That backed-up commute traffic really is getting worse, Bay Area transportation officials said Wednesday, speculating that it's evidence the economy is finally pulling out of the slow lane.

For the first time since 2000, traffic congestion in the nine-county Bay Area increased last year, according to an annual report from Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the region's transportation planning and financing agency.

BAY AREA / Traffic gridlock breaks trend -- it's worse / Congestion is up by 4% after declining in previous 3 years

The use of drugs to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in younger adults more than doubled from 2000 to 2004, and spending on the drugs in the same age bracket, 20 to 44, more than quadrupled, a major prescription management company is reporting today.

It is said by some that adderall is preferable to cocaine.

Use of Attention-Deficit Drugs Is Found to Soar Among Adults - New York Times

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 - The World Bank has concluded that New Zealand is the most business-friendly nation in the world and that Serbia and Montenegro made the biggest pro-business changes last year.

New Zealand Named Best Nation for Business - New York Times

It appears that there are enormous differences of opinion as to the probability of a failure with loss of vehicle and of human life. The estimates range from roughly 1 in 100 to 1 in 100,000. The higher figures come from the working engineers, and the very low figures from management. What are the causes and consequences of this lack of agreement? Since 1 part in 100,000 would imply that one could put a Shuttle up each day for 300 years expecting to lose only one, we could properly ask "What is the cause of management's fantastic faith in the machinery?"

Linked from Dagmar's 6 dumbest ideas in computer security.

Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle, by R.P. Feynman

Pro-life campaigners have condemned a controversial decision to grant permission to UK scientists to create a human embryo that will have genetic material from two mothers.

The cloned baby with two mothers

Rattle wrote:

Behemoth search engine Google signaled an even further climb to the top of the Internet mountain Thursday with its announcement that Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet, is joining the company as its 'chief Internet evangelist.'

This is some kind of milestone.

At this point, Google has more brains in one place than anyone can possibly know what to do with. What are they going to do? I picture a situation where they become so dense they fall in on themselves in some giant think-tank black hole. Unless they can keep all these people busy, they are going to simply be well paid bored people. That might have unintended negative effects. Either that, or Google is on its way to become a monastery like church of technology.

I've heard both good and bad things about their culture. I don't buy fully into either take on it. Its going to be interesting to see what happens. I think they have the integrity to keep trying to follow their "don't be evil" mantra, but can they? Not doing what you are capable of is a form of evil, because you hold the resources back from the rest of the world. Its a page from Microsoft, and hopefully not the one Google is flipping to.

For everyone who hasn't heard otherwise, I'm starting at Google tomorrow. So I'll have the inside story shortly :)

RE: Google says `Cerf`s Up`

NASA officials said yesterday that Hurricane Katrina had thrown more uncertainty into the space shuttle program by damaging two major Gulf Coast facilities and leaving many of its workers homeless.

*sigh*

Storm's Punch Has Knocked Shuttle Timetable 'Off Kilter'

In a report to be presented at the World Bank today, a group that includes senior government officials from 13 countries will urge nations to adopt open-information technology standards as a vital step to accelerate economic growth, efficiency and innovation.

The 33-page report is a road map for creating national policies on open technology standards, and comes at a time when several countries - and some state governments - are pursuing plans to reduce their dependence on proprietary software makers, notably Microsoft, by using more free, open-source software.

Plan by 13 Nations Urges Open Technology Standards

With a billion users and counting, the Internet hardly needs an evangelist.

Yet "chief internet evangelist" is precisely the title chosen by Vinton G. Cerf for his new job at Google Inc.

The company, based in Mountain View, Calif., announced earlier today that Dr. Cerf will be leaving MCI, where he is senior vice president of technology strategy, to be one of a dozen or so vice presidents working closely with Eric Schmidt as the company continues to move beyond its roots as an Internet search engine.

Internet Pioneer Leaving MCI to Join Google

First, both NASA and DoD will utilize the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle for national security, civil, and science missions in the 5-20 metric ton class to the maximum extent possible. Where practical, this will include cargo missions to the Space Station. However, and as specified by policy, new commercially-developed launch capabilities may compete for these missions, in accordance with our intended approach to Space Station re-supply.

Second, NASA will initiate development of a Crew Launch Vehicle, derived from Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters with a new upper stage, for human spaceflight missions. Consistent with my belief that we can't afford to have a four-year gap in our nation's human spaceflight capability, we will bring this vehicle online in the 2011-12 time frame.

Third, NASA will develop a new 125 metric ton class launch vehicle for future missions to the Moon and Mars, derived from existing Shuttle external tank and solid rocket booster capabilities.

Its official...

An Advance Look at NASA Administrator Mike Griffin's AIAA Speech