No Neutrality

The Unbearable Heaviness Of Socialism

And this is the heart of it:

Many companies have risen to dominate an innovation-dependent sector for a time, only to be swamped by the next technological wave. Think, for instance, of video-game maker Atari or computer manufacturer Wang -- both of which are blips on the radar now compared to the powerhouses they were in the 1970s and '80s. Dynamic competition invites investments of time, industry, intelligence and instincts in building a better mousetrap. A world where two college kids can think up an algorithm that within a decade grows into a firm the size of Google shouldn't be afraid of market leaders. {emph mine]

WSJ.com

I Call It "Heresy"

This is nothing less than pestulent anti-science! Next they'll say second hand smoke isn't dangerous!!

A compiled list of all the sources can be seen here.  The total amount of cooling ranges from 0.65C up to 0.75C -- a value large enough to wipe out nearly all the warming recorded over the past 100 years. All in one year's time. For all four sources, it's the single fastest temperature change ever recorded, either up or down.

Scientists quoted in a past DailyTech article link the cooling to reduced solar activity which they claim is a much larger driver of climate change than man-made greenhouse gases. The dramatic cooling seen in just 12 months time seems to bear that out. While the data doesn't itself disprove that carbon dioxide is acting to warm the planet, it does demonstrate clearly that more powerful factors are now cooling it.

DailyTech - Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling

Get Up On Your Soapbox

Microsoft has finally entered the Internet video fray with "Soapbox" on MSN.

Here's a sample:
Video: I-90

Hopefully Soapbox won't pick up YouTube's eggregious habit of censoring.

Windows Live Writer

 Dude.

If you blog and you're not using it, you're so old school.

When "Life" becomes "Dangerous"

 Unbelievable.

The ground is shifting on the abortion debate, and the most significant issue here is the impact of modern imaging technologies -- the view into the womb. Sophisticated multi-dimensional imaging technologies, such as Ultrasound, allow us to see the fetus at very early stages of development. What we see is clearly human, as the images are seared into our minds and hearts.

Voting Circus Goes National

 You just KNEW this was coming:

In a polarized political climate, in which elections are routinely marked by litigation and allegations of incompetent administration or outright tampering, some worry that voting problems could cast a Florida-style shadow over this fall's midterm elections.

"We could see that control of Congress is going to be decided by races in recount situations that might not be determined for several weeks," said Paul S. DeGregorio, chairman of the federal Election Assistance Commission, although he added that he does not expect problems of this magnitude.

Mm hmm. Wait till Republicans keep the House or even gain seats. Watch the "magnitude" increase. The stage must be set to be able to contest election outcomes in case the candidate of choice does not win. "We warned about this well before the elections ever took place!" will be the defense.

You heard it here first.

HT GOP USA.

What Goes Around Comes Around...

[DISCLAIMER: I am involved with the Microsoft Corp. but am in a no way a paid spokesperson for the company or even included in its dealings with the EU. The following opinion is solely mine and does not reflect the position of the Microsoft Corp.]

Pardon me if I'm not exactly weeping in sympathy for the EU:

Vista is scheduled for worldwide introduction early next year. If this excludes Europe, such a delay could affect a wide range of companies, including other software developers writing programs to work with Vista as well as computer makers and retailers planning marketing campaigns around Vista.

This is the direct consequence of the bullying tactics by the European Commission toward the Microsoft Corp.The lordly, high-handed manner in which the EU Commission has bullied Microsoft is supposed to be taken with a "Thank you, Sir! May I have another?" compliant attitude, but it looks like Microsoft is actually fighting back (for once) and the EU Commission doesn't like it.

Young Men (and Women) and Their Flying Machines

I have to admit.  My doubts about the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III are abating.  This lovely airlift workhorse seems destined to be as well-respected as it's now-retired older brother, the C-141 (a Lockheed product).

With approximately 40,000 lbs of thrust from each of its 4 mighty Pratt & Whitney turbo fan engines (double the power of the C-5 engine) this airlifter got game.  Since they've modified the latest rev of the plane with a center wing tank, greatly extending its range, one of my biggest complaints about the ship has been addressed.  Maintenance issues--my purview as a reserve maintenance officer--are admittedly somewhat mixed, given the composite skin scattered all over the body of the plane, but overall, when you consider the versatility of the plane (which only requires THREE crew--pilot, co-pilot, and load master) you have to smile as I did when one flies over your head during a local.

Go airpower!

All The Rags In One Bag...

A friend at work turned me on to this cool site.  At least I think it is.

Approximately 300 newspapers all in one website and they are reproduced exactly as they appear.  Newspapers from all over the world. 

And, as a coworker noted, engineered by the Microsoft .NET platform. (Specifically,  ASP.NET on IIS 6.0)

Rock on.