Monday, April 1, 2013

@14:32, 3/31/13

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1
Magazine

It’s a Natural Gas, Gas, Gas

Weight loss; the Abbie Hoffman rule.
Ethics (Personal); Ethicist, The (Times Column); Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; Books and Literature; Royalties; 

Nothing to add to this.
 
2
Health

A Texas Senate Bill Would Revise the State’s End-of-Life Procedure

Lawmakers are grappling over changes to state law that allows physicians to discontinue treatment they deem medically futile.
Death and Dying; Law and Legislation; Ethics (Institutional); Doctors; 

I am unsure that the state has a roll to play at "the end of life".
When to end therapy is a question to be settled by the patient and doctor.
If the patient cannot and will never participate in the decision the physician
must be allowed to decide.  Others can ask but cannot command.
Not all physicians accept the inevitability of death.  Those that do not accept it should not control end of life situations.
 
3
U.S.

Klan Protests in Memphis Over Renaming of Three Parks

No violence was reported, and there were no arrests at the rally, which featured about 75 members.
Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Names, Geographical; Civil War (US) (1861-65); Fringe Groups and Movements; 

It is a lost cause.  The question is where next.
4
Business Day

We’re One Big Team, So Run Those Stairs

CrossFit, the workout fitness program, is viewed by some companies as a way to improve worker production and morale.
Exercise; Workplace Environment; Health Clubs; Productivity; 

Yes, I need to be more active.
This is not my choice of how.
 
5
Opinion

Drug-Sniffing Dogs and the Fourth Amendment

The Supreme Court ruling on the use of police dogs wasn’t all that surprising, but how the vote went down sure was.
Fourth Amendment (US Constitution); Search and Seizure; Decisions and Verdicts; Editorials; 

My guess is that the right of privacy does not protect interference with others rights.
Much of law needs to be reconsidered if this is to be the rule.

6
Science

Yvonne Brill, a Pioneering Rocket Scientist, Dies at 88

In the early 1970s, Mrs. Brill invented a propulsion system to help keep communications satellites from slipping out of their orbits.
Rocket Science and Propulsion; Deaths (Obituaries); Satellites; Engineering and Engineers; Women and Girls; 

I have never found technical ability to be sex linked.
 
7
Education

Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass

New teacher evaluation systems were intended to provide useful feedback and weed out weak performers, but the reluctance to set a high bar has led to scores that seem impossibly rosy.
Teachers and School Employees; Performance Evaluations (Labor); Education (K-12);

More thought is required.  
The accepted system does not work as expected.

8
Sunday Review

America the Innovative?

As China becomes richer, is it destined to pass the United States as the world’s most inventive nation?
Economic Conditions and Trends; Inventions and Patents; Creativity; United States Economy; 

Business management is good at development.
If one can show them a goal and a program to achieve it they can support the effort.
Business is not at all supportive of research in pursuit of new knowledge.
New knowledge is very disruptive. 
It can destroy the business model that supported it. 
Short patents are a good thing. We want an active technical sector.
The patent starts the learning curve.
9
Fashion & Style

How to Break Up With a 2-Year-Old

Single and 40, I met a man with a child I learned to love as my own. Breaking up was not what we had planned.
Dating and Courtship; Children and Childhood; Child Care; 

Yes.
 
10
World

Tunisian Protesters Join Lawmakers’ Call for Women’s Affairs Minister to Resign

The protesters accused the minister, Sihem Badi, of failing to stand up to the ruling Islamists. Calls for her resignation have increased since the recent rape of a 3-year-old girl at a nursery.
Women's Rights; Muslims and Islam; Sex Crimes; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Women and Girls;

Sihem Badi is in an uncomfortable position.  
The problem is not of her making.  She will not resolve it.

11
 
World

In Brazil, Streets of Dancing Cars and Swagger

A subculture with roots in East Los Angeles is spreading in parts of Asia and Europe, and is raising eyebrows in South America’s largest city.
Automobiles; Restoration and Renovation; Antique and Classic Cars; Mexican-Americans; International Trade and World Market; 

We have seen this kind of thing before.
 
12
Business Day

Freed From Its Cage, the Gentler Robot

New factory robots, designed to work and play well with others, no longer have to be fenced in to protect workers from accidents.
Robots and Robotics; New Models, Design and Products; Factories and Manufacturing; Labor and Jobs; 

Every bit as useful as Chinese labor.

13
 
Technology

Letting Down Our Guard With Web Privacy

Consumers insist that they treasure their online privacy. But their mouse clicks tell a far different tale, as the experiments of a behavioral economist show.
Privacy; Consumer Behavior; Shopping and Retail; E-Commerce; Data-Mining and Database Marketing; 

 memory works.
 
14
Business Day

Riding Wave of Popularity, Craft Brewers Ask Congress for a Tax Cut

Hundreds of brewers went to Washington this week to seek aid that they said would help them brew more beer and hire more workers.
Sales and Excise Taxes; Beer; Lobbying and Lobbyists; Conventions, Fairs and Trade Shows; United States Politics and Government; 

People like beer.  People like tax cuts.
People who pay for beer don't see the tax cut. 
This is not a winning combination.
 
15
Opinion

Our Inconsistent Ethical Instincts

We like to believe that our principles are rooted in conviction. But much research shows that they often prove to be finicky, inconsistent intuitions.
Psychology and Psychologists; Emotions; Research; 

It is a good thing there are so few trolly cars.
Murder is possible.  
People end up violently dead often.
Getting convicted seems to be the crime we punish.

16
Technology

An American Quilt of Privacy Laws, Incomplete

Europe and the United States are operating at far different speeds with respect to data privacy regulation. And that could be a stumbling block in future trade talks.
Privacy; Data-Mining and Database Marketing; Consumer Protection; International Trade and World Market; United States Politics and Government; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry; 

Sales interests appear to have conquered privacy law in the U.S.
If we have the right to be left alone that includes the right not to be shown advertising, especially advertising that is custom designed to manipulate us as individuals.

17
Sports

Few Know How to Enter; Fewer Finish

Only 12 ultrarunners have completed the 100-mile Barkley Marathons, and those connected to this ultrasecret race hope a coming documentary does not alter its counterculture charm.
Running; Documentary Films and Programs; Marathon Running; 

Distance running for masochists.
 
18
N.Y. / Region

Relying on Hotel Rooms for Thousands Uprooted by Hurricane Sandy

City officials said those in hotels were mostly poor, with no home to return to or not enough income to qualify for available apartments.
Hurricane Sandy (2012); Disasters and Emergencies; 

I have no good solution.   
What they want is what they had or better.  
We could put them in barracks at Plattsburgh or Camp Drum.
That would be considered "cruel and unusual".
 
19
Fashion & Style

For a Holistic Lifestyle, Go to Aisle 2

Just as the Whole Foods Markets have helped make over Americans’ diets, the chain’s Whole Body shops are laying claim to their complexions.
Cosmetics and Toiletries; Beauty; Organic Foods and Products; Supermarkets and Grocery Stores; Sustainable Living; 

Healthy is good.  Fashionable does not help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holistic
"Holism (from ὅλος holos, a Greek word meaning all, whole, entire, total), is the idea that natural systems (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) and their properties, should be viewed as wholes, not as collections of parts. This often includes the view that systems somehow function as wholes and that their functioning cannot be fully understood solely in terms of their component parts." 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergy
"Synergy is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce an effect different from or greater than the sum of their individual effects. The term synergy comes from the Greek word synergia συνέργια from synergos, συνεργός, meaning "working together"" . . .

20
Business Day

Most Children’s Meals at Large Restaurant Chains Are Still Unhealthy, a Study Finds

A study of the nutritional quality of children’s meals at the nation’s largest chain restaurants showed little improvement in the last four years.
Food; Diet and Nutrition; Children and Childhood; Restaurants; Calories; 

Garden and cook.


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@16:45

1
Magazine

It’s a Natural Gas, Gas, Gas

Weight loss; the Abbie Hoffman rule.
Ethics (Personal); Ethicist, The (Times Column); Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline; Books and Literature; Royalties;
2
Health

A Texas Senate Bill Would Revise the State’s End-of-Life Procedure

Lawmakers are grappling over changes to state law that allows physicians to discontinue treatment they deem medically futile.
Death and Dying; Law and Legislation; Ethics (Institutional); Doctors;
3
U.S.

Klan Protests in Memphis Over Renaming of Three Parks

No violence was reported, and there were no arrests at the rally, which featured about 75 members.
Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Names, Geographical; Civil War (US) (1861-65); Fringe Groups and Movements;
4
Business Day

We’re One Big Team, So Run Those Stairs

CrossFit, the workout fitness program, is viewed by some companies as a way to improve worker production and morale.
Exercise; Workplace Environment; Health Clubs; Productivity;
5
Opinion

Drug-Sniffing Dogs and the Fourth Amendment

The Supreme Court ruling on the use of police dogs wasn’t all that surprising, but how the vote went down sure was.
Fourth Amendment (US Constitution); Search and Seizure; Decisions and Verdicts; Editorials;
6
Science

Yvonne Brill, a Pioneering Rocket Scientist, Dies at 88

In the early 1970s, Mrs. Brill invented a propulsion system to help keep communications satellites from slipping out of their orbits.
Rocket Science and Propulsion; Deaths (Obituaries); Satellites; Engineering and Engineers; Women and Girls;
7
Education

Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass

New teacher evaluation systems were intended to provide useful feedback and weed out weak performers, but the reluctance to set a high bar has led to scores that seem impossibly rosy.
Teachers and School Employees; Performance Evaluations (Labor); Education (K-12);
8
Sunday Review

America the Innovative?

As China becomes richer, is it destined to pass the United States as the world’s most inventive nation?
Economic Conditions and Trends; Inventions and Patents; Creativity; United States Economy;
9
World

Tunisian Protesters Join Lawmakers’ Call for Women’s Affairs Minister to Resign

The protesters accused the minister, Sihem Badi, of failing to stand up to the ruling Islamists. Calls for her resignation have increased since the recent rape of a 3-year-old girl at a nursery.
Women's Rights; Muslims and Islam; Sex Crimes; Demonstrations, Protests, and Riots; Women and Girls;
10
Fashion & Style

How to Break Up With a 2-Year-Old

Single and 40, I met a man with a child I learned to love as my own. Breaking up was not what we had planned.
Dating and Courtship; Children and Childhood; Child Care;
11
World

In Brazil, Streets of Dancing Cars and Swagger

A subculture with roots in East Los Angeles is spreading in parts of Asia and Europe, and is raising eyebrows in South America’s largest city.
Automobiles; Restoration and Renovation; Antique and Classic Cars; Mexican-Americans; International Trade and World Market;
12
Business Day

Freed From Its Cage, the Gentler Robot

New factory robots, designed to work and play well with others, no longer have to be fenced in to protect workers from accidents.
Robots and Robotics; New Models, Design and Products; Factories and Manufacturing; Labor and Jobs;
13
Technology

Letting Down Our Guard With Web Privacy

Consumers insist that they treasure their online privacy. But their mouse clicks tell a far different tale, as the experiments of a behavioral economist show.
Privacy; Consumer Behavior; Shopping and Retail; E-Commerce; Data-Mining and Database Marketing;
14
Business Day

Riding Wave of Popularity, Craft Brewers Ask Congress for a Tax Cut

Hundreds of brewers went to Washington this week to seek aid that they said would help them brew more beer and hire more workers.
Sales and Excise Taxes; Beer; Lobbying and Lobbyists; Conventions, Fairs and Trade Shows; United States Politics and Government;
15
Opinion

Our Inconsistent Ethical Instincts

We like to believe that our principles are rooted in conviction. But much research shows that they often prove to be finicky, inconsistent intuitions.
Psychology and Psychologists; Emotions; Research;
16
Technology

An American Quilt of Privacy Laws, Incomplete

Europe and the United States are operating at far different speeds with respect to data privacy regulation. And that could be a stumbling block in future trade talks.
Privacy; Data-Mining and Database Marketing; Consumer Protection; International Trade and World Market; United States Politics and Government; Regulation and Deregulation of Industry;
17
Sports

Few Know How to Enter; Fewer Finish

Only 12 ultrarunners have completed the 100-mile Barkley Marathons, and those connected to this ultrasecret race hope a coming documentary does not alter its counterculture charm.
Running; Documentary Films and Programs; Marathon Running;
18
Fashion & Style

For a Holistic Lifestyle, Go to Aisle 2

Just as the Whole Foods Markets have helped make over Americans’ diets, the chain’s Whole Body shops are laying claim to their complexions.
Cosmetics and Toiletries; Beauty; Organic Foods and Products; Supermarkets and Grocery Stores; Sustainable Living;
19
Opinion

Social Security, Present and Future

There are sensible ways to reform Social Security, but it is not driving the deficit.
Social Security (US); Reform and Reorganization; Federal Budget (US); United States Politics and Government; 

Social Security needs no immediate  reform.
 
20
Business Day

Most Children’s Meals at Large Restaurant Chains Are Still Unhealthy, a Study Finds

A study of the nutritional quality of children’s meals at the nation’s largest chain restaurants showed little improvement in the last four years.
Food; Diet and Nutrition; Children and Childhood; Restaurants; Calories; 


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

@19:00

3
U.S.

Klan Protests in Memphis Over Renaming of Three Parks

4
Business Day

We’re One Big Team, So Run Those Stairs

5
Opinion

Drug-Sniffing Dogs and the Fourth Amendment

6
Science

Yvonne Brill, a Pioneering Rocket Scientist, Dies at 88

7
Education

Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass

(K-12);
8
Sunday Review

America the Innovative?

10
Fashion & Style

How to Break Up With a 2-Year-Old

11
World

In Brazil, Streets of Dancing Cars and Swagger

12
Business Day

Freed From Its Cage, the Gentler Robot


Technology

Letting Down Our Guard With Web Privacy

14
Business Day

Riding Wave of Popularity, Craft Brewers Ask Congress for a Tax Cut

15
Opinion

Our Inconsistent Ethical Instincts

16
Technology

An American Quilt of Privacy Laws, Incomplete

17
Sports

Few Know How to Enter; Fewer Finish

18
Fashion & Style

For a Holistic Lifestyle, Go to Aisle 2

19
Opinion

Social Security, Present and Future

20
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@23:14,
 

1
Science

Yvonne Brill, a Pioneering Rocket Scientist, Dies at 88

2
World

In Brazil, Streets of Dancing Cars and Swagger

3
Business Day

Freed From Its Cage, the Gentler Robot

4
Technology

Letting Down Our Guard With Web Privacy

5
Business Day

Riding Wave of Popularity, Craft Brewers Ask Congress for a Tax Cut

6
Opinion

Our Inconsistent Ethical Instincts

7
Technology

An American Quilt of Privacy Laws, Incomplete

8
Sports

Few Know How to Enter; Fewer Finish

O
9
Fashion & Style

For a Holistic Lifestyle, Go to Aisle 2

11
Opinion

Social Security, Present and Future

12
Business Day

Investing as an Art Form, Not a Science

Bucks readers tell of their own experiences in spending and saving after they got their first jobs.
Automobiles; Doctors; Real Estate and Housing (Residential); Savings; 

Find an expert you trust.
Listen and explain then argue carefully.
13
Business Day

F.C.C. to Study Health Effects of Cellphone Radiation

The agency said it would seek comment from experts in a review of its standards for limiting exposure to the radio waves produced by mobile devices.
Wireless Communications; Cellular Telephones; Radiation; 

They are listening to the ignorant public.
 
14
U.S.

As Fracking Proliferates, So Do Wastewater Wells

Texas regulators may soon tighten the rules for the construction of wastewater disposal wells amid concerns about the possibility of accidents and groundwater contamination.
Hydraulic Fracturing; Wells; Waste Materials and Disposal;

The toxins just wait for next time.
 
15
U.S.

Zumba Instructor Admits to Running a Prostitution Ring

The instructor in Kennebunk, Me., pleaded guilty to using her studio as a front for a ring involving scores of men, including a former mayor, a high school hockey coach and a minister.
Prostitution; Exercise; 

There is always an opportunist.

16
Arts

The Sweet Spot: Pay to Play

David Carr and A.O. Scott talk about paywalls, what we download and what entertainment is worth.
Audio Recordings and Downloads; Video Recordings and Downloads;

You can pay the publishers all you wish.
I will listen to the radio and use the net and the library. 
Used CDs are also good.
 
17
Arts

Thomas McEvilley, Critic and Defender of Non-Western Art, Dies at 73

Mr. McEvilley’s evisceration of a Museum of Modern Art show on “primitivism” in 1984 put curators on the defensive and changed the debate about multiculturalism in art.
Art; Writing and Writers; Deaths (Obituaries); Museums; Indigenous People;

I expect to need to try to read him.
Bookmarked.

18
Business Day

Pay for Boards at Banks Soars Amid Cutbacks

Banks and compensation experts say the complexity of the business justifies the compensation, but critics say increased regulation has limited the boards’ jobs.
Banking and Financial Institutions; Boards of Directors; Executive Compensation; 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_governance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_governance#Diffuse_shareholders
. . . "Monitoring by the board of directors: The board of directors, with its legal authority to hire, fire and compensate top management, safeguards invested capital. Regular board meetings allow potential problems to be identified, discussed and avoided. Whilst non-executive directors are thought to be more independent, they may not always result in more effective corporate governance and may not increase performance.[48] Different board structures are optimal for different firms. Moreover, the ability of the board to monitor the firm's executives is a function of its access to information. Executive directors possess superior knowledge of the decision-making process and therefore evaluate top management on the basis of the quality of its decisions that lead to financial performance outcomes, ex ante. It could be argued, therefore, that executive directors look beyond the financial criteria." . . . 
Work is very real.  They may even earn their money.
Corporate lawyers explain the regulations.
19
Opinion

Resurrecting California’s Public Universities

More robust budgets, not online courses, are the best answer.
Colleges and Universities; Budgets and Budgeting; E-Learning; 

I would be even more damning of the GOP.
 
20
U.S.

Women (and Men) Face Big Hurdles in Training for Marine Infantry Units

A training course in Quantico, Va., was the most recent test of the goal of placing women in the toughest combat roles.
Tests and Examinations; Women and Girls; United States Defense and Military Forces;


I think the trainers are honest and the course is honest.

They are looking for football players and not for assassins.

Axes rather than stilettos.














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