"Several wasp species can be found around the yard. Although wasps feed on insects such as house flies and garden pests, some can also be dangerous to people. Most wasps typically ignore people. For example, social insects that live in colonies will readily sting when they perceive their nest or territory is threatened while solitary insects only sting in self-defense when mishandled. "

If these damned things continue to reproduce at this rate we'll have to build bubble cities to escape them.

Yard Wasps

"Nests are started in early spring by these solitary, fertilized queens. These queens are often seen feeding on spring flowers or searching for a suitable nest site. Normally, nests are established in an abandoned rodent or bird nest in the ground. The solitary queen begins the colony by collecting pollen and forming it into a small lump. She lays six to eight worker eggs on this pollen. After four to five days, the eggs hatch into larvae (immature forms), which begin to feed on the lump of pollen. "

Summer in the south is full of annoying things that hurt.

Bumble Bees Around the House

When the $1,000 Ultra-Personal Computer hits stores this fall or winter, it will operate as a wireless handheld computer, akin to a Palm, OQO Inc. said. Or it can be used as a "modular PC" that connects to a full-size keyboard, mouse and monitor to replace a desktop PC.

This is a small step, but notable. Take three more steps and then take a look around.

CNN.com - Little-known company unveils tiny PC - April 17, 2002

In the meantime, Svenson said his brief experience as a blogger already has brought him into contact with a small group of fellow lawyer-bloggers. “We all link back to one another, and I have already contacted three or four people and gotten to know them pretty well,” he said. “It’s possible that somewhere down the road they would decide to refer business. But the main thing is, we develop a web of trust. That’s sort of how this community works.”

Business pros flock to Weblogs

MCI unveiled a plan Monday that for the first time gives residential customers unlimited local, local toll and long-distance calls for $50 a month. The goal is to gain local market share. MCI is heavily in debt and under SEC investigation. Analysts say the plan is proof of big changes in the way phone companies bill. "We are moving to a flat rate, or subscription-based, all-you-can-eat world."

How's this for a trick? Since billable minutes are falling off fast for all the carriers, MCI pondered, "Right now, the market wants to see growth in the number of minutes used. How can we get customers to make more LD calls?" and came up with the reply, "Let's go flat rate!" So they charge each customer a little more than the average one pays already, and figure they break even financially, but they get to say "minutes are up 15% this quarter!" in the next report.

One risk (which they must have foreseen) is that only the chattiest of their customers will take them up on the offer, and revenues will still go down even as minutes stabilize or climb up. So long term, it still doesn't pay the bills, but it could make for some nice weasel-words in the next quarterly report ...

According to a Knight-Ridder wire story, MCI's plan is a reply to a similar deal just announced by AT&T. MCI's marketing director: "It was important for us to come out as the first nationwide local phone company. We also wanted to step out of the price-driven commodity market of long-distance." Analysts say that if customers respond, then voice service will quickly evolve into an (unprofitable) all-flat-rate business.

The above is from JLM. I'll add that research has shown that consumers will pay more in aggregate for flat rate services then for metered services. I won't argue the likely reasons for such a decision, other than to say that this sort of pricing scheme makes the most sense in an environment where most long distance consumers are individuals and not businesses. I'm not sure what the current break down actually is. However, one wonders why they can't simply offer flat rate residential long distance and metered commercial long distance. The market is used to having different prices for local phone services already.

MCI offers unlimited calls

"That is too bad, because I am eager to hear their defense of such an irrational system. Try your best to learn and you're in trouble. Blow off the assignment and you're safe. And it is getting worse. A brand-new rule says a computer science student is wrong to try to seek answers to questions ANYWHERE other than from course materials or Georgia Tech staff. Rooting around in old books in the library, checking the Internet, calling your cousin at Caltech--all are forbidden."

The reason this author is having so much trouble "comprehending" these policies is because they are a figment of his imagination. Unfortunately, Tech's reputation will suffer as a result of this regardless of what is really going on here.

Georgia Tech slammed by Washington Post

"The heavily unregulated DSL market has been virtually monopolized and the cost of DSL has gone up in the U.S. from $39 to $49. It costs $29 (US) in Canada for the same service. Right now, Canadians are twice as likely and South Koreans are four times as likely to have broadband access than Americans. Thats pitiful. "

Contact TISPA

A TextArc is a visual represention of a text—the entire text (twice!) on a single page. Some funny combination of an index, concordance, and summary, it uses the viewer's eye to help uncover meaning. A more detailed overview is available

Awesome. You must look at this.

TextArc.org Home

"the study analyzed the Billboard Top 200 charts -- reflecting weekly album sales -- from 1991 to 2000. Over the 10-year period, they found a 31.5 percent increase in the number of different artists on the Top 200, indicating that more new artists are hitting the charts than ever before, pushing established musical acts from the charts or keeping them from hitting the charts at all.
The biggest change occurred from 1998 to 2000, when there was a 10 percent increase in the number of different artists who hit the Billboard 200.
The researchers link the trend to rapid growth in the number of Internet users -- from 3 million to 116.7 million -- over the past 10 years and the emergence of music-sharing services such as Napster, which has led to widespread online music sampling and piracy. "

Internet use causes fewer rock super stars

In his lengthy report, Justice Gerard La Forest writes that comprehensive and continuous video surveillance permits the police to systematically observe everyone present within the camera's range. He says the cameras violate section 8 of the Charter, which guarantees a "broad and general right" to privacy, as laid out by Justice Dickson in Hunter vs. Southam. Section 8 of the Charter states: "Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure."

Security Cams Not OK in Canada?