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steve2470
steve2470's Journal
steve2470's Journal
February 4, 2014
I cried when I heard about Philip Seymour Hoffman. The news scared me: He got sober when he was 22 and didn’t drink or use drugs for the next 23 years. During that time, he won an Academy Award, was nominated for three more, and was widely cited as the most talented actor of his generation. He also became a father to three children. Then, one day in 2012, he began popping prescription pain pills. And now he's dead.
The root causes of addiction, like those of many multifactorial diseases, are frustratingly elusive, a nebulous mixture of genetics, exposure, and environment. Addiction runs in families, but plenty of addicts come from families with no history of the disease. Availability plays a role, too—but having access to crack doesn’t make someone a crack addict. The science about recovery is also hazy: Alcoholics Anonymous, the most widely used form of treatment in the country, has no set structure or methodology, which makes it tough to evaluate its effectiveness. (There’s also the fact that its core principle—that members never publicly acknowledge their presence in the program—makes broad longitudinal studies difficult, to say the least.) In-patient treatment centers, like the one Hoffman checked himself into last May, have been accused of obfuscating their success rates.
If anything, the science on relapses is even more slippery. (We do know that relapse rates for drug and alcohol addiction are comparable to people’s inability to control other chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, and hypertension.) The challenges are as basic as agreeing on a definition for long-term sobriety. In a graphic titled “Extended Abstinence is Predictive of Sustained Recovery,” the National Institute of Drug Abuse says, “After 5 years—if you are sober, you will probably stay that way.” I unconsciously added a “forever” to the end of that sentence—but the study that chart is based on ran for eight years, a bar Hoffman cleared easily.
My first attempt at recovery came in 1991, when I was 19 years old. Almost exactly two years later, I decided to have a drink. Two years after that, I was addicted to heroin. There’s a lot we don’t know about alcoholism and drug addiction, but one thing is clear: Regardless of how much time clean you have, relapsing is always as easy as moving your hand to your mouth.
Why Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Death Is So Scary
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2014/02/philip_seymour_hoffman_s_drug_death_the_science_of_addiction_recovery_and.html?wpisrc=burger_barI cried when I heard about Philip Seymour Hoffman. The news scared me: He got sober when he was 22 and didn’t drink or use drugs for the next 23 years. During that time, he won an Academy Award, was nominated for three more, and was widely cited as the most talented actor of his generation. He also became a father to three children. Then, one day in 2012, he began popping prescription pain pills. And now he's dead.
The root causes of addiction, like those of many multifactorial diseases, are frustratingly elusive, a nebulous mixture of genetics, exposure, and environment. Addiction runs in families, but plenty of addicts come from families with no history of the disease. Availability plays a role, too—but having access to crack doesn’t make someone a crack addict. The science about recovery is also hazy: Alcoholics Anonymous, the most widely used form of treatment in the country, has no set structure or methodology, which makes it tough to evaluate its effectiveness. (There’s also the fact that its core principle—that members never publicly acknowledge their presence in the program—makes broad longitudinal studies difficult, to say the least.) In-patient treatment centers, like the one Hoffman checked himself into last May, have been accused of obfuscating their success rates.
If anything, the science on relapses is even more slippery. (We do know that relapse rates for drug and alcohol addiction are comparable to people’s inability to control other chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, and hypertension.) The challenges are as basic as agreeing on a definition for long-term sobriety. In a graphic titled “Extended Abstinence is Predictive of Sustained Recovery,” the National Institute of Drug Abuse says, “After 5 years—if you are sober, you will probably stay that way.” I unconsciously added a “forever” to the end of that sentence—but the study that chart is based on ran for eight years, a bar Hoffman cleared easily.
My first attempt at recovery came in 1991, when I was 19 years old. Almost exactly two years later, I decided to have a drink. Two years after that, I was addicted to heroin. There’s a lot we don’t know about alcoholism and drug addiction, but one thing is clear: Regardless of how much time clean you have, relapsing is always as easy as moving your hand to your mouth.
February 4, 2014
February 04, 2014 11:30 AM
President Obama Speaks on ConnectED
Adelphi, Maryland
President Obama live at school now
http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/president-obama-speaks-connectedFebruary 04, 2014 11:30 AM
President Obama Speaks on ConnectED
Adelphi, Maryland
February 4, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/26036204
The Curiosity Mars rover is going to try and drive over a one-metre-high sand dune on Mars.
The dune is stopping the rover get to a valley which doesn't have many sharp rocks that can damage the robot's wheels.
It's a risky business, NASA scientists lost an earlier rover in sand back in 2009!
This time Curiosity will first only climb halfway up the dune to see how it reacts to the sand.
Curiosity Mars rover to try and 'jump' sand dune
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/26036204
The Curiosity Mars rover is going to try and drive over a one-metre-high sand dune on Mars.
The dune is stopping the rover get to a valley which doesn't have many sharp rocks that can damage the robot's wheels.
It's a risky business, NASA scientists lost an earlier rover in sand back in 2009!
This time Curiosity will first only climb halfway up the dune to see how it reacts to the sand.
February 4, 2014
Barbie's Lead Designer Defends Barbie's Crazy Proportions
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3025620/barbies-lead-designer-defends-barbies-crazy-proportionsBARBIE'S UNREALISTIC PROPORTIONS ARE A STANDARD TALKING POINT AROUND BODY IMAGE. FOR THE FIRST TIME, BARBIE'S LEAD DESIGNER FIRES BACK.
During a recent visit to Mattel’s design headquarters in Los Angeles, I was invited into the Barbie design studio. At first glance, it’s a sea of cubicles like any other. Then you notice the hundreds of dismembered Barbie heads peeking up over the dividers, and, of course, the pink. Pantone 219 crops up everywhere it can. Like a resilient weed growing straight from the corporate carpeting, pink sprouts in X-Acto knives, Post-it notes, and clutch purses. A bit of Barbie’s influence permeates everything. (One young designer even confessed to me that before the job she never really wore pink, but now she felt the need to accessorize with Barbie.)
But while the omnipresent pink propaganda is infectious, Barbie’s designers were anything but the Stepfordian dictatorship seeking to deliberately crush a young girl’s body image as critics may assume. Like all of the designers I met at Mattel, they were nice, enthusiastic people who wanted to make kids happy and worked hard to do so--which made it particularly difficult to pull aside Kim Culmone, vice president of design for Barbie, after her tour and ask the dark question looming inside so many of us:
Co.Design: What's your stance on Barbie's proportions?
Culmone: Barbie’s body was never designed to be realistic. She was designed for girls to easily dress and undress. And she’s had many bodies over the years, ones that are poseable, ones that are cut for princess cuts, ones that are more realistic.
During a recent visit to Mattel’s design headquarters in Los Angeles, I was invited into the Barbie design studio. At first glance, it’s a sea of cubicles like any other. Then you notice the hundreds of dismembered Barbie heads peeking up over the dividers, and, of course, the pink. Pantone 219 crops up everywhere it can. Like a resilient weed growing straight from the corporate carpeting, pink sprouts in X-Acto knives, Post-it notes, and clutch purses. A bit of Barbie’s influence permeates everything. (One young designer even confessed to me that before the job she never really wore pink, but now she felt the need to accessorize with Barbie.)
But while the omnipresent pink propaganda is infectious, Barbie’s designers were anything but the Stepfordian dictatorship seeking to deliberately crush a young girl’s body image as critics may assume. Like all of the designers I met at Mattel, they were nice, enthusiastic people who wanted to make kids happy and worked hard to do so--which made it particularly difficult to pull aside Kim Culmone, vice president of design for Barbie, after her tour and ask the dark question looming inside so many of us:
Co.Design: What's your stance on Barbie's proportions?
Culmone: Barbie’s body was never designed to be realistic. She was designed for girls to easily dress and undress. And she’s had many bodies over the years, ones that are poseable, ones that are cut for princess cuts, ones that are more realistic.
February 4, 2014
The unemployment rate in Metro Orlando has dipped to 5.5 percent, raising a question few have been willing to ask during the sputtering five-year recovery: Is it possible the job market is returning to normal?
The rate is the lowest in six years — better than the state's (6.2 percent) and the nation's (6.7 percent) and not much higher than recent historical averages.
For example, Central Florida's average jobless rate from 2000 to 2008 — the year before the labor market imploded — was 4.3 percent. The average jobless rate from 1990 to 2008 was 4.7 percent.
Those numbers are better than December's 5.5 percent, but the region is narrowing the gap. It already has matched the 5.5 percent that the Congressional Budget Office calls "full employment" at the national level. That's the point where almost everyone who wants to work can find a job.
At 5.5%, Orlando unemployment rate nearing 'normal'
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-metro-orlando-unemployment-20140203,0,6443415.storyThe unemployment rate in Metro Orlando has dipped to 5.5 percent, raising a question few have been willing to ask during the sputtering five-year recovery: Is it possible the job market is returning to normal?
The rate is the lowest in six years — better than the state's (6.2 percent) and the nation's (6.7 percent) and not much higher than recent historical averages.
For example, Central Florida's average jobless rate from 2000 to 2008 — the year before the labor market imploded — was 4.3 percent. The average jobless rate from 1990 to 2008 was 4.7 percent.
Those numbers are better than December's 5.5 percent, but the region is narrowing the gap. It already has matched the 5.5 percent that the Congressional Budget Office calls "full employment" at the national level. That's the point where almost everyone who wants to work can find a job.
February 4, 2014
Six years ago, Philip Seymour Hoffman was nominated for a supporting actor Academy Award for "Charlie Wilson's War." He attended the nominees luncheon, a swank gathering at the Beverly Hilton, whose dress code is just one notch below that of the attire seen on the red carpet for the actual Oscars.
But Hoffman, a consummate actor known for an unkempt look off-screen, wore a suit so rumpled it looked like he had slept in it. And smack in the middle of his dress shirt was a giant stain — and that was before he took a bite to eat.
Fast-forward to last month's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where Hoffman was promoting two of his new films, "A Most Wanted Man" and "God's Pocket." Since news of Hoffman's shocking death broke Sunday, a number of those who attended the festival commented on how disheveled the actor had looked at Sundance.
Given that the 46-year-old Hoffman died Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose, it's not surprising that people were trying to discern from his outward physical look what might have been happening in his private life. But that kind of morbid tea-leaf reading fails to recognize that the veteran actor was always much more interested in his craft than his appearance.
Backstage Hollywood: The public and private sides of Philip Seymour Hoffman
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-backstage-philip-seymour-hoffman-20140204,0,5638837.story#axzz2sMQnT8flSix years ago, Philip Seymour Hoffman was nominated for a supporting actor Academy Award for "Charlie Wilson's War." He attended the nominees luncheon, a swank gathering at the Beverly Hilton, whose dress code is just one notch below that of the attire seen on the red carpet for the actual Oscars.
But Hoffman, a consummate actor known for an unkempt look off-screen, wore a suit so rumpled it looked like he had slept in it. And smack in the middle of his dress shirt was a giant stain — and that was before he took a bite to eat.
Fast-forward to last month's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where Hoffman was promoting two of his new films, "A Most Wanted Man" and "God's Pocket." Since news of Hoffman's shocking death broke Sunday, a number of those who attended the festival commented on how disheveled the actor had looked at Sundance.
Given that the 46-year-old Hoffman died Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose, it's not surprising that people were trying to discern from his outward physical look what might have been happening in his private life. But that kind of morbid tea-leaf reading fails to recognize that the veteran actor was always much more interested in his craft than his appearance.
February 3, 2014
Audio tape is here: https://soundcloud.com/bobbybiz/dep-spill-hotline-audio
Freedom Industries Calling: New Tape Reveals False Statements During Chemical Spill
Source: Business Week
This you have to hear. The West Virginia Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management released the audio tape of Freedom Industries reporting the Jan. 9 chemical spill that shut down access to public water for 300,000 people in the Charleston area.
The remarkably laconic late-morning phone conversation between a company representative and a hotline operator named Laverne reveals Freedom Industries minimizing the extent of the spill and making several flat-out misstatements about what’s transpiring. It’s safe to predict that this tape will become Exhibit A in pending civil litigation accusing Freedom of negligence and in any potential criminal charges related to the spill. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charleston has said that it has launched a wide-ranging probe of the incident. Freedom Industries and its executives have denied any wrongdoing.
The caller from Freedom Industries, identifying himself as Bob Reynolds, says on the audio tape that the substance being released isn’t toxic or hazardous and isn’t escaping into the Elk River. A containment wall has blocked the spill from spreading, he adds. Both statements were incorrect.
Other company officials and state environmental regulators later confirmed that the coal-processing chemical MCHM does cause harm to humans. Later on Jan. 9, residents of the region were ordered not to drink, bathe, or cook with tap water because 10,000 gallons of MCHM swiftly entered the Elk River. From there it flowed into the public water-system intake a mile and a half downstream from the Freedom Industries tank farm on the banks of the Elk.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-03/freedom-industries-hotline-call-misstated-extent-and-danger-of-spill?google_editors_picks=true
Audio tape is here: https://soundcloud.com/bobbybiz/dep-spill-hotline-audio
February 3, 2014
A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years told The Associated Press on Monday that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics.
Alexei Sorokin, director general of pest control firm Basya Services, said his company is involved in what he described as the "catching and disposing" of dogs. Sorokin refused to specify whether they shoot or poison dogs or say where they take the carcasses.
Thousands of stray dogs are roaming the streets of Sochi, Sorokin said, and some of them are "biting children."
Sorokin said he attended a rehearsal of the Olympic opening ceremony last week and saw a stray dog walking in on the performers.
Sochi City Hall Orders Killing of Stray Dogs
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/sochi-city-hall-orders-killing-stray-dogs-22342524A pest control company which has been killing stray dogs in Sochi for years told The Associated Press on Monday that it has a contract to exterminate more of the animals throughout the Olympics.
Alexei Sorokin, director general of pest control firm Basya Services, said his company is involved in what he described as the "catching and disposing" of dogs. Sorokin refused to specify whether they shoot or poison dogs or say where they take the carcasses.
Thousands of stray dogs are roaming the streets of Sochi, Sorokin said, and some of them are "biting children."
Sorokin said he attended a rehearsal of the Olympic opening ceremony last week and saw a stray dog walking in on the performers.
February 3, 2014
File it under predictable: The British government’s attempt to force Internet service providers to install filters that block inappropriate content isn’t going so smoothly. Critics of the hastily planned attempt to have the nation’s Internet browsing become porn-free by default warned that much more than smut would be affected, and they seem to have been right. A government working group is now coming up with a white list of websites that have been inadvertently blocked by filters, according to a BBC report.
This effort began in earnest last summer, largely at the behest of Claire Perry, Prime Minister David Cameron’s special adviser on preventing the sexualization and commercialization of childhood. The government threatened to pass legislation requiring filters if Internet providers didn’t put them in place voluntarily; a similar arrangement was already in place for mobile networks. So starting over the summer, Internet providers began activating filters for new customers before expanding the policy more broadly. Over the course of this year, companies will contact existing customers to give them descriptions of various filters blocking pornography, self-harm websites, and other controversial content while allowing users to turn the filters off.
The experience of the last several months points to a contentious year ahead. Various websites, from groups working on issues of sexual violence to Torrent Freak, which offers news about copyright issues, have reported being blocked in the filters. One provider, BT (BT), faced criticism after its list of filters initially had a setting for blocking sexual education that included such subjects as “respect for partners” and homosexuality. There seems to be no universal way to set some line beyond which people shouldn’t go and no clear technical path to get there even if there were.
Another issue is the lack of a reliable way for the proprietor of a website to find out whether his or her site is even being blocked. Each service provider uses slightly different criteria and has different levels of blocking, and there are separate filters for mobile data networks and public Wi-Fi. One carrier, O2 (TEF), managed to set off a firestorm with a tool that allowed people to check if specific URLs had been blocked. Since the tool tested O2?s most restrictive child-safety setting, many websites came up as blocked, giving fodder to critics who had feared the worst about the filters. The company quickly took the tool down.
Britain Fumbles Its Attempt to Cleanse the Internet of Porn
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-31/britain-fumbles-in-its-attempt-to-cleanse-the-internet-of-porn?google_editors_picks=trueFile it under predictable: The British government’s attempt to force Internet service providers to install filters that block inappropriate content isn’t going so smoothly. Critics of the hastily planned attempt to have the nation’s Internet browsing become porn-free by default warned that much more than smut would be affected, and they seem to have been right. A government working group is now coming up with a white list of websites that have been inadvertently blocked by filters, according to a BBC report.
This effort began in earnest last summer, largely at the behest of Claire Perry, Prime Minister David Cameron’s special adviser on preventing the sexualization and commercialization of childhood. The government threatened to pass legislation requiring filters if Internet providers didn’t put them in place voluntarily; a similar arrangement was already in place for mobile networks. So starting over the summer, Internet providers began activating filters for new customers before expanding the policy more broadly. Over the course of this year, companies will contact existing customers to give them descriptions of various filters blocking pornography, self-harm websites, and other controversial content while allowing users to turn the filters off.
The experience of the last several months points to a contentious year ahead. Various websites, from groups working on issues of sexual violence to Torrent Freak, which offers news about copyright issues, have reported being blocked in the filters. One provider, BT (BT), faced criticism after its list of filters initially had a setting for blocking sexual education that included such subjects as “respect for partners” and homosexuality. There seems to be no universal way to set some line beyond which people shouldn’t go and no clear technical path to get there even if there were.
Another issue is the lack of a reliable way for the proprietor of a website to find out whether his or her site is even being blocked. Each service provider uses slightly different criteria and has different levels of blocking, and there are separate filters for mobile data networks and public Wi-Fi. One carrier, O2 (TEF), managed to set off a firestorm with a tool that allowed people to check if specific URLs had been blocked. Since the tool tested O2?s most restrictive child-safety setting, many websites came up as blocked, giving fodder to critics who had feared the worst about the filters. The company quickly took the tool down.
February 3, 2014
SYG and Zimmerman all over again.....
Murder trial opens in Florida shooting over loud music
Source: Reuters
(Reuters) - A Florida murder trial, stemming from an argument over loud music at a gas station that ended in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, opens on Monday, reviving a debate over the state's gun control and self-defense laws.
Michael Dunn, 47, faces first-degree murder charges in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis on November 23, 2012.
The white, middle-aged software engineer opened fire on a car with four black teenage boys inside that was parked next to him in the parking lot of a Jacksonville gas station convenience store in northeast Florida.
Dunn has said he feared for his life, drawing comparisons to the trial of George Zimmerman, the former central Florida neighborhood watchman who was acquitted last year of murder after saying he shot a 17-year-old unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, in self-defense.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/03/us-usa-florida-shooting-dunn-idUSBREA1205Q20140203
SYG and Zimmerman all over again.....
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