] Rather than seeing entertainment-focused media forms as
] adversarial to educational content, educators should
] instead embrace them. This commentary examines how
] content originally designed for entertainment purposes
] can be modified to provide natural and context rich
] language learning environments, without sacrificing its
] entertainment value. First, I examine a modification to
] the number one selling video game The Simsthat
] intelligently combines game data from the English edition
] with data from editions of other languages to form a
] bilingual gaming environment. This exposes learners to
] abundant L2 vocabulary, yet still provides enough L1
] support not to detract from the game. This principle is
] then extended to other applications such as music videos,
] typing tutors, and voice-navigated games. Finally, areas
] of otherwise wasted time are identified, such as waiting
] for Web pages to load or walking to class, with
] suggestions of how technology can facilitate language
] learning during these times.

LLT Vol9Num1: COMMENTARY: YOU'RE NOT STUDYING, YOU'RE JUST...

] In fact, the three busiest days for support lines are the day
] after Christmas, the Monday after Christmas and the Monday
] after New Year's, said Jim Kahler, North American consumer
] support manager for Hewlett-Packard.

One has to wonder about what would happen if Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year were more evenly spaced apart. It seems like December is carefully crafted as the most stressful time of the year, where it perhaps does have to be. Massive consumer shopping and shipping means lots of spending and lots of seasonal jobs. Celebrations of Christmas and New Years means at least two days off, generally more -- the days between are generally seen as bonus holidays. And then we've got all the other New Year's issues such as a last call for taxable events. And college applications. And so on.

] Every employee in the WebTV division had to come in and
] work the support lines. Luckily, someone remembered to
] bring in a spiked bowl of eggnog, which made it easier
] for support personnel to stay calm when dealing with
] irate subscribers, he said.

Maybe we should make it policy to supply our support lines with a bar?

Get a gift--and a tech support headache | CNET News.com

] If everything as planned, the telephone industry will be
] all about television in 2005. TV over your home phone
] line. TV on your cell phone.
...
] "There's one application knocking on the door and
] consumers are truly hungering for it: real-time TV and
] streaming TV," Anssi Vanjoki, general manager for
] multimedia at cell phone maker Nokia Corp., proclaimed
] at a recent investment conference.

Funny, bucy and I were just talking about this this afternoon.

Yahoo! News - Telephone Business Gears Up to Deliver TV

] The US National Institutes of Health study concludes
] acupuncture is an effective complement to standard care.

It is nice that NIH is putting money into demonstrating that acupuncture works in a way that is acceptable to the western medical community: large trials, like the way we actually understand drugs. Too many scientists get hung up on the mystic and uncertain aspects of acupuncture, and ignore the evidence that it seems to work. We seem to be ok with not really knowing how drugs (Vioxx, Celebrex anyone) work, but make a stink when something whose explanation is "Qi energy forces" asks to be considered legit.

BBC NEWS | Health | Acupuncture 'works for arthritis'

Decius wrote:
] ] This is a big deal, a lot of the insurance world was holding
] ] its breath on this. Not only is it a significant settlement
] ] (+$1.1B is never small) but a significant precident in
] ] insurance coverage in the terrorist age.
]
] Ugh... that means your rates for insurance are going to go up.
] Again.

Unlikely in most cases, unless you are talking about business insurance. And specifically, large/catastrophic policies. The companies that were hit hard with this were the ReInsurers -- I think Munich and Swiss Re are the major players in the WTC market, but I haven't tracked that industry much lately.

One of the floating questions, though, was that some of these Re's are in shaky financial position already, from curious derivitives plays, large exposures, improper policy discipline. And the business is such that it doesn't take much to cause a Re catastrophy, as their business is entirely based on their credit rating, and so payoffs reduce their liquidity, which can trigger a rating deduction, and if you go below A or A-... forget it. Debt covenants, cost of capital...

RE: FT.com / Home US - Jury calls WTC attack two events

noteworthy wrote:

] I know Dave is trying to be funny, but those characterizations
] are just dead wrong.

That's a great link, thank you. Debating on a point of a snide Dave Barry comment is to miss point, true.

I find the history of Chinese food in this country to be fascinating. Actually, Chinese food internationally is a new measurement I have been using with various countries and their cultures. Specific examples were the Chinese/Mexican bistro scene in Mexico City, which has a very different feel but is equally well established culturally.
In fact, the first real meal I had in Panama City recently was cheap chinese. The elements of the food informed the rest of my gastronimical experience (no fear of Meat and Fried Meat, rice and beans).

RE: Menus document history of Chinese eateries in US

] I thought that, in today's column, I would heal the
] nation.
]
] The nation suffered a wound during the recent
] presidential election as a result of the rift between the
] red states -- defined as 'states where 'foreign cuisine'
] pretty much means Pizza Hut'' -- and the blue states,
] defined as ''states that believe they are smarter than
] the red states, despite the fact that it takes the
] average blue-state resident 15 minutes to order a single
] cup of coffee.''

Herald.com | 12/12/2004 | Can't we all just get along?

] With all of the business functions covered, I suppose
] it's no surprise that the next big thing in cell phones
] is to turn them into sex toys.

The question is taking them out in public.

Or sharing your phone.

Wired News: Cell Phones That Do It

] A 22-year-old gamer has spent $26,500 (£13,700) on an
] island that exists only in a computer role-playing game
] (RPG).

At first, this seems like yet another Everquest story. But instead, I think it reveals a far more interesting scenerio. I like that we finally have explicitly capital-based MMORPGs. It is this form of venture that will lead to more the Metaverse like opportunities. I don't know how this system works, whether the company has financial reserves and mints objects appropriately, or what. But this is at least a step to a marketplace style VR engine, where everything is asset-backed.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Gamer buys $26,500 virtual land

] Mr. Murdoch is buying one of the city's most opulent
] apartments on one of the most elegant stretches of Fifth
] Avenue. The apartment is on the 14th through 16th floors
] of a building designed by the architect Rosario Candela
] and completed in 1931. It has 20 rooms making up about
] 8,000 square feet and about 4,000 square feet of terraces
] spread over the three floors. The monthly maintenance is
] $21,469.07.

The New York Times : New York Region : Murdoch Set to Pay Record $44 Million for 5th Ave. Triplex