I’d like a slate format computer, lots of connectivity, good hi-rez 7″ to 12″ (3:2 ratio) screen (1080p would be nice), multiple multi-core arm chips. The power of a desktop in a hand held system, with the ability to expand its capabilities cheaply and simply. I want a computer not so much a phone.

To work for me it has to be cheap to run, with a total yearly cost that’s under $100. It should be designed to use only open, non-proprietary software (and I should be able to chose the OS it runs), it should have no DRM of any kind. It should be reliable, modular, easy and cheap to repair, and designed to never become obsolete.

The main issue is that its internet connectivity should have immense throughput; each slate system should itself be a connected node on the internet that provides secure access to all the other systems in its range. You should be able to connect to any other slate system without going through a Sprint, AT&T, or other commercial network. Each slate system is part of a pervasive internet “cloud” that shares its connectivity and processing power.

I know it sounds improbable yet we have the capability to build it now, with its biggest technological issue being battery power.

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George Foreman Grill

My George Foreman Grill died.

Sending an email to customerservice@georgeforemancooking.com lets see what happens.

My George Foreman Grill died, for no apparent reason. It worked fine the last time I used it, I put it away and the next time I tried to use it, it would not even turn on. It is the 10th Anniversary model.

I like this grill; is there any reasonably priced way to get it fixed? Give me an option, such as a local shop in Austin Texas, or a parts list with instructions on testing and replacement of parts, or even some place I can ship it to where the total cost will be less than the $54.95 I paid for it.

I've put off buying another because of the difficulty I've preciously had, about 3 years ago, trying to get this grill fixed. If it can't be done I will never buy another of your products.

Please understand I am not angry or upset, I just really liked this grill; but it's against my policy to purchase products that are not well made, (product failure is an indicator of poor quality), and/or not well supported by their manufacturer. At the least if it is not possible to get this grill fixed give me a good reason to buy another, address the issue of reliability, and convince me you will in the future stand behind your products.

ed

Judy Jennings for State Board of Education District 10 Democratic Primary, March 2, 2010

Please vote for Judy Jennings, Cynthia Dunbar is trying to end public education in Texas.

Unlike incumbent Cynthia Dunbar, Sam Houston saw public education as a great boon. “No longer will the means of elementary learning be limited to those whose private resources are equal to the expense, but the road to distinction in every department of science and moral excellency, will be equally open to all,” he said. And the founders of Texas considered education so essential to “the rights and liberties of the people” that they charged our Legislature with establishing “an efficient system of public free schools” in our Constitution.

The Legislature, in turn, created the State Board of Education to set policy for public education in Texas. But lately, some board members have acted so irresponsibly that the Legislature actually considered stripping the board of many of its duties. The problem: too many members caught up in fighting “culture wars” at the expense of figuring out how to provide our children with an education that will prepare them for the challenges of this new century.

What would you do if your local school board trustee cared more about pursuing a personal agenda rather than seeing to the needs of your child's school? It's hard to imagine such a trustee getting re-elected in any school district in Texas, let alone the eighty-four ISDs that fall, in whole or in part, within the boundaries of SBOE District 10.

We need board members who will be guided by effective measures of what's working, not by ideology, pet peeves or partisanship. Dr. Judy Jennings will be just such a board member, well equipped to make important decisions about meeting the many needs of a diverse and growing state. Read more about Judy here.

“In effect, [Republican incumbent Cythina] Dunbar is on the board to sabotage public education. ... Dunbar should resign and leave the governing of this state's public schools to people who use them, serve them, care about them and understand that they are the future of Texas.”

NewEgg RMA

Edward Villarreal: Initial Question/Comment: RMA

 Ruby has joined this session!

 Connected with Ruby. Your reference number for this chat session is 576611.

 Hello my name is Ruby. How may I help you today?

Edward Villarreal: I was chatting with Linda, but session unexpecticly ended.

Ruby: I see. Would you like me to transfer the chat to her?

Edward Villarreal: I had sent a
Recertified: SanDisk 1.8" Black 4GB MP3 Player Sansa e260
Item #: N82E16855125116 back, and received it today.

Edward Villarreal: It died just after I reloaded music. No response, screen black, does not show up in Windows

Ruby: I am so sorry to hear that. Do you have the original retail box, UPC code and accessories for this item?

Edward Villarreal: It is getting expensive to return, if I have to do it again its almost 50% of the cost of item.

Edward Villarreal: yes
Ruby: We are willing to offer you a shipping label to cover the return shipping fee.

Ruby: Can you please verify your current shipping address?

Edward Villarreal: 13313 Fieldgate, Austin Tx. 78753

Edward Villarreal: That would be good.

Ruby: I have created a replacement RMA for you. Please remember to return the retail box and all accessories originally included with the item. A conformation email has been sent to the email address listed on your account with the return instructions. A second email will be sent to you within the next 24 hours with a prepaid UPS shipping label. Please print the label and tape it onto the outside of your returning package. This label does expire in 7 days, so please make sure you send this package as soon as possible or you may have to incur the return cost.

Austin Restaurants

I've always meant to try The Clay Pit, but things never seem to work out. Its one of those places where I don't want to go alone, and I just can't get anyone to go with me. Admittedly none of my friend like Indian, (what's wrong with them), but I love it. Someday.

Gore vs Cheney

Gore said he wished Cheney would have given President Obama more time
in office before criticizing national security policy. A stern critic
of Bush policy over the years, Gore told CNN's John Roberts that "I
waited for two years after I left office to make statements that were
critical, and then of policy."

IHOP

So disappointed.  I just ordered the Chicken Fried Steak at IHOP, what I got was about as far from steak as you could get.  It was a kind of fake steak, a formed meat substitute of some kind, if I had to guess I would estimate it's actual meat content at zero. It was on the verge of being disgusting. 

The sides that came with it were good, and the service better.  But overall I was not pleased, I will not be going back.

The Clueless Sheep

Fox viewers are misinformed more than users of any other media outlet. 

In other words, Fox News viewers are literally less informed about these basic facts. They have, put simply, been led to believe things that are simply not true. These poor dupes would have done better in this survey, statistically speaking, if they received no news at all and simply guessed whether the claims were accurate.

And, in addition to a fun bash-Fox-athon, I wanted to add that the PIPA study also documented that those who relied on newspapers as their primary news source were better informed than those who watched any of the television news broadcasts. The only folks more informed than newspaper readers were NPR listeners.

GOP Senator Opposes Using Stimulus Funding To Combat Pandemic Flu

Republicans continue to display a lack of foresight.

The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?

Thrust enhancers, roll bars, microchips...the $20 billion running - shoe industry wants us to believe that the latest technologies will cushion every stride. Yet in this extract from his controversial new book, Christopher McDougall claims that injury rates for runners are actually on the rise, that everything we've been told about running shoes is wrong - and that it might even be better to go barefoot...

By CHRISTOPHER McDOUGALL

Last updated at 8:01 PM on 19th April 2009

Test

I can't seem to pull up my blog. I can edit it, but get a not found error message when I try to go to the page itself.

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Bush Speech

Christmas in Japan (日本語字幕）

Ninety-Nine Percent of Texas Science Professors Don't Believe in Intelligent Design

Texas Freedom Network posted to its Web site a study conducted by Dr. Raymond Eve, a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Texas at Arlington, titled Evolution, Creationism & Public Schools: Surveying What Texas Scientists Think about Educating Our Kids in the 21st Century.
It reveals the results of a survey sent to biology and "biological anthropology" faculty members from "all 35 public universities plus the 15 largest private institutions in Texas," in which they were asked to take the following taste test: evolution or intelligent design?

Yamaha's RMAX non-military UAV

RMAX mounted a liquid-cooled 2-stroke, 246cc, horizontally-opposed twin-cylinder, crankcase reed valve intake engine rated at 21 hp.
The absolute base-model airframe suitable for agriculture, with a single GPS and the ability to fly only within sight, and no more than five metres above the ground costs US$86,000. The Aerial Photography version can fly up to 100 metres above the ground and costs between US$150,000 and US$230,000. There's a flight research model specced for universities with manual only flight mode, which sells for US$120,000 and none of the base stations and other niceties.

Then there's the 'hamburger-with-the-lot': the fully autonomous R-Max package which includes the ground station, antennas, computers, monitors and two complete autonomous airframes and a four camera system. The price tag is US$1,000,000.00.
The completely autonomous version enables the 'pilot' to watch what's happening from all four cameras at once while the RMAX goes about the flight plan it has been programmed with from the controlling computer. If the operator sees something they want to look at closely, they can override the plan to get closer and then resume the original flight plan or program a new one.

Operating at 10% the hourly rate of a manned helicopter means a whole range of new applications can be found for this new airborne capability.

AIG Continues to Waste Money After Bailout

October 7, 2008

Less than a week after the federal government committed $85 billion to bail out AIG, executives of the giant AIG insurance company headed for a week-long retreat at a luxury resort and spa, the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, California, Congressional investigators revealed today.

"Rooms at this resort can cost over $1,000 a night," Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said this morning as his committee continued its investigation of Wall Street and its CEOs.

AIG documents obtained by Waxman's investigators show the company paid more than $440,000 for the retreat, including nearly $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges.

A.I.G. Uses $61 Billion of Fed Loan

The American International Group said on Friday that it had already drawn down $61 billion of the $85 billion emergency bridge loan it received from the Federal Reserve two weeks ago...

Another AIG Resort "Junket": Top Execs Caught on Tape

After requesting another $40 billion dollars in loans, AIG sent top executives to a secret gathering at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week. Company officials confirmed the company spent an estimated $343,000 to sponsor the 2008 Asset Management Conference. A spokesperson said much of the cost would be recouped from product sponsors at the conference.

KMX -- AROUND THE LAKE

I really would like to get a trike. This one seems to have electric assist.

Palin on Ted Stevens: 'I have great respect for him'

Sarah Palin associated with known felon.

McCain Admits Sharing 'Common Philosophy' With Bush

So why is this gaff by John McCain not getting more airtime?

The Canidates

Educational Background:
Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B.A.
Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

John McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Used Dodge Sprinter Price Range

Year                                          Price
Current Sprinter            $41,337 - $46,397
2008 Dodge Sprinter     $34,605 - $38,694
2007 Dodge Sprinter     $26,323 - $29,471
2006 Dodge Sprinter     $18,203 - $21,960
2005 Dodge Sprinter     $14,376 - $17,385
2004 Dodge Sprinter     $13,031 - $15,375
2003 Dodge Sprinter     $11,537 - $13,965

Rolling Stones Magazine's Story on John McCain

The make believe Maverick.

• VIDEO: Five Myths About John McCain

• The Double-Talk Express

• Mad Dog Palin: The Full Story

• Karl Rove's A-Team

Jack Cafferty Tells Us How He Really Feels About Sarah Palin

Palin's answer makes no sense.

Gallup Poll Bush Approval Ratings

CNN Documents Sarah Palin's Truthiness Problem

Palin Lies Yet Again!

Add one more lie to the list.

Quotes

I have to steal this line.

"Whatever the source of information you're referring to, you should only find it trustworthy to the degree its claims can be independently confirmed or corroborated."

Obama for President

Check out the rest of this post for some good reasons to vote for Obama.

Obama: Actually, I Think We Can

by hilzoy
I, too, endorse Obama for President, to no one's surprise. Since Katherine has already written a lot of what I would have wanted to say about his rhetoric, and since I've already talked about one of my most important reasons for supporting him, namely the fact that he got Iraq right from the outset, I'll say something about the peculiar idea that Barack Obama is all style and no substance. ...

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Whoopi to McCain: Do I have to worry about slavery again?

I have to say Whoopi is one of my favorite people.

Current Impeach Bush Poll

	Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment? * 716822 responses
	Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial. 89%
	No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors." 4.2%
	No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching. 4.6%
	I don't know. 2.1%

Alaska rallies against Sarah Palin

The Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was significantly bigger than Palin’s rally that got all the national media coverage; yet I have found no coverage of this event in the national media.

John McCain's ads are LIES. Here's the video proof.

I wish more time had been spent exploring the context of each lie. Not quite enough evidence is presented within the video itself.

Bush Administration vs Clinton Administration

Clinton:
During the administration of William Jefferson Clinton, the U.S. enjoyed more peace and economic well being than at any time in its history. He was the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. He could point to the lowest unemployment rate in modern times, the lowest inflation in 30 years, the highest home ownership in the country's history, dropping crime rates in many places, and reduced welfare rolls. He proposed the first balanced budget in decades and achieved a budget surplus. As part of a plan to celebrate the millennium in 2000, Clinton called for a great national initiative to end racial discrimination. ^[2]

Bush:
* Outed an undercover CIA operative
* Lied to Congress and the American people to get into a war
* Disregarded intelligence estimates, and instead manufactured its own intelligence to support political goals
* Exerted political pressure to hide facts about climate change
* Fired U.S. Attorneys who wouldn't prosecute bogus vote fraud charges against Democrats, or who would prosecute vote fraud charges against Republicans[3]
* Tried to create a fourth branch of government, answerable to no one
* Defied Congressional subpoenas
* Destroyed documents that cannot, by law, be destroyed
* Violated its own rules on document declassification
* Authorized torture--or, as they like to call being bitten by dogs, being nearly drowned, and being sodomized and forced into homosexual acts, "aggressive interrogation"--in violation of both the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.

Secret Killings in Iraq - Bob Woodward

This seems incredible.

Republican Small Town Values

P Z Myers' view of what Republicans really mean by "Small Town Values".

The ones the Republicans are worshipping seem to be the narrow insularity verging on xenophobia, the judgmental meddling in other people's affairs, the backward-looking reverence for the good old days (which actually weren't that good), the worship of ignorance, the easy way authority can personally intrude on people's lives without oversight, except by a coterie of good old boys. They seem to overlook the schools in neglect, the churches sprouting everywhere like poisonous mushrooms, the alcoholism, the spousal abuse, the kids who just want to get through high school and flee to a city where something is happening, the elderly piling up and outnumbering the young and being shuffled off to cheap complexes, the despair of people caught in dead-end menial jobs with few prospects for going beyond. That's also small town America, and when I hear a Republican singing the praises of small towns, I have visions of a walmartized wasteland where everyone goes to church. It's not good.

Vitamin Pill Magnate Matthias Rath Loses Case

Rath lost the libel suit he filed against UK newspaper The Guardian and Ben Goldacre.

"It’s just been publicly announced that the vitamin pill magnate Matthias Rath has pulled out of his gruelling legal case against me and the Guardian. He bought full page adverts denouncing Aids drugs while promoting his vitamin pills in South Africa, a country where hundreds of thousands die every year from Aids under an HIV denialist president and the population is ripe for miracle cures. I said his actions were highly worrying, in no uncertain terms. I believe I was right to do so.

This libel case has drawn on for over a year, with the writ hanging both in my toilet, and over my head. Although fighting it has been fascinating, and in many respects a great pleasure, it has also taken a phenomenal amount of my time, entirely unpaid, to deal with it. For the duration of the case I have also been silenced on the serious issues that Rath’s activities raise, the chapter on his work was pulled from my book, and I have been unable to comment on his further movements around the world.

This will now change, and I hope that other newspapers will have the sense to step outside of commercial allegiances and write about his activities, despite this single incident being one newspaper’s tussle. I genuinely believe that the madness of the South African government’s approach to Aids is one of the most important stories of our time."

Republicans and military men on John McCain

Well it seems they did lie.

New Ecuador constitution recognizes evolution

On September 28, the people of Ecuador will vote on a new constitution and that constitution is expected to gain easy approval. The new constitution includes a five article section granting rights to nature as a whole. The section refers to nature as Pachamama, a local pagan goddess, the equivalent to Mother Earth or Mother Nature in Anglo-American idiom. Nature has the right to "integral restoration" and people of any nationality can petition the courts in the name of nature. The government Ecuador is obligated to protect nature and prevent extinction or harmful alteration of ecosystems and natural cycles.

According to Reuters, 56 percent of Ecuadorans approve of the proposed document.

Chapter: Rights for Nature

Art. 1. Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution. Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public organisms. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow the related principles established in the Constitution.

Art. 2. Nature has the right to an integral restoration. This integral restoration is independent of the obligation on natural and juridical persons or the State to indemnify the people and the collectives that depend on the natural systems.

In the cases of severe or permanent environmental impact, including the ones caused by the exploitation on non renewable natural resources, the State will establish the most efficient mechanisms for the restoration, and will adopt the adequate measures to eliminate or mitigate the harmful environmental consequences.

Art. 3. The State will motivate natural and juridical persons as well as collectives to protect nature; it will promote respect towards all the elements that form an ecosystem.

Art. 4. The State will apply precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles.

The introduction of organisms and organic and inorganic material that can alter in a definitive way the national genetic patrimony is prohibited.

Art. 5. The persons, people, communities and nationalities will have the right to benefit from the environment and form natural wealth that will allow wellbeing.

The environmental services are cannot be appropriated; its production, provision, use and exploitation, will be regulated by the State.

McCain Former Rebel

Seems McCain is willing to do anything to be President.