Norway's massive oil reserves are all offshore on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Follow the Norway way to see that a beautiful coastline remains preserved while large-scale oil production goes on off shore. In fact, Norway is ranked second only to Switzerland in environmental stewardship. Another fact on statistics, Norway is one of the richest countries per capita in the world, out ranking many oil-rich nations.

Up until the 1960s very few people believed that the Norwegian continental shelf had oil and gas deposits. With the Ekofisk discovery in 1969, the Norwegian oil boom began. Deep-water production from the field began in June, 1971. During the next  years, a number of major oil discoveries were made. Today, there are 52 fields in production on off the Norwegian coast. In 2006, these fields produced 2.8 million barrels of oil (including NGL and condensate) per day and 88 billion standard cubic metres (scm) gas, for a total production of saleable petroleum of 249 million scm oil equivalents (o.e.). Norway ranks as the world’s third largest oil exporter and the tenth largest oil producer, in 2005 figures.

Ironically, it was the U.S. that first developed offshore oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. Companies such as Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil with the expertise of oil services companies including Halliburton and Schlumberger.

Most of the U.S. continental shelf has been left untouched for 20 years by a series laws inacted by the "green" political movement, bought hook, line and sinker by  the Democratic party and in some cases Republicans to keep pace with the propadanda movement  of manmade global warming.

Former VP Albert Gore made an amazing speech yesterday claiming we had just 10 years to save the world by transforming to wind and solar energy.  Had Gore been working in the real world and made such an unresearched claim at a corporation, he would be sent to a detox center for pschological testing.

This week, President  Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore continental shelf drilling. But the Democrat controlled U.S. Congress refuses to do so. Think about that when you pay more that $4 a gallon at the pump today. The Republicans wanted to start drilling in ANWR Alsaska in 1993,  but Bill Clinton  vetoed the bill. That field could have been producing 1 million barrels per day in  1998.

I have a prediction, the Congressional ban on drilling offshore will eventually be lifted. It may take a surge of voters to throw out several in the  Democratic party and a few pandering Republicans, but there will be drilling offshore. The world price for oil is already dropping. Investors do their homework and have a good idea that the American people are starting to figure out the facts.

Why can't msm get the details right?

Problems in Reporting the Israel-Hezbollah Exchange

The prisoner exchange between Hezbollah and Israel was accompanied by heavy media coverage of the actual deal as well as related events.  Not all of the mainstream coverage is accurate.

...New York Times article by Dina Kraft incorrectly reported, "in Israel, where the captured reservists, Mr. Goldwasser and Mr. Regev, both university students, have been declared dead." In fact, while they were widely presumed dead, the formal process to declare them dead, involving the Israel Defense Forces chief rabbi, had been halted.

Also, repeating an earlier uncorrected falsehood, the Los Angeles Times's Richard Boudreaux falsely reported the chronology of events surrounding the capture of Israeli reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev:

The war two summers ago started with a cross-border raid by Hezbollah aimed at seizing soldiers to bargain for the release of Kuntar, who was serving multiple life sentences, and other Lebanese prisoners.

Eight Israeli soldiers in a border-patrol convoy were killed in the raid and their bodies recovered. The Israeli military said Goldwasser and Regev, shown on video being half-carried and half-dragged into Lebanon, were seriously wounded and possibly killed in the attack.

The fighting escalated as Israel bombarded Lebanon from the air, and thousands of Hezbollah rockets rained on northern Israel.

But the fighting did not "escalate" with Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel (or an Israeli attack on Lebanon, for that matter.) The fighting started with Hezbollah rocket attacks, which were ongoing during the cross-border raid.

And, from the man who cheered on and encouraged the Iraq war in 2002:

"Your dedication to religious and cultural tolerance, coexistence, and dialogue is important to achieving lasting peace," Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told a group of 32 teenagers from Mumbai and Lahore at the State Department.

Perhaps we should have shown that same dedication to keeping peace?

"Progress is often frustratingly slow, and worse, sometimes suffers major setbacks...."

Yes, war often does cause setbacks. Welcome to the life of the average person in this world. Do these people in Washington ever hear themselves?

[caption id="attachment_248" align="aligncenter" width="231" caption="Says it all, doesn't it?"][/caption]

Russia Winning Arctic Race: US Coast Guard

The Coast Guard chief said Russia had finally put to sea last year the largest icebreaker in its polar fleet - the '50 Years of Victory', which has been under construction since 1989 and guarantees Russia easy access to the vast natural resources in the Arctic region.

Didn't you just kinda, sorta knew that was behind all of this the other day?

Of course you did.

We all did.

Call for calm in language debate

Politicians have been told to reduce the tension surrounding calls for an Irish language act in the north.

The demand by Sinn Fein and the SDLP has sparked bitter debates at the assembly, with the executive split on the move.

...“I readily accept it’s a difficult issue but I believe that what Northern Ireland consistently shows is that where there is a difficult issue, you can find a resolution to it.”

]]> http://onlineallpro.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/gangland-nfl/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:53:00 +0000 onlineallpro http://onlineallpro.wordpress.com/2008/07/18/gangland-nfl/ According to the Los Angeles Times, the NFL has hired experts to study game in order to determine if players are using gang signs in their celebrations.

The consumer price index, used to gauge inflation, has jumped 5% since June 2007. Figuring it out means the Bureau of Labor Statistics staff must collect prices for items such as pizza, laptops and ca

Kim Gomory treks more than 850 miles each month, stopping by more than 120 grocers, gas stations, restaurants, stores, health clubs and other businesses.

But Gomory, a Honda Civic hybrid owner in her 40s, isn't a soccer mom drawing a bead on bargains. Trace a line from her calculating consumerism in Claremont, Walnut and other communities and you'll see how national economic policy gets made.

Shielding a tablet computer with skill worthy of a CIA operative, Gomory is among 400 Bureau of Labor Statistics staffers, including about 13 in the Los Angeles area, who compile data used to calculate the consumer price index, the best-known gauge of U.S. inflation.

The latest survey, released Wednesday, calculated that the consumer price indexrose 1.1% in June -- the second-largest increase since 1982 -- and jumped 5% compared with June 2007. Prices in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties rose 1.1% in June and 5.4% compared with a year earlier. 

To the consternation of critics who say the index fails to reflect Americans' struggles to make ends meet, the CPI is holy writ for bankers, economists, policymakers and politicians as they set mortgage and credit card interest rates, wages and government benefits programs such as food stamps and Social Security.

It costs what?! Calculating the CPI requires a lot of shopping around - Los Angeles Times

I've always wondered how they calculate the CPI. I didn't realize that they actually send out individuals to shop around for these things. It's absurdly time consuming and very subjective.

The LA Times published a sound, well-written and very thought-provoking opinion piece by Mike Males (of YouthFacts) on July 13th. In his letter, which is well worth reading for yourself, he makes several key points regarding myths that are commonly perpetuated by the media on the topic of "teen pregnancy." To sum them up:

1) Remember that pregnancy pact thing in Gloucester, Mass.? It didn't happen. That's right, it wasn't true at all. While the pregnancy rate when up a little from the year before, it wasn't abnormally high overall. There was also no pact, no celebrations, no coordinated pregnancies. The principal who started the story refused to name sources and it fell flat under investigations. Hmm. My thoughts: even if a few kids high-fived each other, what would you expect them to do? "Gosh, Jane. You're stupid." No. Friends support each other, of course. And, it isn't rare at all for some high schoolers to want babies, after all.

2) The very term "teen pregnancy" relies on sexist, old-fashioned ideas of careless teen boys hooking up with their young girlfriends. Oftentimes it is late teens with older men who are no longer teens at all. Should we not focus on these men, poverty, or other related issues? Why is it all about these young women?

3) And who says that these pregnancies are always bad? After all, some research (cited in the original article) clearly has found that women living in poverty did better if they became parents in their teens than if they waited. Their long-term incomes, tax payments, and so on were all improved. There is also a higher likelihood of intergenerational support from parents, it turns out.

4) Males wraps it up with a call for major sex ed and abstinence ed groups to stop ignoring large portions of the research that don't meet their needs. He also calls to the public to be more careful about the pregnancy rumors they consume and repeat.

Good work, Mike Males. You've caught my attention and given me quite a bit to chew on.

Mike Male's original opinion piece - here

Mike Male's home page - here

Summary from National Partnership for Women & Families - here

YouthFacts.org, working to confront cultural myths about our kids - here

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Below is a sample of some of the comments by liberals at the L.A. Times Obituaries page on the death of former White House spokesman, Tony Snow:

17. He was just another screen for the Bush administration's crimes.
Submitted by: CB
7:54 AM PDT, July 14, 2008

20. One less evil, lying, greedy, destructive, treasonous, religous nut-bar member of the Republican Party! It's a great day at my house.
Submitted by: Anthony
6:47 AM PDT, July 14, 2008

26. Can it be true that these comments are moderated by LA Times staff, that the staff has affirmatively cleared the posting of the venom displayed here? If so, how sad, and how telling.
Submitted by: chico
11:21 PM PDT, July 13, 2008

27. What heart of darkness at the LA Times beats that would open comments for the so predictable outpouring of these ugly souls?
Submitted by: spiffy
10:39 PM PDT, July 13, 2008

48. No one except his wife and children actually miss Tony. His "buddy" GW Bush squashed Stem Cell Research which ironically might well have yielded an actual cure for the diease that killed Tony; so GW Bush in effect killed Tony as dead as if he had used a gun.
Submitted by: tucanofulano
5:55 PM PDT, July 13, 2008

A note to "tucanofulano": Bush blocked the use of (1) federal funds for (2) embryonic research. If you're going to criticize, get your facts straight. Jackass.

96. Why would I honor the lying scum-bag that Tony Snow was just because he has died? I felt sorry for the family when he was alive to have to live with such a tool.
Submitted by: t. robbins
8:33 AM PDT, July 13, 2008

115. The world is a better place without him.
Submitted by: John
12:55 AM PDT, July 13, 2008

118. Are we going ot have to put up aith another 24/7 fiasco like we did when Tim Russert kicked the bucket? Tony Snow was a Hack for Bush and Fox News. I really dont care about him or his death.
Submitted by: Pedro Goldstein
12:22 AM PDT, July 13, 2008

120. Will he be buried in his Nazi uniform?
Submitted by: Denise
11:33 PM PDT, July 12, 2008

A note to "Denise": Read some history. The entire platform of Nazism was leftist. Jackass.

147. Just because your dead it doesn't make you a good person.
Submitted by: Vrginia Hollender
12:55 PM PDT, July 12, 2008

Classy, these liberals.

More class here and here.
____________

(1) See also, President Ronald Reagan, Senator Jesse Helms, former NFL player Pat Tillman.

For a movie that started out with so much buzz, Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are" really fell off the face of the internet hype planet. First, people were up in arms after initial test screenings were met with pretty much the worst possible results for a kids' movie:

Children cried, were scared and even walked out of the theater. No one liked the lead character of Max, played by Max Records, saying that he was "is almost entirely unlikable, coming off as more mean-spirited and bratty than mischievous." They said the puppeteer-driven Wild Things weren't life-like enough.

Ouch.

Warner Brothers pulled the original 2008 release date, pushing the film back more than a year. Major (seriously, Major) reshoots were rumored, but everything was kept intensely hush-hush.

People on both ends were upset, of course. On one end, Jonze is a very respected, artistic and non-mainstream director who obviously wanted to keep his original vision intact. On the other, Warner Bros. is a major Hollywood production company, which poured $80 Million into this project and has since pledged more money to Jonze for reshoots and designs, really can't afford to release a kids' movie that will scare the living piss out of its target audience.

And then all news from the flick died.

No updates about the reshoots. No new test screenings. No anything; I personally love Jonze's work and seriously became worried when all of this went down. I think a dark, moving rendition of "Wild Things" would be a great, great film, especially with Jonze's directorial skills.

We've finally heard Warner Bros. in an LA Times piece after months of tight-lippedness, and the news is bittersweet

"We've given him more money and, even more importantly, more time for him to work on the film," (Warner's exec. Alan) Horn said. "We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn't call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right."

And this:

"We try to take a few shots," he said. "Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. The jury is still out on this one. But we remain confident that Spike is going to figure things out and at the end of the day we'll have an artistically compelling movie.

Let's break this down, both good and bad news.

The Good News

• Spike's still on the project. Thank God — there was serious talk of his removal from the project after the initial screenings went so horribly wrong. He needs to be on this project, and he needs to fight to keep as much of his vision in the film as possible. I really want to see how he interpreted the book, and that'll be impossible if the go all Hollywood on his product.
• Horn's words, "no one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie." Well, words are just words, but these are good words. Does this prove "Wild Things" won't turn out to be just that? No, but at least they're making an effort to work with Jonze.
• Warner seems to be very patient with Spike. If they were trying to rush him into throwing something together, I would be worried about the future of Jonze's original vision

The Bad News

• He sounds stern about the changes. The Spike Jonze version will never see the light of day, at least not until it goes through the major changes addressed before. The major one being the Wild Things before. The article says they will now be CGI instead of Puppets with animated faces. I was really interested in seeing how Jonze was going to execute with the puppets, but that's no more, I guess.
• The original film was shot in 2006. Any reshoots they do might have major complications — I mean, kids are known to do that pesky thing called growing, and I'm sure Max Records looks drastically different than he did two whole years ago. That's a huge problem. Are they going to reshoot the whole movie? Are they hiring a new Max? If the do a complete reshoot, how much of the original tone of the film will be lost forever?
• Nothing was said about a direct-to-DVD director's cut. When I first heard what was happening to this movie, my first though was "This is exactly what Terry Gilliam went through with 'Brazil.' " Of course I got excited that maybe Jonze would strike back and get his original film out to the public somehow, but sadly, this doesn't sound likely, as I've never heard of anything pertaining to it other than my own hopeless dreams.

The LA Times piece also had an interesting clip about Warner Brothers' experimentation with signing artistically acclaimed directors to big-budget, wide-release movies, the latest being Jonze and "Wild Things." This is something I hadn't really haven't put much thought into before I read this article. They've had both good luck and pretty bad luck with these mismatched pairings. Take a look:

The really fascinating issue about "Wild Things" is that it shows the pitfalls of Warners' strategy of marrying gifted directors to mainstream studio material. The strategy has produced a number of triumphs, most notably Chris Nolan's "Batman Begins" and the upcoming "The Dark Knight," Alfonso Cuaron's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven." But it has also resulted in disasters where the filmmakers have been totally miscast with the material, whether it was the Wachowski brothers' "Speed Racer" or acclaimed German "Downfall" director Oliver Hirschbiegel's "Invasion," which underwent all sorts of rewrites and reshoots but still turned out to be a flop.

Let's just hope "Wild Things" doesn't take after "Downfall," even though both went through serious reshoots after the production company first say it. This movie has a ton of potential — I really want it to pan out.

Discuss: What do you want to see from "Wild Things"? Do you want to see what Spike Jonze had in mind or a more family friendly version?

A collection of small dishes from the realm where paper meets palate.

• With all of the hullabaloo right now about salmonella tainted tomatoes the good folks at Domino Magazine comes to the rescue in their August ’08 issue with an article for uses of heirloom tomatoes. For those who do not know, heirlooms are what tomatoes were like before scientists decided that they should round, red orbs. After consulting with “culinary guru” Susan Spungen they dished up five very innovative dishes using locally sourced heirlooms including a Warm Caprese Salad where the tomatoes are grilled and the amazing Gazpacho Bloody Marys. More importantly they tell you how to find local produce by offering the link localharvest.org.  Or you could just get an Aerogarden.
• Russ Parsons, the renowned food and wine columnist for the LA Times is also an award winning author having snagged multiple James Beard awards. He appears to have hit another homerun with his book How To Pick A Peach which he describes as a cook’s look at agriculture. As he explained to Daniel Boulud on his MOJO series After Hours with Daniel, it is about, “. . . how we got to the point we are today with the kind of the split between super market produce sections and the farmer’s market and how the farmer’s markets are influencing super market produce sections and vice versa.” Adding that, “The chefs influence the farmers and the farmers influence the chefs.”
• Weber Grill “professor” Steven Raichlen is celebrating the ten year anniversary of the release of his James Beard Award winning The Barbecue! Bible by revising the grilling guide which has sold more than 4 million copies and has been translated into 14 languages. Raichlen says that so much of Americans’ understanding of how to cook over an open flame has changed over the past decade that it was time to update his mammoth opus.  In a recent interview with David Holloway of the Mobile Press Register he explains his motivation for the makeover, “People now have a much greater understanding of barbecuing and grilling. When I first wrote the book, I had to go into great detail to explain indirect cooking: now it’s pretty much common knowledge.” Holloway sums up the book by saying, “If you could only buy one book on how to grill, smoke, or barbecue, this would be it.”  Perfect for those of you who are part of the bbq sauce of the month club.

Jill Iscol, a faithful Democratic donor who was an ardent supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, said Obama reached out to her because he heard she was unhappy about the way the New York senator had been treated by the Democratic Party and the media.

Full story from LA Times

"Ronnie and I always waited until everything was decided, and then we endorsed," the Republican matriarch said in March. "Well, obviously this is the nominee of the party." They were the only words she would speak during the five-minute photo op.

In a written statement, she described McCain as "a good friend for over 30 years." But that friendship was strained in the late 1970s by McCain's decision to divorce his first wife, Carol, who was particularly close to the Reagans, and within weeks marry Cindy Hensley, the young heiress to a lucrative Arizona beer distributorship.

Full story from LA Times

An article in the LA Times does a much better, ie rational, job of critiquing this new book.

First of all, I learned from the article that Bauerlein, at age 49, does not qualify as a Boomer. I could pawn him off on the so-called Generation Jones but I if I did that I might be compelled to admit that Barack Obama is not a GenXer, which he so clearly is. So I'll grudgingly accept Bauerlein as an early GenXer in age but hardly in spirit. In spirit, he's another jerk Boomer.

The reviewer give credence to Bauerlein's premise but isn't really convinced that it is the dooms day scenario that the Emory University English Prof makes it out to be.

The way Bauerlein sees it, something new and disastrous has happened to America's youth with the arrival of the instant gratification go-go-go digital age. The result is, essentially, a collective loss of context and history, a neglect of "enduring ideas and conflicts." Survey after painstakingly recounted survey reveals what most of us already suspect: that America's youth know virtually nothing about history and politics. And no wonder. They have developed a "brazen disregard of books and reading."

Things were not supposed to be this way. After all, "never have the opportunities for education, learning, political action, and cultural activity been greater," writes Bauerlein, a former director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts. But somehow, he contends, the much-ballyhooed advances of this brave new world have not only failed to materialize -- they've actually made us dumber.

The suggestion that things like cell phones and computers have actually made people dumber is ridiculous. Sure, it might distract them, keep them from being properly informed, but make them dumber? I seriously doubt that. How would measure that anyway?

And it's because Millennials while making use of the internet do not use it properly. I'm guessing the Bauerlein's very big on doing things properly. By which he means -- his way.

But it isn't just the misuse of technology that is to blame:

At fault is not just technology but also a newly indulgent attitude among parents, educators and other mentors, who, Bauerlein argues, lack the courage to risk "being labeled a curmudgeon and a reactionary."

Perhaps that is true for some parents, but I got no problem with it with my daughter. I accepted a long time ago that I'm no longer cool, if I ever really was to begin with. Of course, one can be a responsible, reasonable parent without being a reactionary.

I agree with the article that Bauerlein is not just sounding an alarmist call, but an old one that gets recycled at least once a generation:

Such alarmism ignores the context and history he accuses the youth of lacking -- the fact that mass ignorance and apathy have always been widespread in anti-intellectual America, especially among the youth. Maybe something is different this time. But, of course. Something is different every time.

As well as with the arguments laid forth against Bauerlein's gloomy prediction for the intellectual future of this country:

The book's ultimate doomsday scenario -- of a dull and self-absorbed new generation of citizens falling prey to demagoguery and brazen power grabs -- seems at once overblown (witness, for example, this election season's youth reengagement in politics) and also yesterday's news (haven't we always been perilously close to this, if not already suffering from it?). But amid the sometimes annoyingly frantic warning bells that ding throughout "The Dumbest Generation," there are also some keen insights into how the new digital world really is changing the way young people engage with information and the obstacles they face in integrating any of it meaningfully. These are insights that educators, parents and other adults ignore at their peril.

Particularly the participation of Millennials in this year's Presidential Election. And the prediction by such books as Millennial Makeover, that far from being a bunch of vapid dimwits this new generation will do much to change the way America operates, and for the better.

Look Millennials aren't a perfect generation. I have plenty of gripes to fling their way, and willingly do. But not doubt they have their own gripes to toss right back. It's a generational game of dodge ball in a way. But the fact is Millennials are still a very young generation. No one can say for sure how they'll fare. But I am dubious that Mr. Bauerlein's gloomy predictions will come to pass. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see won't we. One things seems certain, they're better equipped to weather such cynical onslaughts as portrayed in The Dumbest Generation, a book worth reading certainly but not worthy of being the final word.

....- David Archuleta.  The youngest "Idol" star has become as much a phenomenon as a singer.  The screeching starts with the first allusion to his name and continues through his four-song set.  Nonetheless, the juxtaposition of this awkward boy who has such a hard time expressing himself through the nervous giggles when he speaks and the absolutely assured confident singer who steps up when the song start is fairly incredible. Watching how David grows and matures now that he is in the spotlight to stay will be a fascinating journey....

The LA Times review click here to read every thing.

- click here for more information.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-backfire7-2008jul07,0,3314737.story

More photos can be seen here:

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-0706-bigsurfire-pg,0,7181154.photogallery

Ross is fast becoming a folk hero. If his dad were still alive, he'd write the screen play, and we'd have the movie in no time!!

While as I have posted in public forums, there are two sides to this issue, and thankfully, no one got hurt during the course of saving the Curtis property, I say, to quote Benjamin Franklin, "Those who trade freedom for security, deserve neither freedom or security."

When I first got a copy of the 409.5 memo on 7/4, I called OES, and they had a Commander Teter of the MCSO call me back. When I got no satisfactory explanation about the issuance of the memo, other than to "educate" the Big Sur community about the power the MCSO had, I was furious. It was a holiday. Everything was closed. What could I do? The only places open were newsrooms. Having lived and worked in Monterey County, some of that in the justice system, I knew I needed to go outside of the county. I called the LA Times newsroom and the SF Chronicle newsroom. I posted something on surfire2008.org. Before it was removed, and probably rightly so, as it was posted as a "notice" and it wasn't really "official," as is required, Deborah Schoch, a staff reporter from the LA Times called. After speaking with her for some time, I got her phone numbers, and said I'd pass it on to a member of the Curtis family who was not in Big Sur, and if they wanted, they could pass it on to Micah and Ross.

Some people may think it is sensationalism, but I think it is what we need. We needed the spotlight shown on this unbelievable situation so that others, outside of the rather small Big Sur community were aware of what was happening here.

StationKATE

So without further delay, The inaugural Digital Round-up for June 2008...

Google Applying Cookie Data: Despite the cries of privacy advocates, this can be a major breakthrough in online advertising. A few years ago Google changed its privacy policy to state that they might eventually use cookie data to "display customized content and advertising." Apparently a securities analyst has discovered that they are indeed doing so, and this was confirmed by Google. Well, I certainly hope so!

I am waiting for the true integration of Google and Doubleclick units, and although this will present a fine privacy line as it relates to the personally identifiable data that Google does indeed have via Gmail etc, there should be an easy way of firewalling that data if need be. We live in a data driven world folks. This is the future of content and marketing distribution. Creating increased relevancy for the consumer is a good thing. I have posted many thoughts on this matter, and I expect that we will get past the perceived privacy issues as we have with every other aspect of digital marketing to date. Doubleclick has been the martyr of at least one round of this issue in the past. Relevancy is a benefit, I wish we could all just get over it and move on.

Microsoft Acquires Semantic Search Technology: After the failed attempt at acquiring Yahoo, Microsoft last week announced the acquisition of semantic search company Powerset. Of course this was in the works for a long time , but the timing of the announcement was classic. Does Microsoft + Powerset = a threat to Google? Not in a million years. The momentum of Google's stronghold on search is going to be tough to beat, or even compete with, as Yahoo and Microsoft have both learned the hard way to date. But the advances in semantic technology will in theory make for better search experiences over time, and this is Microsoft's first step in the direction of developing a new search mouse mouse trap, or least improving the existing one. I've reported previously about Yahoo adopting semantic web standards, and have predicted that the application of semantic technology will fuel the next evolution of the web itself. In the increasingly data driven world we live in, I fiercely stand by that prediction.

Nokia Acquires Remaining Part of Symbian: It's no secret that consumers' and marketers' dependence on the carriers for on-deck mobile opportunities will change over the next few years. Nokia has been making headway in the mobile advertising space, and the acquisition of Symbian should prove to be part of paving the road to the golden goose. Symbian currently runs on over half of the smart phones in the global market. However, with Apple's iPhone and the soon-to-be-rolled-out open platform "Android" from Google, Symbian's market share can be eroded quite easily. By standardizing an open platform, Nokia should be able to entice additional development and remain a major player in the mobile OS world.

More Print Shift To The Web: The LA Times slashed 250 jobs last week, the findings - consumers don't have the time to read the paper anymore. Editor Russ Stanton stated that "The Web and print departments will be merged into one operation with a single budget, and the company will also refocus on being more versatile. We've heard these sentiments before, and we'll here them again from others.

Average TV Network Viewer Age = 50 Years Old: Of course this varies from network to network (CW median age is only 34), but the trend shows that TV viewing audiences are getting older as media continues to fragment. It's a brave new world out there, and as digital media consumption increases, we need to solve some of the basic issues that have plagued our industry since the dawn of online marketing history, including establishing more industry level research and data on the correlation of various aspects of advertising as it relates to effectiveness, as well as educating marketers about digital measurement in general. It still boggles my mind how many marketers (and agencies for that matter) mis-align their KPI's (key performance indicators) with their objectives, or chose to use irrelevant metrics like CTR. There's a lot of experimentation happening with emerging media, and most have not mastered the basics yet. A year has past since I published an article in MediaPost on this very subject, and on an industry level I haven;'tseen  or heard of much change.

MySpace & Facebook - Battle of The Redesigns: Facebook is quickly catching up to MySpace's market dominance, in part due to the open platform for developers and the streamlined nature of the profile design and application of the social graph. With Facebook's upcoming redesign,  applications will be moving to a separate tab, and the news feed will become even more prominent than it is currently. This is a big change amid marketers'  experimentation revolving primarily around launching applications and subsequntly trying to foster participation.  Meanwhile MySpace rolled out a redesign a few weeks ago, which was primarily focused on streamlining the chaotic mess of  a structure that was once consumer profiles. Cleaner navigation and increased applications of the social graph has been Facebook's strong point. and MySpace's achilles heel. MySpace had no choice but to update., and 'they done good'. Even though they are a leader today, there always exists the chance of  MySpace getting displaced as we have seen with other social networks like Friendster.

Publicis Consolidates and Creates Vivaki: Next in the big agencies to announce the consolidation of digital assets is Publicis. WPP and Carat have already sone so in varying capacities, and inevitably all the others will follow suit soon enough.  Note to David Kenny & Jack Klues: the first step to proving that Vivaki is the right digital solution is following best practices. That 10 second flash intro on the new Vivaki website needs to go! Rishad, same to you buddy on the Denuo site.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, and I often write about the morphing agency structure. The fragmentation of media and the shift to a data driven marketplace has created a shift of general marketing strategy from the creative agencies to that of the media agencies. Many of the holding companies have even developed units that specifically specialize in the development and stewardship of strategy. We will continue to see re-bundling of agency services, although to a degree the specialist is needed more than ever . Agencies must attract and recruit specialized individuals to ensure the proficient execution across an ever growing palette of channels. We have seen many senior digital agency execs moving to the client and publisher side as an additional trend lately. Integration of services to offer a big picture approach while maintaining proficiency in the specialties will be the new agency positioning.

Social Media As A Formal Discipline?: As the opportunity cost of not monitoring the conversations and interactions surrounding your brands and products increases, the role of full time Social Media Strategists and Community Managers  have crept into recent rounds of recruitment for marketers and agencies alike. The required commitment to the social media ecosystem has made it apparent that the attention of at least one full time staffer on the agency or client side is going to be a requirement at some point for all brands.  Although brands can have their agencies assign a full time person assigned to their brand (today there are many specialized and integrated agencies who offer social marketing services), there is an economic reality that brands may be best served in this manner internally, with support from agencies for specific tasks and projects. It's far too early to tell, but if I were a major brand I'd be looking for  an internal manager at this point. The costs of the monitoring tools are coming down and the players are becoming more diverse. The social media ecosystem is evolving before our eyes, it's a lot to keep up with. Brands must commit to be committed - hire a social media manager or at least an agency that can help you wrap your arms around what's happening in social media and what it means to your brand.

]]> http://edugamesblog.wordpress.com/?p=351 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:50:03 +0000 John Rice http://edugamesblog.wordpress.com/?p=351 Alana Semuels has an article this week in the Los Angeles Times detailing the surprising level of cyberbullying and cheating kids engage in while online. Despite chat safeguards in place in such kid-friendly worlds like Club Penguin (owned by Disney), Neopets (owned by Viacom), and Whyville (owned by Numedeon), kids often engage in cheating activities and bullying behavior. One example: account passwords are pilfered, often given by the victims in promised exchange for more virtual money or accouterments.

Even heavily restricted chat functions present levels of monitoring difficulties, as youngsters find creative ways to bypass profanity filters. Whyville flags children exchanging personal information such as their real names or phone numbers. The company blocks about 10 accounts a day due to violations.

Semuels notes UCLA doctoral student Deborah Fields and Dr. Yasmin Kafai wrote a paper on the topic for the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA 2007). The paper is an analysis of cheat sites designed for Whyville, examining 257 sites and following one in particular over the course of eight months.

According to the paper and Whyville staff, Whyville veterans often haze newcomers by demanding rent, even though apartments there are free. Other players have figured out a combination of keyboard commands that allows them to jump into the virtual cars of strangers, which is normally allowed only through invitation. Users have claimed that elections for the Whyville Senate were rigged through stuffing of virtual ballot boxes.

Some players took advantage of an outbreak of Whypox – a virtual plague that causes avatars to sneeze and break out in boils – by selling cures that turned out to be fake.

Cheating and online thievery can go to extremes at times, such as the recent case of a teen in Habbo stealing €4000 worth of virtual furniture.

So the question arises: Are kids who figure out ways to part others of their virtual cash displaying tendencies toward larceny, or are they simply more intelligent than those who part with their cash? Certainly deception is not good, but convincing others to invest in a for-profit scheme seems a reasonable exercise. This makes for a very interesting field of study.

References:
Fields, D. A., & Kafai, Y. B. (under review). Stealing from grandma or generating cultural knowledge? Contestations and effects of cheats in a teen virtual world. Paper submitted to DiGRA07. [Online]. Available: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kafai/paper/
whyville_pdfs/DIGRA07_cheat.pdf

Semuels, A. (2008, July 2). In virtual worlds, child avatars need protecting – from each other. Los Angeles Times. [Online]. Retrieved July 4, 2008 from http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/02/business/fi-kidssafe2

Every year, in Vegas, the James Randi Educational Foundation gathers together for a conference as many like-thinking participants as you can get from people who question whenever people think alike. There are smart, famous and groovy speakers such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. There's lots of real science stuff with real scientists questioning things that a lot of people take for granted, like ESP, UFOs, faith healing and creationism. It's a party.

Well, there's another take on TAM conferences - 'It's a party'. Right.

...During our loose Q&A period this year, someone asked us about global warming, or climate change, or however they're branding it now. Teller and I were both silent on stage for a bit too long, and then I said I didn't know.

I elaborated on "I don't know" quite a bit. I said that Al Gore was so annoying (that's scientifically provable, right?) that I really wanted to doubt anything he was hyping, but I just didn't know. I also emphasized that really smart friends, who knew a lot more than me, were convinced of global warming. I ended my long-winded rambling (I most often have a silent partner) very clearly with "I don't know." I did that because ... I don't know. Teller chimed in with something about Gore's selling of "indulgences" being BS, and then said he didn't know either. Penn & Teller don't know jack about global warming ... next question.

As I previously mentioned, there was some video footage was taken of the speech, which I'm certain will be available in longer format via DVD for sale, if you want to check exactly what was said. There's a variety of accounts online about the conference (I particuarly liked the detail overall in The Lippard Blog and forwarded it to a few friends who were there).

The next day, I heard that one of the non-famous, non-groovy, non-scientist speakers had used me as an example of someone who let his emotions make him believe things that are wrong.

Er, because that's what really matters... famous, groovy people being center stage?

To be fair (and it's always important to be fair when one is being mean-spirited, sanctimonious and self-righteous), "I don't know" can be a very bad answer when it is disingenuous. You can't answer "I don't know if that happened" about the Holocaust.

But the climate of the whole world is more complicated. I'm not a scientist, and I haven't spent my life studying weather. I'm trying to learn what I can, and while I'm working on it, isn't it OK to say "I don't know"?

I mean, at least in front of a bunch of friendly skeptics

Look, I'm certain that there's people shrugging and going 'Okay, so what? Watch the final footage when it comes out, see for ourselves exactly what he said. In the end, it's just his opinion. The popularity of Penn doesn't mean we can't question him nor be silenced for daring to criticise , him or any other "famous, groovy, scientist or not" person in skepticism or anywhere else - QED.'

So, I'm just going to link to a wonderful blog entry by Daniel Loxton for the Rational Inquirer Blog, in memorial to Barry Beyerstein, who passed away almost exactly a year ago. It in itself is a fitting tribute to the man.

Though, I must admit, the part about 'skepticism not being a theatre in a culture war' particularly struck me after all of this...

Get reading elsewhere - the 90th Skeptics Circle is out at the ever-wonderful Millennium Project!

John Reinhardt

REALTOR

678.784.4440

                                                      www.InFrontMarketing.com

FORECLOSURE FOR SALE

If you are in the market for a foreclosed home, you are at the right place to get the help you need in Georgia. Our experienced foreclosure specialist John Reinhardt will help you buy a foreclosed home in the Atlanta Metro Area, market place. HUD, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and many banks offer excellent buys on foreclosed real estate in Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, Dekalb, Cherokee counties.

Real Estate is expensive in the Atlanta Georgia & surrounding suburbs. John & his team always want to get the very best value for our buyers. One way to get good value is to buy a foreclosed home. John Reinhardt is specially trained and experienced selling VA, HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac foreclosures and we'll make sure that you get the very best house for your money.

HUD and VA homes are purchased through licensed real estate agents and their approved brokers. We have access to all homes. HUD and VA have a strict bidding procedure and the bids are opened on a specific day of the month. The highest bid will get the award. However, HUD does have a minimum amount that they will accept. So, extremely low bids will not succeed and will lead to disappointment. Bank foreclosures are negotiated by you, with our help, and the listing agents or bank.

FORECLOSED HOMES ARE PRICED TO SELL.

Most foreclosed homes are priced at fair market value. However, VA and HUD homes are often priced below area comparables. Furthermore, you may, through the bid process, be able to get a home at below market value if you shop carefully and use an experienced agent to help. We can help. We can also help you by giving you the comparable pricing information for the community to help you make a good pricing decision when you prepare your bid. You will need to get pre-qualified before making a bid and we'll help. We work with lenders who are familiar with the procedures and will prepare the pre-qualification document before you begin your home search. There is no fee for this service.

YOU CAN BUY A HUD HOME.

Anyone with the cash or ability to obtain a mortgage loan can buy a foreclosed home. You will have to qualify for the mortgage as with any home purchase, but we'll help you with the financing also. Often, the cash needed to buy a HUD or VA foreclosure is less than you would need to buy a home offered for sale by a non-foreclosure homeowner.

FORECLOSED HOMES ARE LOCATED EVERYWHERE.

All over and around the Metro Atlanta area. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosed homes can be found in prices of up $150,000 to over $300,000. Other bank foreclosures can be found in the luxury priced homes. Foreclosures can be found in all geographical areas and in most communities. Not all areas all of the time, but, a wide search for homes will produce a variety of communities in which you can find foreclosed homes. HUD and VA foreclosed homes can be condominiums, town homes and single family homes and are located everywhere.

FORECLOSED HOMES CAN BE A BARGAIN!

HUD homes are sold "as is" and HUD does not make repairs or offer warranties. However, the HUD homes are usually the best priced and offer the best value. If you are willing to invest some elbow grease in your home, you can get a good buy and make repairs and redecorate to make the foreclosed property a real home. Most bank foreclosures are in "move in" condition. Many will need cleaning up or cosmetic upgrading, but your home will be worth a lot more than you paid for it when you have put your decorating touches to work. VA will make some repairs and VA foreclosures are generally in better condition than HUD homes.

WE'LL PREPARE ALL OF THE PAPERWORK.

John Reinhardt will prepare the bid for you if you select a HUD or VA foreclosure. Bank foreclosures, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosures are purchased just like any real estate. We'll work with you to get the best buy for the home you select. Often the details of closing help and terms and conditions are as important to a buyers as the price. We'll consider all of these needs when we prepare your offer. If you are awarded a HUD or VA bid, we'll be notified within 48 hours. Settlement will be scheduled. Settlement will take place in 30-60 days during which your loan will be processed and you can begin making moving preparations.

NEVER A FEE TO MY BUYERS!

We are paid by HUD, VA or the selling banks. We do not charge buyers anything for the home search, document preparation, financing assistance, or settlement procedures. We are paid by the sellers at settlement.

John Reinhardt

RE/MAX Greater Atlanta

678.784.4440

www.infrontmarketing.com

As frequent Los Angeles cyclists well know, there are three things you need if you want to ride a bike in this town: a good helmet, a stout lock and a very good life insurance policy.

If the street wars between drivers and bikers in L.A. are a lot less deadly than the gang wars, they are no less irrational. Bikers, after all, perform a public service by reducing traffic and emissions. Few drivers seem to appreciate that. Talk to an L.A. cyclist and you will hear horror stories about drivers who cut them off, yell at them, throw things and otherwise endanger their lives. Such a conflict nearly proved fatal on the Fourth of July when a driver, allegedly enraged because two bikers speeding downhill on Mandeville Canyon Road were blocking his progress, swerved in front of them and slammed on the brakes. The riders were seriously hurt, and the driver faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

Despite the dangers, high gasoline prices are swelling the ranks of local pedal-pushers. Statistics are scarce, but abundant anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of people who bike to work or across town on errands is soaring. Bike retailers are reporting a strong rise in sales, and transit officials say the number of bikers who ride to bus or train stops is up sharply. The increase in two-wheelers can be expected to worsen the strains in a city renowned for its love affair with the automobile.

Though many bikers might find it hard to believe, public officials are trying to adapt. West Hollywood is rightly considering an end to its ban on riding bikes on sidewalks. Los Angeles is updating its bicycle master plan, a torturously long process that might eventually result in more bike lanes. The city already has a progressive law that requires commercial developments bigger than 10,000 square feet to include bike parking and on-site showers for employees who ride to work. And the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has installed bike racks on every bus (some are missing because they were damaged and haven't been replaced) and added more bike parking at train stations.

Obviously, a lot more is needed: more bike paths and lanes, more "smart growth" policies that incorporate bike-friendliness and more incentive programs by employers to encourage workers to cycle to the office. But it's hard to escape the conclusion that no matter how bike-friendly our government or businesses become, L.A. will remain a rough ride until motorists learn to share the road. Bikers are boosting their health, their pocketbooks and the city's environment. If it's a battle for moral authority between drivers and bikers, the bikers have already won. Give them a break.

*Nice list: Songs with lyrics with 35 words or fewer. Includes "You Are So Beautiful." I may not have mentioned this previously, but I am a strict adherent to the tenet: Clarity. Levity. Brevity.

*If I were just sitting around blogging all day, I would have passed these on earlier. Like, hours ago.

Video: Bloc Party's "Mercury." There are monkey things. [everywhere]

*And also: Fleet Foxes' "White Winter Hymnal."

*And also: Santogold's "Creator." [getty images]

*Thumbplay is releasing 10 exclusive ringtones from Jay-Z. Personally, I have a Biggie Smalls ringtone. It is very embarrassing, and part of a complicated ritual of self-mortification I have for some reason undertaken.

*Are Kanye's people trying to send him to anger management classes? I, for one, would be pissed. [rock daily] Mr. West's response? "I NEED ANGER ENHANCEMENT! LOL!"

*The Family Osbourne has a variety show coming out on Fox. OK, now I'm irate.

*Read: An L.A. Times article on Girl Talk's Feed the Animals and pay-what-you-want Topspin Media. [coolfer]

*Off topic: Is Twitter buying Summize?

Analysis: Mark Twain said the only two sure things in life were death and taxes.  So it's no surprise that the two presidential campaigns are focusing on healthcare and the economy, since people are universally affected in personal ways.  Forget taxes for today, I'm interested in technology's role in healthcare, which is growing, and there's no more potentially game-changing facet of that than the role of data. 

That Los Angeles Times story has a number of examples where the data just pop out at you, bonking you on the head.  And there's prescriptive (no pun) value when you find and understand good data; an example in the story is "A 1996 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that the incidence of disease in the workplace is reduced when workers have paid sick days."  That's evidence for a policy change with demonstrable ROI.

By the way, I wonder if James Carville gets residual credit for the newcomer cliche based loosely on his famous line from 1992.  The phrase, "It's the data, stupid," including the quotation marks for precision, now gets 1,900 hits on Google, and more than 4,400 on Live Search.  (Hey, notice that disparity?)

Data has to be aggregated and maintained as records, and I intend to write more about the subject of health records in future.  One area I'm particularly interested in is personal health records (often abbreviated as PHRs).  There's a good story today on TMCnet ("Work Remains in Creating Access to Online Health Records") giving a quick overview of two major partnering efforts - one by Kaiser Permanente using Microsoft's HealthVault, the other by the Massachusetts state Blue Cross Blue Shield using Google Health. 

Most insurers can't offer portable records to members unless they partner with a Microsoft or a Google," according to Carlton Doty, a senior analyst with Forrester Research, quoted in TMCnet story.

I've been listening to an interesting podcast series by Perot Systems on "Healthcare Tech and the World," and the most recent is a good interview with Dr. William Stead, Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategy/Transformation and the Chief Information Officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.  He makes some incontrovertible points:

• "First, we're actually going to shift from expert-based care to system-supported practice."
• "Second, we're going to shift from medicine that is appropriate for mass delivery...we're going to really shift to individualized medicine."
• "The third component is... that we... will embed support for health into a person's living environment."

We've got Microsoft efforts (some using current technologies, some in the R&D labs) which are addressing all three areas.  One of the most exciting new things we have going is called Amalga, as in amalgamating data streams from multiple mutually-incoherent sources into coherency.  We call it "a unified approach to healthcare intelligence," and long before I joined Microsoft my group at DIA looked at the precursor prototype system (then known as Azyxxi, before Microsoft acquired the company) for use in the intelligence community.  That hasn't happened yet, but the technology is impressively flexible and I think it could be used in almost any domain. 

And a final point back on the data front: a British National Health Service (NHS) doctor writes today in The Guardian defending the practice of data-mining in the healthcare arena ("All Patients Can Benefit from Our Collecting of Statistics").  I recommend that article, as his point is valid across any measurable discipline:

You can measure outcomes in all branches of medicine, using various methodologies depending on the patient and the condition being treated. In surgery you might monitor how quickly a patient walks again after a hip replacement, or the number of avoidable errors a particular surgical team makes. In psychiatry you can measure the extreme and distressing outcomes like self-harm and suicide.  But you can also measure the number of patients who successfully return to work, or the number of addicted patients who live free of their dependency for a defined period or time. In recording and analysing those outcomes you can look for the commonalities that point to either success or failure and use this information to improve the quality and safety of the care you provide."

It's an exciting time if you like data, data-mining, and the unpredictable insights and value they bring to medicine and improved healthcare.  And, since I'm getting older like the rest of us, I'll be paying more attention to healthcare anyway :-)

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The mainstream media is catching up to World Without Oil's vision for an oil-challenged future. Experts are "shuddering at the inflation-fueled chaos" and "foreseeing fundamental shifts in the way we work, where we live and how we spend our free time." "You'd have massive changes going on throughout the economy," said Robert Wescott, president of Keybridge Research. "Some activities are just plain going to be shut down." Push prices up fast enough, said Michael Woo, a Los Angeles Planning Commissioner, and "it would be the urban-planning equivalent of an earthquake." And S. David Freeman, president of the L.A. Board of Harbor Commissioners, said "The purchasing power of the American people would be kicked in the teeth so darned hard that they won't have the ability to buy much of anything." Do you remember the abandoned cars in WWO? Experts support this and offer a rough number: 10 million abandoned cars.

Read all about it in this LA Times article by Martin Zimmerman. Graphic from the article.