Delivery Drones?

Amazon Founder revealing a nascent plan for an Amazon Prime Air fleet of unmanned “octocopters” to drop packages gently on the doorsteps of customers. The idea may or may not come to fruition, and if it ever does it won’t be for years and many FAA studies and logistical work-arounds. Amazon is known for being aggressive and forward thinking in their business model but the reveal of this bold new plan brought a large buzz in social media. If they ever do work out I would definitely buy more stuff from amazon.

Life expectancy

Earlier this month, the Organizations for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released a report highlighting the latest life expectancy figures for its 34 member nations as well as several other developed nations. Switzerland had the highest life expectancy of any country measured, with residents born in the country in 2011 likely to live 82.8 years. Rounding out the top ten is Italy, Japan, Iceland, Spain, France, Australia, Sweden, Israel, and Norway. While medical spending does not have a clear relationship with health or life expectancy, the availability of medical professionals does. In all but one of the 10 nations where residents live the longest, the number of doctors per 1,000 residents exceeded the average of 3.16. Italy, which had the second-highest life expectancy, had 4.1 doctors per 1,000 residents, and all but one of the 10 nations with the highest life expectancy at birth had a GDP per capita of at least $30,000 in 2011. None of the 10 with the lowest life expectancy had a GDP per capita higher than $25,000.

information rights in the "cloud"

Cloud file saving is at an all time high. It provides simple and easy access to stored information from all your devices but there are lingering problems with the cloud. More and more people are becoming concerned with their privacy and right to information stored on the cloud. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak “I think it’s going to be horrendous. I think there are going to be horrible problems in the next five years,” he opined on a trip to Washington. “With the cloud, you don’t own anything. You already signed it away… the more we transfer everything onto the web, onto the cloud, the less we’re going to have control over it.”  Critcism of the cloud isn't new Back in 2008, the founder of the Free Software Foundation, Richard Stallman, called the adoption of cloud-based systems “worse than stupidity… a marketing hype campaign.” By uploading information to cloud servers you essentially give up all right to the information In the words of Douglas Heaven, writing in New Scientist, “a digital file exists as a state of matter… rather than matter itself.” Your information is not a piece of property in any legal sense. There are some ways to avoid the cloud while still having a backup to your files. The service SocialSafe currently offers is the automatic copying of all your cloud content to your own computer – to be held by you no matter what happens online, and browsed or analysed at your own convenience. The service covers the gamut of social media, from Twitter to Facebook via Instagram and LinkedIn. But by the end of next year, it plans to cover categories of data ranging from purchase histories and utility bills to financial and health data 

Senate votes to end some filibusters on presidential nominees

This thursday the senate voted to weaken filibusters and make it harder for Republicans to block confirmation of the president's nominees for judges and other top posts. The vote ended up 52-48 and took a shot at the system of checks and balances that enables the minority party to hold nominations made by the president they don't see as qualified. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was quoted saying that Republican gridlock has prevented the chamber from functioning. Which is quite humorous coming from the leader of the senate who has yet to pass a budget in 6 years. Blaming a minority party for the lack of anything productive being done just to enable a consolidation of power is not what America was founded for. 

scientist kill oldest known animal.

Ming, an ocean quahog from the species Arctica islandica, was initially thought to be a record-setting 402 years old. But scientist who found it on a seabed by Iceland say after further analysis it was actually an astounding 507 years old. The researchers, who didn't realize how old Ming was when they first found it, opened the ancient clam up to judge its age by counting growth rings inside its hinge ligaments. scientist Paul Butler attempted to justify this by saying the rings on the inside should were better "protected" as it turned out the on the inside were so close together they had to count the ones on the outside to be accurate anyways so they killed the oldest known animal for no reason. 

I thought I was having a bad week until I read about Toronto's Mayor

Rob Ford the mayor of Toronto has recently admitted to cocaine and marijuana use and drunk driving while mayor. As well as an obscene outburst in an interview about the drug use and an alleged sexual harassment issue. Toronto city council voted to take his control of the Toronto budget process and requested him to step down but have no power to remove him. Ford says he is now getting help form medical professionals and has maintained he will not resign and will run for re-election in October 2014. This is a story you couldn't even make up its so ridiculous. There is absolutely no reason he should be able to hold office.

6 tons of ivory crushed as Government outsmarts itself

On thursday U.S. officials crushed 6 tons of ivory tusk, jewelry and carvings seized at ports and border crossings over the past 25 years. These stockpiles of ivory fuel the demand. We need to crush the stores of ivory worldwide," said agency director Dan Ashe. One thing i would ask Mr.Ashe is how does ivory held by the The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in any way fuel demand for more poached ivory? Also what exactly does crushing the ivory do to stop poaching compared to selling the already poached ivory for 50 cents on the dollar to under cut demand and pricing for the new ivory being poached every day? Then using that money to start a reserve in Asia or Africa to protect more elephants. Seems like a lot of back patting by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for them not actually doing any thing constructive to protect the living elephants and walrus being poached. 

Big ten Legends division title race

The race for the chance to be the Legends representative for the Big ten championship is heating up as there are only three teams left. Michigan state is in the drivers seat as they are undefeated so far in conference play. Nebraska is second right now with one conference loss but have a huge opportunity to take control with a win at home next saturday vs. the spartans. In third is Minnesota who is a long shot with 2 conferences losses already but do hold the tie breaker over Nebraska and end the regular season with a game against Michigan st. If they win out and Nebraska or Michgan st stumble in one of their three reaming games they could be playing to win their first big ten title since 1967. I think Michigan st is the favorite even though they face a tough road game against Nebraska who they have lost to the previous two seasons because even if they lose there, Nebraska still faces Penn st on the road and hosts Iowa on Black Friday both of which will be difficult games for the cornhuskers.

Pollution catching up to China

According to figures published by state run  Xinhua news agency, lung cancer cases are up 50% over the past decade in the Capital city Beijing. They still say smoking is the leading cause for this increase but did admit that significant air pollution likely played a role as well. I believe it played a major role in lung cancer as well as other respiratory related diseases. It doesn't take a scientist to realize that when air pollution is thick enough to look like a fog its not good to breath that in. In just about any other industrialized country outside of India, there are strict laws on air pollution that are heavily enforced. This does not seem to be the case in China where it seems economic growth and  and industrialization have pushed the well being of many Chinese citizens into the back seat which is unfortunate. 

Forbes most powerful

Forbes updated their list of most powerful people today. In a mild surprise Russian "president" Vladimir Putin took the top spot after it was held by United states president Barack Obama the past 3 years. Rounding out the top ten is Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church, German chancellor Angela Merkel, Bill Gates, Federal reserve head Ben Bernanke, Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia, Mario Draghi European central bank president, and Walmart CEO Michael Duke. The list mostly makes sense to me as the people are either extremely wealthy, the head of major countries or both. Regarding the to spot President Obama's reputation and influence have taken a hit recently with the issues in Syria which a lot people thought Putin handled better with a plan to have syria give up its chemical weapons opposed to missile strikes threatened by the U.S. government.As well as continued discoveries in the NSA spying scandal and the government shutdown debacle. 

BItcoins

A first of its kind cryptocurrency created in 2009 bitcoins were mostly used in sketchy online deals as they are decentralized an could be traded and cashed out essentially anonymously but are starting to take hold in more mainstream markets. Yesterday a bitcoin public ATM opened in Vancouver Canada. However it still takes a lot of criticism from most economist as its value isn't really based off of anything, creating an unstable value point that frequently fluctuates with what speculators are willing to pay for it. Plus it is not accepted as currency in many places. Also Bitcoins differ from most other currencies because its transactions are irreversible and is uninsured. To me the convience of having an virtual online currency is a solid idea but there is a ways to go in developing bitcoins to where they are widely accepted and more stable value wise if I was to ever use them or a majority people would use them. Which is unlikely since they are decentralized and most governments like having control over the predominant currency people use.

Near space Baloon rides?

World View enterprises is set to start offering balloon rides which would let passengers glide for about two hours at maximum height of 19 miles into earths atmosphere. Private space and near space flights are not a new idea. Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace have planned on near space flights for almost a decade and are expected to launch in about a year. World views balloon rides are different in a few ways though. Virgin is going to use a 6 passenger rocket powered vehicle called SpaceShipTwo which seats costing around 250,000 and XCOR has a one passenger rocket in the works estimated to be 95,000 a ride. World View's plan is to use a Capsule that may seat 5-10 at 75,000 per person  connected to a parachute that connects to a high altitude balloon which takes you up then disconnects once it is time to go down. To me it seems like a great idea hypothetically but there is a lot of complications they would have to work out plus once one thing goes wrong they will get buried in lawsuits. But if it does work out it something i would definitely try if I could realistically afford to.

Wartburg west seminardelioblog

I was originally interested in Wartburg west because Denver is a pretty cool city with lots of internship opportunities necessary to get into Grad school. Plus its close to some great ski areas which is always good. The seminar went over a lot of the basics so it was helpful but a lot of the details and stuff I will have to talk with my advisor about. I did learn they already have a lot of internship connections but you do not have to limit yourself to just those options and that it does not cost a whole lot more than a semester at Wartburg.

Google selling you

This friday Google announced a change in its terms and services, which will allow the company to include adult users’ names, photos and comments in ads shown across the Web, based on ratings, reviews and posts they have made on Google Plus and other Google services like YouTube. The new ad policy goes live Nov. 11, Google will be able to show what the company calls shared endorsements on Google sites and across the Web, on the more than two million sites in Google’s display advertising network, which are viewed by an estimated one billion people.
Sites like Facebook and Twitter have been using a similar system for selling ads This has raised some privacy concerns from people and could at some point hurt the companies if users get tired of all the ads or having their input or ideas used by companies without really getting their direct consent.

Red River Rivalry

One of the oldest rivalries in college football resumes today at the Cotton Bowl outside the Texas state fair park in Dallas. Oklahoma and Texas have played 107 times since 1900. Texas leads the series 59-43 with 5 ties. However Oklahoma has won the past three including two blowout wins. The Golden Hat, a gold ten-gallon hat, goes to the winner and is kept by the athletic department till the next year. This year Texas enters the game as a heavy under dog as an underwhelming start to the season has head coach Mack Brown on the hot seat. But as we have seen from games in the past current records can be practically thrown out the window when these two teams face off.  

Playoff committee

With a new 4 team playoff coming to college football next year a committee is being formed to decide which four teams will qualify for the playoff. This committee is being filled with some of the biggest names in college football. Including former NFL qb Archie Manning, former Nebraska coach and athletic director Tom Osborne, Tyrone Willingham, the former football coach at Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington, Wisconsin Athletic director Barry Alvarez, USC athletic AD Pat Haden, West Virginia AD Oliver Luck and Clemson AD Radakovic. Rounding out the rest of the group is  former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Gould,  former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Gould and Rice strike me as odd choices at first glance as they are the only ones not at some point associated with the game. But after looking closer into it they both seem to know a good bit about football and could be able to provide  a different perspective on the potential playoff teams.

NFL London?

Although there are major logistical and cultural challenges in moving or starting and NFL franchise in London they seem dead set on making it a reality. Already the worlds richest sports league with revenues, buoyed by massive TV deals, upwards of nine billion per year. League officials are always looking for ways to expand the game. Moving a current franchise to London seems like their preferred option as starting a new one would mean they would have to add a second franchise with it probably in Los Angeles and further splitting TV revenues. An obvious candidate to be moved is the Jacksonville Jaguars who are perennially mediocre and haven't sold out one of their games in years. But would Londoners really get behind a team that lacks direction? To me moving such a bad team to a new location that is also somewhat new to the sport and has plenty of other popular sporting entertainment options is doomed to fail. For more long term success it would be better to keep playing a few games a year in London like they have to grow interest. As well as expand games shown on TV over in Europe. Then in 10 to 15 years start a new franchise in London and another in Los Angeles or some other American city.      

The Mentalist

My second favorite television show is back for its final season. Before the last episode on sunday Patrick had cut his list of possible red john suspects to just seven after he was given an inadvertent tip by one of red johns that he had met red john and shook his hand. In sundays episode Patrick and the CBI team were investigating the murder of a man in a small town that had happened over two years ago but the body was only recently found. They managed to solve the murder when patrick gathered all  the possible suspects at the local diner. They had learned from the murdered mans wife that she knew he was not faithful in their marriage and that he was last in that area around his disapearence. When Patrick brought that up with the suspects at the diner he speculated that the man flirted with the waitress and then her boyfriend got jealous and hit him with a baseball bat. As the man was running away he tripped and his briefcase fell open with cash spilling out.  At that point the waitress admitted that her boyfriend and another man from the diner decided to kill him and take the money and she had nothing to do with it. The case wasn't much different from other episodes but what happened at the end was quite shocking. Agent Lisbon received a call of a person in distress, she called local police to back her up but they weren't present when she arrived she heard a noise inside and decided to go in even without backup. After searching the house she found the body of Brett Partridge one of the seven red john suspects. Then she is grabbed by a dark figure with the last scene of her unconscious or dead with blood on he face which should make for an intriguing next episode to see how that turns out.

EA sports law suit settlement

This past week EA sports announced a 40million dollar settlement in their class action lawsuit that was brought up by about 300,000 current and former players represented by the law firm Hagens Berman. As a result of the lawsuit EA will no longer produce its "NCAA football" which is one of the only video games I care to play. Split 40 million dollars 300 thousand ways and you end up with 133 dollars per plaintiff depending on complexity and chances of winning lawyers fees are anywhere from 50 to 15% in similar class action cases. So even on the low end that cuts it to 113 dollars per plaintiff which seems hardly worth the effort to take to court and force a cancelation of the game.

two birds one stone

What better way to study for an economics test than to blog? probably lots but whatever. For this chapter we went over the basics of supply and demand and what causes the difference in prices of goods. Alfred Marshall's model of supply and demand explains why neither cost of production nor value to purchaser is by itself enough to explain why some goods are cheap and others expensive. When the price lies above the equilibrium price there is an excess supply as less people want to or can afford to buy. This motivates producers to lower the price to a point that they are satisfied with yet can sell enough to eliminate the surplus. Using supply and demand curve graphs economist can predict price changes if either were to change.

How to deal with a cold

Since it is entering the cold season i figure i'll be prepared by learning the best ways to handle a cold. The common cold, also known as nasopharyngitis, rhinopharyngitis, acute coryza, or a cold, is a viral disease of the upper respiratory tract mostly affecting the nose and throat. There is no cure but there are several ways to treat symptoms while your body battles the virus. Some of these ways include simple analgesic (pain killers) like ibuprofen, chest vapor rub like Vicks. Some people use cough medicine however it has not shown to be more effective than pain killers and there are enough side effects that they are not recommend for children. Other unproven but potentially less harmful ways to relieve symptoms is humidified warm air and or increased fluid intake.  

Blog about blogs

I am currently typing a blog about blogs, but what is a blog? What are they about? Who writes them and why do they write them? By definition a blog is a Web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc., and often having images and links to other Web sites. As noted above blogs can be about anything and everything or even nothing at all. Anyone can type out a blog and post it on a number of sites specifically made for blogging or if you are good at blogging and other people are interested in what you have to say your writings may be published by newspapers or websites. As to why blogs are written there are many reasons it may just be as a personal journal, a way to express your opinions, share your experiences or a requirement for your IS 101 class. In summary a blog is what you make it. 

value of an educated life

An educated life is valuable in many ways. It enables a person to advance their social and economic  standing and even that of their entire community. Being well educated is an essential part of freedom if you feel you are not educated enough to make some decisions you may be forced to rely on other people who may or may not be looking out for your best interest. Most of the ideas that have been presented are on par with my reasons for being here.