I Did It All For The Cookie

The Girl Scouts are going high-tech for cookies this year, and it's about time, too.  Mashable's Rex Santus:

Samoas and Thin Mints could be coming to your inbox soon. Girl Scouts of the USA announced Digital Cookie on Monday, a new digital platform that allows Girl Scouts to sell cookies online for the first time in the cookie program's 100-year history. 

It's a move to get girls interested in computers at a young age. Girl Scouts has always touted the cookie program as a way to lay the groundwork for good business and negotiation skills, and the digital program is modernizing those skills. 

Digital Cookie will not be an online store for cookies, however. As a precaution, Girl Scouts will initiate all sales. So you won't be able to order cookies online unless you're directly contacted by a Girl Scout. This does not change typical cookie season timelines, either. 

The program is supposed to help teach girls five skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics. As a bonus, it's also meant to give girls experience in using apps and online marketing. 

There are some concerns about girls' safety, and beyond the fact that only Girl Scouts can initiate sales, the organization is taking numerous precautions. No sensitive information about the girls is kept online, and most actions that happen on the digital interface must be parent-approved. Girl Scouts can reach out to people by email, and only that recipient can access the girl's profile. If the email is forwarded, the link to the Girl Scout's profile will be broken, a Girl Scouts representative told Mashable.

Teaching young women about computers and the internet, online safety, and awesome cookies?  I completely approve and wins all around.  The online safety component it vital, too and I'm very glad to see that's part of the program from the get-go.  I'm hoping Girl Scouts here in NKY get with the program, I'll clean you out of Thin Mints...

Another Great Nate Debate: Sanford And Run

Nate Silver makes the argument that Mark Sanford's various scandals did cost him dearly in this week's special election, just not enough to actually cost him the race.

It would be wrong to conclude that voters did not punish Mr. Sanford at all for his extramarital affair. In fact, a reasonable number of voters did appear to hold it against him. Last November, Mitt Romney won South Carolina’s First District by 18 percentage points. Since Mr. Romney lost the election to Barack Obama by roughly four percentage points nationwide, that means the First District is about 22 percentage points more Republican than the country as a whole.

That's an interesting way of looking at how partisan a district is as a whole, but it is a reasonable benchmark with applicable data germane to the district in question.  Charlie Cook's PVI number for the district is R+11, so by that math, Sanford's indiscretions cost him next to nothing since Sanford won by 9, just a 2-point hit.  Nate has other evidence to back up that 13-point figure, as he always does.

Mr. Sanford defeated his Democratic opponent, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, by nine percentage points instead – so one quick-and-dirty estimate is that Mr. Sanford’s personal history cost him a net of 13 percentage points. It just was not enough to flip the election result in such a conservative district.

As it happens, this 13-percentage-point penalty almost exactly matches an academic analysis on how much voters hold sex scandals against candidates. A 2011 paper by Nicholas Chad Long of St. Edward’s University, which examined United States senators running for re-election from 1974 to 2008, estimated that scandals involving immoral behavior lowered the share of the vote going to the incumbent by 6.5 percentage points.

Which results in a total 13-point swing if there are only 2 candidates in the race (and none of the 6.5 points are going to a third party.)   That makes the case that Nate is correct on the impact.

Either way, the reason Sanford won was because he ran in an overwhelmingly Republican district created by gerrymandering and Tuesday night proved there are plenty of Republican voters willing to overlook any scandal to avoid voting for a Democrat, a far worse crime in their eyes than a question of character.

I can't think of a better example of what pundits mean by a "safe" district for a party:  there's basically no way the seat will change hands.  Keep in mind that for the vast majority of House seats, 80-85% of them, are this way for a reason (and yes, both parties do gerrymander, but only the party in charge in each state after the Census gets the benefit, which is why 2010 will hurt us for the next 4 House elections in 30+ states.)

Until more than 10% of House races are competitive, nothing will change.  Even in a "wave" election like 2010, the GOP picked up 63 seats, only about 15%.  But that's enough to all but assure they'll keep the House for the foreseeable future.

Oh, and long overdue tag:  Keep Calm And Trust Nate Silver.

StupidiNews, Best Weekend Ever Edition!

First weekend in May is still the best weekend ever, with Star Wars Day today (May the Fourth be with you!) as well as Derby Day here in Kentucky on top of Free Comic Book Day (and Iron Man 3 is out!) as well as Cinco de Mayo tomorrow.

I'll have a review of the third film starring Robert Downey Jr. in the role the universe created him to play, Tony Stark, here later today.

Have a good one, folks!

Last Call

Politico's Ken Vogel picked a fight with the wrong guy...Nate Silver.

Polling guru Nate Silver and Politico investigative reporter Ken Vogel lobbed angry messages at each other Friday on Twitter over, of all things, whether to call something a “clarification” or a “correction.”

At issue was an article Silver had written for the New York Times about GOP strategist Karl Rove’s new Conservative Victory Project, which was formed to back electable Republican candidates in order to win back a majority in the Senate.

After the article was published, Silver updated the piece and appended a clarification to the end explaining the change. Vogel thought that note should have been labled a “correction” instead, and he took to Twitter to complain. Silver fired back, and the battle was on.

“At this point you’re just being a troll and misleading your Twitter followers about what I wrote,” Silver wrote to Vogel. “Grow up.”

“I’m happy to have a debate about this in any forum you chose, but please try to stick to the merits & avoid name calling,” Vogel responded.

This isn’t the first time Silver has sparred with someone at Politico. In late November, he said the news outlet covers politics like sports but “not in an intelligent way at all.” Politico media reporter Dylan Byers also wrote critically of Silver ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

Responding to the spat, Silver told TPM in an email on Friday: “I’ve been pretty jetlagged and had forgotten that the first rule of the Internet is ‘don’t feed the trolls.’ Was a mistake for me to get involved on Twitter.”

True, but it's fun to beat up WIN THE MORNING.  Hell, I do it whenever possible, but picking a nerd fight with the High King of all Political Wonks?  Bad idea, Vogel.

Read the play-by-play after the jump:

Enjoying The Northern Lights

When it comes to light bulbs in the 21st century, it may be time to look to that world-famous bastion of technological innovation...

...Canada.

A trio of Canadians claimed Wednesday to have invented the world’s most energy-efficient bulb: a 12-watt LED light that shines as bright as a 100-watt incandescent one.

Product developer Gimmy Chu told AFP the NanoLight design consists of a circuit board dotted with LED lights and folded into the shape of a bulb that plugs into a regular light fixture.

“We needed the light to shine in all directions to mimic a traditional incandescent light bulb,” said Chu, who with pals Tom Rodinger and Christian Yan launched a company last year to market the product after working on it for three years.

The idea has raised more than $100,000 on a US crowdfunding website and generated pre-orders for more than 3,000 bulbs in the last month, according to Chu.

The best thing about the NanoLight is the fact it's a Kickstarter project.

The NanoLight is still dealing with an issue common to LED lightbulb replacements: cost. A 100W equivalent NanoLight will set you back a $45 pledge. If you want the super-bright white version that outputs 1800 lumens, it will cost you $100. Depending on the cost of electricity in your area, you may be able to recover the investment over time, especially considering the expected longevity of the LEDs.

Interest in the NanoLight has been pretty intense. With 44 days left to go on the project, it has already nearly quadrupled the original $20,000 funding goal. Kickstarter may well be giving us an early glimpse into the future of household LED lighting.

Indeed, looking at the page this morning, the NanoLight has left that $20,000 goal in the dust and is over 150 grand with a month to go still.   Considering the success of Kickstarter tech projects like the Pebble watch as full-fledged tech start-ups these days, it's nice to see that Thomas Edison's Menlo Park digs lives on here on the net, with a global reach.

And yeah, I just might drop a couple bucks on a light bulb with corners.

Gmail Beats Hotmail For #1

Google's Gmail is top dog in e-mail, according to ComScore, which tracks Web site traffic.

In data for October released by ComScore, Gmail saw 287.9 million unique worldwide visitors during the period, edging out Microsoft's Hotmail, which finished with 286.2 million unique visitors. The findings were first reported by GigaOm.

Yahoo still leads in the US and by a large amount.  Frankly, I'm surprised.  I'm also surprised Google is just now passing for number one.  I thought that happened sometime ago and had been verified.  I have nothing against Hotmail or Yahoo, but I have used every major (and most minor) services out there and nothing ever compared to Gmail.  It hooked me immediately, it was the rest of Google's services that took time to win me over.

What say you, readers?  Am I missing some awesome Hotmail or Yahoo feature?  Or is it more a not-Google thing?

Snow White And The Seven Jawas

And Disney has bought Lucasfilm LTD for $4 billion and change, with the promise of a seventh Star Wars film in 2015.

Disney has acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. The film studio was previously owned entirely by George Lucas, the creator of the iconic Star Wars and Indiana Jones series. Lucas will continue to work at Lucasfilm, serving as creative consultant.

Star Wars: Episode 7 is planned for release in 2015, followed by Episodes 8 and 9. Disney hopes to continue releasing new Star Wars feature films every two to three years.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” Lucas said in a statement. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime.”

Lucas said he was confident that Kathleen Kennedy, the current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, will continue to successfully expand the franchise after becoming the new president of the film studio. Kennedy will report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn.

“Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products,” Lucas added.

It can't be worse than midichlorians, pod racing, and Jar-Jar Binks. I say, bring it.

In California, Road Forks You!

Jim Grant of Carlsbad, California?  I salute you, because you are awesome.

"I actually laughed out loud in my truck and just knew I had to get some shots of this urban art before some city employee takes it down or it is vandalized," he said. He shot some photos Tuesday afternoon, posted them on CNN iReport and left a Post-it note on the sculpture in hopes of finding the artist.

The literal fork in the road was short-lived. A city crew pulled it out of the concrete Wednesday morning, saying in a statement that "although the fork in the road remains, the literal fork was removed this morning. We appreciate the creativity, but it's not legal or safe to put objects like this on public streets or medians."

CNN affiliate KFMB filmed the fork being taken away. 

It's too bad, because the guy behind the fork just rocks.

Before the fork was ripped out, Grant's Post-it note made its way to the artist, who explained he was a retired teacher who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of getting fined or sued by the city.

The 62-year-old retired math and physics teacher said he has wanted to make a fork for that island ever since he saw "The Muppet Movie" in 1979, in which Kermit tells Fozzie Bear, on their way to Hollywood, to bear left if he comes to a fork in the road. A moment later, a giant upside-down fork appears in the road.

That was more than 30 years ago, but he never had the time to work on the project until he retired in June. He spent the summer on it, laminating pieces of wood together until they resembled the kitchen utensil. He bought a can of chrome paint and sprayed the fork until the can was empty. His brother, a middle-school wood shop teacher in El Cajon, helped him smooth out the edges.

"I'm not an artist. I have no talent, but I'm not afraid to try, and I'm quite surprised that the fork came out as good as it did," he said.

With his 32-year-old son's help, they mounted it in the street on Tuesday morning.

Put the fork back, Carlsbad!

Now It's Time To Leave The Capsule If You Dare

Ground Control to Felix Baumgartner:  You've really made the grade!

The Austrian daredevil, in fact, rose to the edge of space Sunday -- 128,100 feet, or 24 miles, above the Earth -- before plunging faster than the speed of sound.

Minutes later, he landed in southeastern New Mexico and, dropping to his knees, pumped his fists to the sky.

"He made it -- tears of joy from Mission Control," his support team said.

Dubbed "Fearless Felix," the helicopter pilot and former soldier had parachuted from such landmarks as the Petronas Towers in Malaysia and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. And he'd been preparing for his latest feat for five years -- physically, mentally and logistically.

By most accounts, all the hard work paid off. According to preliminary findings cited by Brian Utley, an official observer monitoring the mission, the 43-year-old Baumgartner flew higher than anyone ever in a helium hot air balloon and broke the record for the highest jump.

Still, even Baumgartner seemed taken aback when Utley detailed how fast he had fallen at one point -- 833.9 mph, or Mach 1.24, smashing his goal to break the sound barrier.

And yes.  The guy floated up in a manned balloon capsule.  He depressurized it, opened up the door, and stepped out into space.  I watched this live, along with millions of others worldwide, and it was utterly incredible.

Give it a watch.

Number Crunching, September Edition

With 6 weeks to go until Election Day, Nate Silver runs the numbers on September poll leads and finds with the exceptions of "Dewey beats Truman!" and the Supremes screwing over Al Gore, the poll average leader at the 45 day mark went on to win 17 of the last 19 Presidential races.

Our polling database contains surveys going back to 1936. The data is quite thin (essentially just the Gallup national poll and nothing else) through about 1968, but it’s nevertheless worth a look.

In the table below, I’ve averaged the polls that were conducted 40 to 50 days before the election in each year — the time period that we find ourselves in now. (In years when there were no polls in this precise time window, I used the nearest available survey.)

The table considers the race from the standpoint of the incumbent party (designated with the color purple) and the challenging party (wearing the orange jerseys), without worrying about whether they were Democrats or Republicans. Mr. Obama’s position, for instance, is probably more analogous to that of the Republican incumbent George W. Bush in 2004 than it is to the candidate from his own party that year, John Kerry.


 

As you can see, President Obama's nearly 4 point lead is a larger one than he had in 2008.  It is however the smallest of the incumbent leads of a winner since FDR in 1944.  Six weeks is still enough to win, but by this point, the race appears to be very much decided.

At this point serious attention needs to be paid to shoring up the down ballot races as motivation to get people to the polls.  We'll see what happens.

Tiny Bubbles, In My Space-Time

Yeah.  So this is pretty awesome.  Make it so.

Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) are carrying out lab-scale experiments to create tiny space-time warps with an aim to eventually achieving “Star-Trek”-style interstellar space travel.

According to the Alcubierre warp drive theory, proposed by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre in 1994, a spaceship could travel faster than light inside a bubble of negative energy that deforms the space-time continuum, compressing it in front of the craft and expanding it behind.

Harold “Sonny” White, from JSC’s advanced propulsion physics laboratory Eagleworks, attended the 100 Year Starship Symposium in Houston on Sept. 14 to present his lab’s findings.

White’s team is testing out mathematical equations relating to the physics of cosmic inflation using an instrument called the White-Juday Warp Field Interferometer, which uses a laser to create little warp bubbles.

“We’ve initiated an interferometer test bed in this lab, where we’re going to go through and try and generate a microscopic instance of a little warp bubble,” White said, according to a July article in Roundup, JSC’s biweekly publication.

“And although this is just a microscopic instance of the phenomena, we’re perturbing space-time, one part in 10 million, a very tiny amount.”

Cannot.  Stop.  Headbanging.  Over how awesome this is.  Sure, it'll be generations or so before we end up doing anything practical with this, if it even works at macro scales without obscene amounts of energy, or at all, or without tearing a dimensional rift into the Chaos Realms and making the walls bleed.

But still!  Science!

Underneath The Hood

Just a reminder this morning that we've made some improvements to Podcast Versus The Stupid, and we now have an archive page with all the PVTS episodes in mp3 and Windows Media Player format that you can download or listen to on your PC or mobile device, so we can get MOAR LISTENERS.  Tell your friends.  You DO have friends, right?  Maybe?  I'm hoping?  C'mon, even I have friends.

We've got big plans for PVTS in the coming weeks and months, first to get the show on iTunes so you all can get the latest episodes in one place automatically, and second, as we get better at this, we're going to expand the show to an hour and try to have guests on a regular basis.

As the hip kids say, stay tuned, true believers...

Page Break

August was our best month ever here at ZVTS, on a personal note.  We broke 15k visits according to Sitemeter and 13k visits according to Quantcast.  I'm pretty happy with that, and hopefully we can bring in some more traffic with the podcast.

As we head into the heart of the election season with Labor Day weekend, the game begins in earnest.  Keep it here and we'll try not to disappoint.  And hey, tell your friends about us too!

Back to your regularly scheduled weekend.

A New Era In Versus The Stupid

Bon and I have been working on putting together a short podcast for listeners where we talk about a number of things, current events, posts we've made, and whatever else tickles our fancy.  We're working with Blog Talk Radio and we hope to have something for you guys starting in the next week or so.  Hell, we might even have guests!  Maybe.  We'll see.

A preview of what to expect:



Be on the lookout for Podcast Versus The Stupid:  Coming soon!

Big BOOOOOBS!

Now that I have your attention, this story really is about Big Boobs.

Microsoft has contributed thousands of lines of code to the Linux kernel, the open source software at the heart of the widely used Linux operating system. And now, the software giant has contributed some controversy too.

Sometime over the past few years, as Microsoft beefed up the Linux kernel with code related to its Hyper-V virtualization software, one unidentified developer needed a name for a piece of code used by the software, and for some unknown reason, he went with this: 0xB16B00B5.

That’s leetspeak for “Big Boobs.”

Microsoft issued an apology that seemed completely sincere, and will be removing the code in an upcoming patch.  It happens, no hard feelings against Bill's House for this one.  One developer nailed it on his blog, showing he gets the real problem, however.

Red Hat kernel developer Matthew Garrett is not impressed. “At the most basic level, it’s just straightforward childish humour,” he wrote on his blog. “But it’s also specifically male childish humour. Puerile sniggering at breasts contributes to the continuing impression that software development is a boys club where girls aren’t welcome.”

Thank you, sir.  Well said.

In bonus awesomeness, a link from the article lets you translate any phrase you choose into leetspeak, binary, ASCII, even Morse code.  Enjoy!

Minty Fresh: Victory

For those who have been here a while, you'll remember I was struggling with Ubuntu and my problems with Unity. I liked it in theory, but in actual use it needed some love, and Ubuntu forced you to move over.  So I tried Mint, an Ubuntu-based Linux flavor that seemed to give me all that I loved about Ubuntu without the crap.

It's been true love ever since.

Today I'm putting Mint on my beloved new desktop, after taking a look at Ubuntu and reading reviews on the improvements.  They weren't kind.  For those it works for, it works great.  For the rest of us, tough cookie and better luck next time.

I will always love Ubuntu, and will eventually have all three on here, because I've seen me do it.  Windows is driving me batshit crazy, and I expect Mint to carry my work while Windows just eases the occasional compatibility issue that comes up.  I'm even going to play with Cinnamon, and likely review it here.

The great news is this: no matter what your experience level (I'm not all that when it comes to Linux, just loyal) there is a Linux out there for you now.  If pretty matters, you can have it.  If function means more than anything, you can have that too.  And because it's free, you can try and test to your heart's content and eventually have your computer just how you want it.

Google: GDocs Offline Capability Soon

SAN FRANCISCO - Google announced today at it's Google I/O conference here that Google documents is going offline.

The Google word-processing service is a Web-based alternative to programs such as Microsoft Word. Because Google Docs is a Web-based service, people who use the application have not been able to use it unless they have an Internet connection. But now that will be changing. And people will now be able to work in Google Docs on airplanes and other places where a Web connection may not be available.

Travelers will eat that up, but so will students, professionals and even people like me, who write constantly and struggles with finding trustworthyWiFi.  The masses who don't understand security should avoid open WiFi, but it's no fun for people who get it, either.  However, free connections have become common enough that you can work in peace and still enjoy regular synchronization with your storage.  Phones already have the capability, and this will give Google Docs  a serious edge over traditional, physically stored documents because it is portable and always protected.  Sharing is easy, there is no risk of losing everything, and you can milk more life out of laptop and tablet batteries.

Win win win win win.  The Bon is pleased, and even more likely to get that new laptop.

Microsoft Tablet Has Potential

Microsoft today announced a new tablet called "Microsoft Surface," a device with a 10.6-inch screen that runs on the company's new Windows 8 operating system.

It features a magnesium case and built-in stand, said the company. A keyboard and touch pad are built into its cover, and cameras are built into the front and back.

It will come in two versions, the company said, each weighing less than two pounds.

"It's a whole new family of computing devices from Microsoft," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, from the stage of a Los Angeles auditorium packed with reporters. "It is a tool to surface your passions and creativity."

Some critical specifications were not mentioned -- including price, screen resolution, battery life or the specific release date.

Microsoft has failed in the cell phone market.  This is a chance for them to diversify and move forward.  If this fails, they may consider sticking to what they know best.  They are surely desperate to branch out after seeing the inevitable end of office software domination and compatibility issues.  Coders who want to be successful now strive to reach multiple platforms, and their stranglehold on the masses has loosened.

The keyboard design is intriguing, and something that people have been clamoring for.  An elegant solution would give them a real edge.  Price and other important factors would be nice to know.  As they release specs and other details, I'll update.

Tech Roundup: Noob Edition

I suppose you don't have to be a beginner to take advantage of this, but newbies will surely appreciate seeing changes appear live.  Mozilla Thimble allows a split screen, one side for HTML code, the other a preview that runs the code.

I hate HTML.  I hate it with the power of a thousand flaming suns shining through a thousand magnifying glasses.  There aren't enough words to describe my disgust, so this is perfect for someone like me, the occasional user.  Super advanced users won't need it, but they have their own awesome tools.  This is just for the normal folks, the dabblers.

Even current users are noobs to Google Drive, it hasn't been around that long.  However, a major improvement is on the way with online syncing.  Google Docs is so close to perfect that its few drawbacks are glaring issues.  This is the last major one (besides their stubborn refusal to allow us to control appearance) to keep them from being The Most Awesome Thing Ever Ever Ever.  Details aren't widely available, but it seems if you leave connection, you can continue to work, and as soon as connection is available your changes are uploaded.  This would make two people in bad connection a bit like dueling doc editing, but for 99% of users this is a great thing.

All around, I'm happy enough to give Thimble a shot for my projects, and I hope my love affair with Google Docs is eternal.  I'd love to hear back from any readers who want to speak up.  Everyone's needs are different, if you have found a flaw or glowing positive, let us know in the comments!

Last Call

If you haven't noticed by now, there's more than one way to conduct war against a country.  Iran surely has figured that out as in addition to the crippling economic sanctions leveled against its oil exports and central bank by the US, it seems they now have a bit of a computer virus problem to boot.

A cyber-attack that targeted Iran’s oil ministry and main export terminal was caused by the most sophisticated computer worm yet developed, experts have warned.

The virus appears to have been directed primarily at a small number of organisations and individuals in Iran, the West Bank, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. This will inevitably raise suspicions that Israel or the US were involved in some way.

Analysts who have been decoding the computer worm, which is called W32.Flamer, have been unable to identify the source. But they say only a professional team working for several months could have been behind it.

The CrySys Laboratory, in Hungary, said: “The results of our technical analysis supports the hypothesis that [the worm] was developed by a government agency of a nation state with significant budget and effort, and it may be related to cyberwarfare activities.”It is certainly the most sophisticated malware we [have] encountered. Arguably, it is the most complex malware ever found.”

Orla Cox, a senior analyst at Symantec, the international computer security firm, said: “I would say that this is the most sophisticated threat we have ever seen.”

Flamer appears to be an advanced version of the Stuxnet worm that ravaged Iran's uranium processing centrifuges last year, and of course there's no way to prove who is behind it, but I'm betting that if we didn't do it, we know exactly who did.  Apparently it lie dormant for two years before waiting to strike, which it did last week.  Some brave warrior up in US Cyber Command got a case of Code Red and some King Dons for this, no doubt.

Welcome to the brave new battlefield frontier, folks.  Diplomacy through other means and all that.