links for 2009-10-14

"North Korea has agreed to hold talks with South Korea this week, a day after it test-fired short-range missiles. The talks will be on how to avoid cross-border flooding, and arrangements for reunions between family members divided by the Korean War. The agreement to the talks came amid reports that the North may be preparing to launch more short-range missiles."

"A Senate committee has approved a bill to reform US healthcare, a key step in President Barack Obama's attempt to overhaul the system. Senators voted by 14 votes to nine to pass the bill, with one Republican joining Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee in voting in favour."

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday she would not run for president again, and brushed off suggestions that she is being marginalized in the Obama White House." Makes sense and no she isn't marginalized.

"Did you get that? He thinks the Mormons, who are trying to deny a civil right to another minority and reserve it to themselves, are exactly like a minority that were denied a civil right and had to fight to get their equality recognized."

"By shutting down, McD’s overwhelmed their competitor into paralysis. They gave all of their normal customers a chance to try the new guy (which they would have anyway)….all at once….on his worst day."

Two thirds of Americans live in a "border" zone and thus the Border Patrol considers their 4th Amendment Right void.

"Anyways, if you do need to print HTML tables here is a little hint. You know how a table will usually have headings on the first page, and then no heading on subsequent ones, forcing you to flip back and forward to see which column is what? Well, you can actually make most browsers to repeat your headings on each printed page using the method below." Neat trick.

"The James Randi Foundation put together its first skeptics' conference in 2003. That first year in Fort Lauderdale, the event drew just 150 attendees. In the years since, it has grown to become the largest gathering of critical thinkers, doubters, heretics, and nonbelievers in the world. More than 1,100 conferees paid about $300 each for admission this year. They come to hear some of the most famous voices in critical thinking — Adam Savage, San Francisco–based cohost of the Discovery Channel's MythBusters; Bill Prady, cocreator of CBS' The Big Bang Theory — and to discuss Randi's favorite topic, skeptical inquiry, a discipline devoted to debunking psychics, faith healers, con artists, and ghost whisperers through the holy miracle of old-fashioned science." Awesome life story of James Randi.

"This is everything that crosses my mind after I stop with the excuse. I think about all the throw-away phrases I use where I could have actually said something valuable. I once wrote, “Every time you say blah blah blah, a creative writing teacher dies,” and I meant it. Each time you open your mouth, you have an opportunity to build something. That’s the perspective you want during the uncomfortable dead silence, not the victim-based emotion of excuse."

"You only get one chance to make a first impression; why have it be “junk”? Once that’s associated with your name or project, it’s tough to scrape off. Even people who didn’t see it themselves may have heard about it second-hand. And once they hear about it, they’re not likely to see for themselves. Life’s too short to waste it on junk."

"I thought I would never sell my company. I started it as a hobby in 1997. When NPR did a story about me in 2004, I said I'd stick it out until the end, and I meant it."

"This mid-infrared image was taken in the last minutes of the LCROSS flight mission to the Moon. The small white spot (enlarged in the insets) seen within the dark shadow of lunar crater walls is the initial flash created by the impact of a spent Centaur upper stage rocket. Traveling at 1.5 miles per second, the Centaur rocket hit the lunar surface yesterday at 11:31 UT, followed a few minutes later by the shepherding LCROSS spacecraft. Earthbound observatories have reported capturing both impacts. But before crashing into the lunar surface itself, the LCROSS spacecraft's instrumentation successfully recorded close-up the details of the rocket stage impact, the resulting crater, and debris cloud. In the coming weeks, data from the challenging mission will be used to search for signs of water in the lunar material blasted from the surface. "

"Folks can now help us conquer spam by calling our attention to a profile they find questionable. Click the “Report as spam” button under the Actions section of a profile’s sidebar and our Trust and Safety team will check it out to see what needs to be done. No automated action will be taken as a result of reporting a user as spam (in other words, it can't be used to incite an angry mob against an account you don't like.) And once you report a profile it will automatically be blocked from following or replying to you. You nailed it!" Awesome stuff.