Today's the day. Daily Buzz Coffee officially opens its doors. I'm eager to see what happens. I hope you'll stop by. We've already met a number of you.
Bill McCauley, a friend to several folks here at MemeStreams, has successfully opened his coffee house in Arizona! March 10th was their first day.
The Associated Press: Domestic Access to Spy Imagery Expands
Topic: Miscellaneous
10:10 pm EST, Feb 13, 2008
The charter and legal framework for an office within the Homeland Security Department that would use overhead and mapping imagery from existing satellites is in the final stage of completion, according to a department official who requested anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about it.
The department currently is waiting for federal executive agencies to sign off on the program — called the National Applications Office — and will share the details with lawmakers soon.
From DHS's fact sheet on the National Applications Office:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Applications Office (NAO) is the executive agent to facilitate the use of intelligence community technological assets for civil, homeland security and law enforcement purposes within the United States. The office will begin initial operation by fall 2007 and will build on the long-standing work of the Civil Applications Committee, which was created in 1974 to facilitate the use of the capabilities of the intelligence community for civil, non-defense uses in the United States.
The National Applications Office will be led on a day-to-day basis by the Department of Homeland Security. A National Applications Executive Committee will be established to provide senior interagency oversight and guidance. The National Applications Office will work with its customers to meet their requirements with the advice and support of three customer domain working groups:
* Civil Applications Domain Working Group: This working group will continue the efforts of the Civil Application Committee that have been ongoing for more than 30 years, including scientific, geographic and environmental research.
* Homeland Security Domain Working Group: The “Homeland Security Domain” includes those government agencies and activities involved in the prevention and mitigation of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from natural or man-made disasters, including terrorism, and other threats to the homeland. This domain can encompass the many operational and administrative components of DHS, as well as other federal, state, local, and tribal elements who partner with the department. Its work will complement the Civil Applications Working Group in areas like natural disaster response.
* Law Enforcement Domain Working Group: This working group includes federal, state, local, and tribal entities, and those activities which support both the enforcement of criminal and civil laws, and the other operational responsibilities and authorities of these entities.
Ever read a book (required or otherwise) and upon finishing it thought to yourself, "Wow. That was terrible. I totally feel dumber after reading that."? I know I have. Well, like any good scientist, I decided to see how well my personal experience matches reality. How might one do this?
Well, here's one idea.
1. Get a friend of yours to download, using Facebook, the ten most popular books at every college (manually -- as not to violate Facebook's ToS). These ten books are indicative of the overall intellectual milieu of that college. 2. Download the average SAT/ACT score for students attending every college. 3. Presto! We have a correlation between books and dumbitude (smartitude too)!
Books <=> Colleges <=> Average SAT Scores
4. Plot the average SAT of each book, discarding books with too few samples to have a reliable average. 5. Post the results on your website, pondering what the Internet will think of it.
Yes, I'm aware correlation ≠ causation. The results are awesome regardless of direction of causality. You can stop sending me email about this distinction. Thanks.
Atlanta's FBI field division topped Los Angeles in reporting the most bank heists, with 350 for the 12 months ending September 30, 2007, according to the FBI, which annually names areas most prone to bank robberies.
Go Atlanta!
So why are all you memestreamers in Atlanta bothering with that whole professional security industry thing? Sounds like robbing banks is pretty damn easy!
Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. art.cat.ap.jpg
His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live.
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," Dr. David Dosa said in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.
After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.
Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.
Yes, I have made an lolcat photo based on Oscar... Photo is from Reuters.
This is an awesome round up of stories from possibly noteworthy. I've only read through a fraction of them. If you are looking for a good place to jump off into some Sunday evening reading, peruse this post.
At the end of the day, he remembered thinking, "I can't believe I found all those answers in one place."
At the end of the day, I, like everyone else, just sidestepped the helpful knowledge, eager to continue fucking up. No one ever learns lessons. You just smile and continue bullshitting. That’s the American way.
Some people would argue that working at Google is more exciting, but [Google employees] are working incredible hours. And at the end of the day, you have to ask, ’Is that a good deal?'
"Every race has its good and bad. At the end of the day it's not what they look like, it's about what they do, their actions."
At the end of the day, when I’m old and decrepit, I can give it to my grandkids and say, ‘here, this is what your grandpa used to do.’
And at the end of the day we were proud of what we did.
There are not that many guys who see it on as consistent a basis. At the end of the day, I love to get sacks, but if I don’t, as long as my teammates are getting the benefits, I’ve got to swallow it ...
Boing Boing: Kidnapped Nun Bun Resurfaces in Seattle
Topic: Miscellaneous
7:39 pm EDT, Mar 16, 2007
Here's an article about the "world-famous" Nun Bun which was stolen/kidnapped about two years ago. The Nun Bun is a cinnamon roll that has a strong resemblence to Mother Teresa.
The NunBun has resurfaced in Seattle. Hopefully, the authorities are hot on the trail. Although somehow, I doubt it.
In this post, Jackson clarifies some of the Nub Bun history as well..
