they were making their way out? The zoo closed at 5pm. That doesn't mean that you are immediately trespassing. It just means that the doors are closed to people going in. The attack happened pretty close or maybe even before 5pm. We'll never be sure because the boys spent some time trying to alert zoo authorities (who didn't believe them) before attempting to call 911 (without success) the first time. It took a second call to 911 to get someone besides that annoying "please hold" recording that California loves to make you listen to for up to 10 minutes.

- climbed over a barrier designed to protect animals from humans
Once again, no evidence.

- lied to police about what happened
Do you have evidence that they lied? The SFPD would love to hear from you.

- clamed up, lawyered up right away
Maybe they were scared because they were minors and had been drinking and the zoo director was immediately making up stuff about slingshots and foreign objects in the tiger exhibit that were later proved untrue, and the zoo staff didn't believe and wouldn't help them at all? I'd clam up too and hire a lawyer in such an unwarranted adversarial situation.

Here's the article from Jan. 29, 2008 where the SFPD find no evidence of taunting and discontinue the investigation.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

Actually, there's no body of evidence at all that any of the three taunted the tigers. The SF Police stopped investigating after nothing, including witnesses (to taunting or other statements), ever showed up.

Cite *your* sources. And I don't mean an article full of conjecture and false statements fed to the press (and later deemed false by the same press) and police by the incompetent and demoralizing zoo director, Manuel Mollinedo.

Actually, there's no body of evidence at all that any of the three taunted the tigers. The SF Police stopped investigating after nothing, including witnesses (to taunting or other statements), ever showed up.

Cite *your* sources. And I don't mean an article full of conjecture and false statements fed to the press (and later deemed false by the same press) and police by the incompetent and demoralizing zoo director, Manuel Mollinedo.

On four recorded occasions, humans have jumped at least 29 feet. I'd bet a tiger can easily clear 4 feet more, plus 2.5ft of height. (see diagram) I doubt the new fence is adequate.

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/01/03/mn_grotto.jpg

According to the SFGate diagram, the distance from the edge of the grotto to the top of the "new" safety wall is 33 feet over and 9 feet up.

According go the calculations in the arXiv article, the tiger can theoretically jump 33 feet over and 12.5 feet up--clearing the "new" safety wall by an easy 3.5 feet vertical.

That might be theoretical, but you still won't find me standing there . . .

• http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/01/03/mn_grotto.jpg
• http://arxiv.org/abs/0801.4407

Yes, it did. According to the veterinarian who did the autopsy on the tiger:

An autopsy conducted by a zoo veterinarian on the Siberian tiger after police shot it to death showed that the animal had been "very determined to get out," Matthews said. Its claws were broken and splintered by clambering up the concrete moat wall, Matthews quoted the veterinarian as saying.

Wrong, police used .40 caliber handguns.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

"It would appear that his management style - which downplays the value of staff and the welfare of animals - remains in place," said a former worker from the Los Angeles Zoo.

A departed San Francisco Zoo manager concurred.

"It's a top-down mentality that the zoo has adopted," he said. "And I think it's very dangerous."

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle. And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

"It would appear that his management style - which downplays the value of staff and the welfare of animals - remains in place," said a former worker from the Los Angeles Zoo.

A departed San Francisco Zoo manager concurred.

"It's a top-down mentality that the zoo has adopted," he said. "And I think it's very dangerous."

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle. And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

"It would appear that his management style - which downplays the value of staff and the welfare of animals - remains in place," said a former worker from the Los Angeles Zoo.

A departed San Francisco Zoo manager concurred.

"It's a top-down mentality that the zoo has adopted," he said. "And I think it's very dangerous."

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle. And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

"It would appear that his management style - which downplays the value of staff and the welfare of animals - remains in place," said a former worker from the Los Angeles Zoo.

A departed San Francisco Zoo manager concurred.

"It's a top-down mentality that the zoo has adopted," he said. "And I think it's very dangerous."

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle. And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

"It would appear that his management style - which downplays the value of staff and the welfare of animals - remains in place," said a former worker from the Los Angeles Zoo.

A departed San Francisco Zoo manager concurred.

"It's a top-down mentality that the zoo has adopted," he said. "And I think it's very dangerous."

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle. And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

On Dec. 22 of last year, 300-pound Tatiana severely injured keeper Lori Komejan inside the Lion House, "degloving" her arm, as the state's workplace safety report put it. That agency, Cal/OSHA blamed the zoo, citing defects that the zoo knew about but hadn't fixed, and imposed an $18,000 penalty.

"It would appear that his management style - which downplays the value of staff and the welfare of animals - remains in place," said a former worker from the Los Angeles Zoo.

A departed San Francisco Zoo manager concurred.

"It's a top-down mentality that the zoo has adopted," he said. "And I think it's very dangerous."

Since Mollinedo took over, there has been a steady exodus of employees, including the deputy director, education director, two successive public relations managers, development director, curator of birds, marketing manager, events director, human resources manager, general manager of concessions and a number of veteran keepers.

But escaping from an enclosure at the zoo is not beyond the ability of a Siberian tiger, according to a retired longtime keeper and other zoo veterans interviewed by The Chronicle. And many people who worked at the zoo knew it, the keeper said.

If you look at the link the parent posted ( http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/01/03/mn_grotto.jpg ) you can clearly see that the situation shown in the picture is vastly different from what the calculations looked at. Based on what is shown in the picture this was essentially a running long jump for the tiger. There was virtually no elevation involved, especially when you consider that she could easily pull herself up over the top if she was a couple of feet short. That diagram is very enlightening.

FIrst of all, the tiger can walk right up to the 12.5 foot barrier. See http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2008/01/04/MNCHU8QPS.DTL&o=2

Next, they quote that a tiger can achieve a speed of up to 35 miles per hour, and that because their calculated initial velocity at a launch angle of 55 degrees was below this, it can be concluded that the tiger could get over the fence. Tigers are not projectiles that can be launched at any angle at any velocity. Maybe they can run horizontally (along the x-axis for the intellectual types) at 35 mph, but they can't leap vertically (along the z-axis) at 35 mph. The maximum horizontal velocity is not the same as the maximum vertical velocity. If that was the case, they barrier would have to be 42 feet high in order to prevent the tiger from jumping straight up and climbing over the top.

Tigers in the wild have been observed to jump up to 16 feet high in the wild. You build enclosures to account for this. It isn't rocket science.

Here's a citation for the climbing. The bit about the cement climbing is near the end.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/18/MNEIUH4B9.DTL

I can only assume that OP won't give you a response because there are no citations that will come close to agreeing that Sousa wasn't taunting the animals... given that there's an enormous body of evidence including statements by the survivors to the contrary. (Unless you actually believe the eloquent "we didn't do nothing" they told his mom.)

Looking at this diagram: http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2008/01/03/mn_grotto.jpg You can see that it is 33ft along and 2.5ft up for starters. (12ft is from the bottom of the moat, not from where the tiger jumped).

Then the tiger's centre of mass is probably about 2.5ft up anyway so it more about being able to jump 33ft flat.

Also speed doesn't translate into distance in this simplistic way either: if it did humans would be almost able to jump the distance (max speed = 26.25mph) which is close as damm it to the 26.7mph required.

No no no, nothing like that. This is for those really hard-to-kill whales that just won't go down with a good sonar blast.

The last person I heard of in the same situation as you was arrested, jailed, and spent $14,000 defending himself. If you're at all uncertain about the legitimacy of a check, make sure you explain it to the bank before you ask them to verify it or cash it.

In 1965, U.S. corporate taxes amounted to 4% of gross domestic product, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development which includes local, state, and federal income and capital-gains taxes in its calculation. By 2000, that figure had dropped to 2.5%.

House approves $30 billion in corporate tax breaks

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A corporate tax break that could benefit you

Microsoft Reduces Irish Corporate Tax Liability To Less Than 10%

WTO rules against US corporate tax breaks

The EU was set to implement retaliatory tariffs

Senate Approves Tech Corporate Tax Break

Ms use share options to reduce their tax bill by $5.5 billion

Microsft & Cisco pay $0 Federal Income Tax

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