two factor authentication for microsoft too

Consider using 2 factor authentication wherever you can take control of access to your online information.  Put this on your New Year's Resolution list, or even better, do it now.

This past week facebook told me someone tried to reset my password six times.  But they won't be able to log on without the second authentication info (on the fb app on my phone), and even if they did,  I get email notification that someone logged in from a new location.

I know this will sound like a broken record.
Here goes anyway.
Broken record.

Note that Microsoft also has a 2 factor authentication capability now.  See the FAQ at:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/two-step-verification-faq

If this sounds familiar it should, if you have been paying attention, I mentioned this earlier this month on this post about setting up restrictions on access to facebook and google:
http://burdenon.blogspot.com/2013/12/two-factor-authentication-for-fb-gmail.html

The way I have things set up it is actually trivially simple, I don't have local apps, xbox, or windows phone, etc to authenticate. If you do, once you turn on 2 factor authentication, you will receive an email to help you set up:

Now that you've turned on two-step verification for [email protected], make all your apps and devices work with it. If you use any of the following, we'll help you set them up:

Outlook desktop app for your PC or Mac
Email apps on an iOS, Android or BlackBerry device
Office 2010, Office for Mac 2011, or earlier
Windows Essentials (Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Mail)
Zune desktop app
Xbox 360
Windows Phone 8 or earlier

good poor, bad poor

When a million Irish died during the Great Famine of the 1850s, many in the English aristocracy said the peasants deserved to starve because their families were too big and indolent. The British baronet overseeing food relief felt that the famine was God’s judgment, and an excellent way to get rid of surplus population. His argument on relief was the same one used by Rand Paul.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/opinion/egan-good-poor-bad-poor.html?_r=0

from 
December 19, 2013

Good Poor, Bad Poor
By TIMOTHY EGAN

On Sundays, this time of year, my parents would pack a gaggle of us kids into the station wagon for a tour of two Christmas worlds. First, we’d go to the wealthy neighborhoods on a hill — grand Tudor houses glowing with the seasonal incandescence of good fortune. Faces pressed against the car windows, we wondered why their Santa was a better toy-maker than ours.

music and success - not just for fighting alzheimers

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/opinion/sunday/music-and-success.html

Here is something to remember -- music contributes to the success and active mental and emotional improvement of geezers (I admit I am one myself) but stimulates a joy that is undeniable.   So the randomized science does not "prove" a cognitive benefit -- maybe that's not what music about anyway.

From the article:

As Aristotle wrote, music “makes the hearts of men glad: so that on this ground alone we may assume that the young ought to be trained in it.”

producer of 2013

Dave G awarding Producer of the Year to what's his name.

three minute philosophy

If you have three minutes these are fun and brief introductions to various ideas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlBA9_3zj9w&list=PLC8B9FEEB6117B81C
PG-13 rated (for coarse language).

50 gig free online storage

Happy Holidays ! http://locker.att.net

• Just browsing around on Locker, I see that for “a limited time” you can get a FREE 50 gig cloud storage on Locker.
• I just upgraded my free 5 gig to 50 gig.
• I was previously able to sign up with a personal email account, although it is not obvious that the password reset function is transparent / effortless. Just remember your pw…
• I installed the app on my phone so all my photos upload – although it seems the app has to be open and running for the upload to progress.
• There is a sharing method which I have not tried.
• Use the "AT&T Access ID" ( on second line), not your wireless account (top line of locker page)
• It seems you do have to have an AT&T wireless number -- where locker sends the PIN to create the account, and your email to verify that you are a real person too.
• After you sign up you have to go to "my account", click on Upgrade, and select 50 Gig (Free) and confirm; otherwise you get the default 5 gig storage.

the science of hate

if there is a science of love, of course there is a science of hate.
where does it come from, the ability to despise others enough to annihilate them?
if we can understand the science behind it, perhaps the destructive outcomes of hate (if we don't see it coming, will certainly surprise us with its power) can be reduced ?

lots of books tell us "how to get to Yes"
it's overdue for a hard look at the source(s) of hate.

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Science-of-Hatred/143157

discover antibiotics by crowdsourcing research

Help Identify New Antibiotics at Home with The ILIAD Project

Be part of the first Massively Multi-Scientist Open Experiment (MMOE) by performing experiments at home to help identify antibiotics.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-identify-new-antibiotics-at-home-with-the-iliad-project

two factor authentication for fb, gmail and a reminder

Last week someone tried to reset my facebook password.  Twice.
It was not I,  but I got the email with the reset link.   Both times.

So I looked into how to protect the account.

Today's news http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/04/technology/security/passwords-stolen/index.html?section=money_news_international  tells me it's time to share some ways to protect your fb account.

Facebook#1
The first thing to do is enable "login notifications".  You can read on it here on fb's help pages: http://www.facebook.com/help/162968940433354/ .  What this does is if anyone uses your name and password, to log on to your fb account, you will get an email indicating that this happened, and from which IP address.    If you log in from a computer or location where you have previously logged in, nothing happens (no unnecessary email).     You can see a list of the known locations listed as "Recognized Devices" on that settings page.    In short, logging in from any device other than the ones you already have on the list, will generate a notification email.

Facebook#2
The second thing that can be useful is to enable "Login Approvals".   This requires you to install the fb app on your smartphone, and works as follows:   if your userid and password are used to log in to fb from a device that is not previously recognized, you will be required to enter a number code generated by the fb app on your smartphone, or as a backup, you can either print some one-time use codes or have fb email the code to you.   These codes are short lived and are not useful after a very short time.
See http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243428/Protect_your_Facebook_account_from_hackers_with_two_factor_authentication and
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036252/how-to-set-up-two-factor-authentication-for-facebook-google-microsoft-and-more.html .

Google
For google and related accounts, gmail, drive, youtube, and other related products,  google will send a number code to your smartphone, or backup, or call a voice line before allowing a logon from an unknown browser.   As with fb you can print and carry with you some one-time use codes.  Read and follow directions here:  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/180744?hl=en .   If you happen to use google to log on to other services (example:  https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/OpenID), you do need to take additional steps to do that.

Finally a reminder to keep the password to your email as safe as you can.   I made this xtranormal video in April 2012, and the advice is still applicable.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL6K1B0AyNQ  Enjoy !

music and your brain

any time in our lives, music enhances our lives
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/why-music-makes-our-brain-sing.html?_r=0

Why Music Makes Our Brain Sing

Baptiste Alchourroun
By ROBERT J. ZATORRE and VALORIE N. SALIMPOOR
Published: June 7, 2013

MUSIC is not tangible. You can’t eat it, drink it or mate with it. It doesn’t protect against the rain, wind or cold. It doesn’t vanquish predators or mend broken bones. And yet humans have always prized music — or well beyond prized, loved it.

In the modern age we spend great sums of money to attend concerts, download music files, play instruments and listen to our favorite artists whether we’re in a subway or salon. But even in Paleolithic times, people invested significant time and effort to create music, as the discovery of flutes carved from animal bones would suggest.

So why does this thingless “thing” — at its core, a mere sequence of sounds — hold such potentially enormous intrinsic value?

[read the rest at the link above]

stop unfounded positive thinking delusion and be vigilant

positive thinking might be a good thing, and I am overall an optimistic and hopeful person.  but by itself unfounded, unrealistic expectation is a delusion.

from the article:

Why The Religion Of 'Positive Thinking' Needs To Be Burned At The Stake
There's "positive thinking" and then there's something else entirely. RSA Animate created this beautiful clip from a talk by journalist, author, and activist Barbara Ehrenreich — and it's golden! 

Darth Vader shows up at 2:15 to dispel the myth of "The Secret." At 4:10 is one of the key causes of the financial meltdown that led to the Great Recession. At 7:00, she hits on something that keeps us alive — if we're paying attention!

http://www.upworthy.com/why-the-religion-of-positive-thinking-needs-to-be-burned-at-the-stake-5
or directly on yt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo#!

the full lecture is http://www.thersa.org/events/video/archive/barbara-ehrenrich-smile-or-die

This not from the division of EMC that makes security dongles, it is a charitable organization
http://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg?feature=watch
The RSA is a 258 year-old charity devoted to creating social progress and spreading world-changing ideas. For more information about our research, RSA Animates, free events programme and 27,000 strong Fellowship.
Find out more about the RSA at http://www.thersa.org
Follow the RSA on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ther...
Like the RSA on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/the...

GaaS and BaaS

As Arlo used to say about Alice's Restaurant...

_aaS as you all know is "_" (fill in the blank) "as a Service".
and GaAs used to be short for Gallium Arsenide (faster than silicon and supports higher power density than silicon for electronic semiconductor electronics chips)

Now you can have an invisible girlfriend as a service.  http://invisiblegirlfriend.com/
Warning: do not go searching for "virtual girlfriend" - that goes to a variety of socially awkward and potentially virus laden sites frequented by -- never mind just don't get that into your google search preferences .  Picture "900-" number for phone(y) relationships and the p0rn industry which is separately alive and thriving (another topic for another day).

Sure it's funny, even clever, and great source for a laugh.  But I think it's a sad commentary on how virtual our modern society has become.   We already know that:
--  Google is making us stupid,  and
--  Facebook makes us lonely.
--  Now the invisible girlfriend empties relationships.
Here we have an online service to handle one of the last bastions of human interaction,  the boyfriend / girlfriend collision that is messy, painful, frightening, makes your heart pound, makes you blush uncontrollably, the interaction that makes you cry at any age, and can make you feel more joy than anything else in the universe.  Now you can have the invisible girlfriend that is acceptable to your parents, coworkers.   The most expensive "level of service" is "almost engaged."

There are probably some functional uses for such a service:  either deflecting unwanted romantic interest at the office (I've already got a girlfriend), or keeping peace at home (really, Dad, I'm not gay, see? she texts me all the time).   Where there is a need, someone will create a service to fill that need.  BaaS is not far behind once this one launches.

It's great to see clever, useful services come online.
This one I fear is leaving the world with just a little less intensity, a little less intimacy, a little less chance for true love.

all is right with the world

Things just feel different from now on.

changerama -- positive news

GOOD NEWS FOR A CHANGE

Welcome to a new lens through which to view the world. Changerama shares positive stories about a new generation of change agents & innovators.

Positive news, shared on video, curated by the crowd (that's you). Ready to be a world changing good news junkie?
http://changerama.com/

can you do this ?
http://changerama.com/nuance/

raising the bar on wedding toasts

Raising the bar on wedding toasts:  how much time do we have to practice ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZ4ZTTfKO8

PLEASE be careful what you click

Ransomware: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware_(malware)

You click on something on the internet.
Software downloads to your system, encrypts all your files, and demands a ransom to unlock it, usually with a countdown timer that destroys all your info if you don't pay up.

The alert sent by the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team says it all:
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-309A

If you do have a backup drive, disconnect it if you are not actively backing up since everything connected to the infected machine is also encrypted and held for ransom.

While this current issue is directed at Windows systems, it is likely to spread to other platforms as well, so please:  practice safe internet'ing!

second patent 8,578,450

#2 was issued today !

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=8,578,450.PN.&OS=PN/8,578,450&RS=PN/8,578,450

first was a year ago -
http://burdenon.blogspot.com/2012/09/first-patent-8272029.html

piano guys still have it

Piano Guys play SWOTR+SimpleGifts


If you have not seen them perform before, you've heard of duets with two?
Here's one with five:


and one of the best variants of Pachelbel (and not even on piano...)

oh what the heck just subscribe to their channel.

partial eclipse

there was a partial eclipse this morning - and it was behind the clouds and below the tree line - this is what we might have seen -  (from skyguide app)

None But the Best

http://ingoodcompanytheater.org/

Our own Alan Field is in the production of None but the Best


None but the Best

The period following the Civil War was a time of great turmoil in America: reconstruction, industrialization, the Gilded Age, labor struggles, and women’s suffrage. Through it all, a family paper from Boston, The Youth’s Companion, was a steady presence in half a million homes across the nation, featuring voices of poets and presidents, science and travel stories, and promoting patriotism and temperance. From the sidelines, publisher Daniel Sharp Ford quietly used his wealth to help thousands of disadvantaged people. None but the Best pulls back the curtain on a man whose generosity still leaves fingerprints across the city and the nation.

PERFORMANCES
Sat., November 2, 7:30 pm
Sun., November 3, 4 pm
Lorimer Hall, Tremont Temple
88 Tremont St., Boston
Playwright: Patrick Gabridge
Music Director: Kay Dunlap
Stage Director: Jeff Mosser

TICKETS now on sale! None but the Best was commissioned by the Boston Baptist Social Union for its 150th anniversary.

Pint Night at Joe's

Pint Night:

Music and Success

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
Music and success --


October 12, 2013
Is Music the Key to Success?
By JOANNE LIPMAN

CONDOLEEZZA RICE trained to be a concert pianist. Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, was a professional clarinet and saxophone player. The hedge fund billionaire Bruce Kovner is a pianist who took classes at Juilliard.

Multiple studies link music study to academic achievement. But what is it about serious music training that seems to correlate with outsize success in other fields?

The connection isn’t a coincidence. I know because I asked. I put the question to top-flight professionals in industries from tech to finance to media, all of whom had serious (if often little-known) past lives as musicians. Almost all made a connection between their music training and their professional achievements.

The phenomenon extends beyond the math-music association. Strikingly, many high achievers told me music opened up the pathways to creative thinking. And their experiences suggest that music training sharpens other qualities: Collaboration. The ability to listen. A way of thinking that weaves together disparate ideas. The power to focus on the present and the future simultaneously.

pants on fire !?

http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2013/aug/19/eric-cantor/cantor-says-obamacare-gives-irs-access-personal-he/

Cantor said that under Obamacare, "the IRS will have access to the American people’s protected health care information." But he offers no hard proof, just speculation on a blog.

The IRS will play a major role in Obamacare by collecting a variety of taxes that will help support the program. But contrary to Cantor’s claim, IRS officials have repeatedly testified before Congress that they will not have access to the intimate details of anyone’s health records.

Cantor’s unfounded statement does nothing more than amp up public fear for his ongoing fight to repeal Obamacare. We rate it Pants on Fire.

=====
Then http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/10/01/15-myths-the-media-should-ignore-during-obamaca/196181 
Myth #11: With Full Access To Medical Records, The IRS Will Discriminate Against Conservatives

The New Republic: Idea That Obamacare Gives IRS Control Over Individuals' Health Care Is "Beyond Laughable." In a May 17 New Republic article, Jonathan Cohn called the idea that the Affordable Care Act would "meaningfully" expand the power of the IRS "beyond laughable." He highlighted the minor role that the agency would play in implementing the law and contrasted it with the agency's existing power.

=====

Read the whole article for the story.

Social commentary lives on, Plan 9 mirrors gov paralysis in DC

A clip from "Plan 9 from outer space"
An Ed Wood film "so bad it's good", featuring both Bela Lugosi AND Vampyra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOqTaY5lVE

sound familiar ?
we contacted government officials, they refuse our existence
it's been absolutely impossible to work with these earth creatures, their soul is too controlled
Great scene at http://youtu.be/kbQfqb2nGi8?t=1h5m4s "because you of earth are IDIOTS!"

And for the full movie when you have time.  The dvd from the library has both bw and color versions.  And the extra features that tell you about Plan 1 through Plan 8, before getting to Plan 9.  ha ha ha ha ha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbQfqb2nGi8


and finally Ed Wood (the movie):  yes Bill Murray too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE0iUKaJOJI

Dance the Night Away III - OTR rides again

Dance the Night Away III!!

Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013    7:00 p.m.

Concord Rod and Gun Club

74 Strawberry Hill Road Concord, MA

Bring your favorite appetizer or dessert to share, and wear your dancing shoes. Water and Sodas provided. Cash bar for wine and beer.

RSVP: [email protected] 

Join us for a night of fun with our friends and families.  Admission is FREE. We will again be accepting Contributions for the Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community.  The campus, Master Planned by our own Jon French, takes kids that are orphans or from destitute families. It’s a wonderful place with a wonderful mission in

Arunachal Pradesh state in extreme northeastern India bordering China and Bhutan. The school is built on a narrow ridge at about 7,000 feet in the “foothills” of the Himalayas. Jon will give us an update about the school and how the contributions from our event last year were used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVBjg02ZQGo&feature=related

The Concord Rod & Gun Club is a great little private club in log structure tucked into the woods in Concord, MA.   Directions: From Route 128, take Route 2 West about 10 miles to the Concord Rotary. Take the first hard right off the rotary onto Barrett's Hill Road. After about a mile, turn left onto Strawberry Hill Road. The Concord Rod & Gun Club entrance sign will be up the hill on the right.

Off the Record: Joe Eiler, Karen and Denis Fullerton, Ralph Dinneen,

Jon French, Dane Bedward, Sheila Puffer, Shukong Ou and Scott Hebert.

http://burdenon.blogspot.com/2012/10/off-record-plays-again.html  from 2012's event.

who knew the uses of origami

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/this-is-a-condom/309463/

cbs news Oregonians attempt world uke record

Ukuleles in Oregon.
Ukulele World Record Attempt
August 23, 2010 12:37 PM
At the first ever Aloha Festival in Lebanon, Ore., an attempt was made to break the world record for the most ukulele's playing the same song at the same time

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6798352n



The Guiness World record page is: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-3000/largest-ukulele-ensemble/

Two Thousand One Hundred Thirty Four

four chords to glory

You may have heard me claim that much of rock 'n roll can be reached with four chords.
On the ukulele, the first 2 are one finger on one string, the third is adding one to the 2nd, and the last is, okay, three fingers on three strings, but you're so close to so much fun you might as well go for it.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I on yt

sawdust to sawdust: shag bark hickory

Shag bark hickory in the yard came down, two arborists agreed there was no saving the tree.
It was a sapling in a photo of the street from 1898 when the other side of the street was grass heading into center of town.  On yt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ6j2a5eXuw

Kings and worms

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/04/world/europe/uk-king-richard-worms/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Richard III had worms too...  even the Plantagenets are not immune=

music and dementia

Music to both 1) fend off dementia, and 2) provide enjoyment before and after...
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/31/health/music-dementia-link/index.html?c=&page=0

==> other link in this article (don't miss it) http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/26/health/mental-health/music-brain-science

Playing for time: Can music stave off dementia?
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
updated 7:21 AM EDT, Sat August 31, 2013


STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Researchers are looking at music playing as a possible prevention of dementia
By 2050, number of Americans 65 and older with Alzheimer's expected to triple nearly
More study is needed to assess the benefits of music playing in the aging population
Listening to music can calm dementia patients or stimulate them, experts say

chew some gum

This one probably belongs more in the origami section but while we the tissue box is still handy, one more.  Can anyone have too much origami ?
yt:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La3b_1F8h_4

Sweet Lorraine

Kleenex warning -- have some handy..
yt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDi4hBWsvkY#t=17

Bruno Bieri

Bruno Bieri plays both Alpenhorn and Hang drum - and other instruments -
also listen for him whistling and throat singing
check out the improvisational instruments at 05:00 (!?)

Di Vento Suoni= Wind Sounds

about Hang - http://www.hangdrumsandhandpans.com/2011/02/visit-hanghaus-home-of-panart-hang.html

and http://www.samjjana.com/HangHausStory.html

In A Gadda Da Vida

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_Butterfly_In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida_Riff.svg

Ukulele North

Ukeladies of Manchester NH

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/foodfun/artsentertainment/1013959-485/ukelele-picnic-gathering-at-greeley-park-hopes.html#

Ten apps for your smartphone

Ten apps for your smartphone.
Mailbox is clever use of mobile interfaces - swipe left/right on any email to handle how you wish.
http://www.homedit.com/10-apps-that-will-help-you-to-organize-in-the-smartphone-age/

You will probably not take to all ten, but some will be useful.
In this changing environment, one piece of advice: don't get stuck on a single platform.  I started using Catch (catch.com) and liked its many features, but you might have as little as 30 or 60 days to migrate to another platform -- catch.com is shutting down at the end of August.  Why?  Who knows, and why does it matter anyway?  Too bad, and worst for people who have standardized on the very nice features, now they have to not only migrate but adapt to using something else.    Evernote has broad support (it's one of the ones on the above list),  but going from one platform to another is always hard.  Examples:
-- moving from MS to Mac, the Office is painful.  Your Outlook .pst files cannot be translated without buying yet another 3rd party product - yep, your Windows .pst messages, folders, calendars, will be be usable in the Mac office product.  good luck with that
-- if you have gotten used to OneNote (another nice product), there is apparently no native Mac OneNote.  Nor can an older version of OneNote open a newer version.  You might try the skydrive version but if you're not online, again, too bad.

Lesson?  Be flexible and always be on the lookout for alternatives.

ukes at the market July 2013

The ukulele madness is infectious and unstoppable!


May be an epidemiological study in there somewhere --

see on yt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8i1HdFrerI

23 minutes of Goose Cove

23 minutes of Goose Cove http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJMaEiVFD-M  at 07:34 the scene shifts

perfectly peaceful and calming - you can see the bugs, butterfiles, birds, ripples on the water, and hear bird calls and a bee buzzing by.   the plane at 12:00ish makes a sound but doesn't disturb the scene on the ground/water   -- recorded in 720pHD,  -- double click on the embedded video to go full screen (Esc to return out of full screen) in most browsers.

Top of Cadillac Mountain

and along the way

wcms 2013 chamber music final program

July 19th, 2013 at Melrose Memorial Hall
This playlist includes 2 hours and 20 minutes
See it directly on yt:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ocrE0tlpoBU_GlaLGdnZFFjAgKbfy7E

If you wish to see the 3 segments separately

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HtR9G1IWL0  part 1 of 3  54:18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iirO0L78MMc   part 2 of 3   57:41

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ENcO8rB0qw  part 3 of 3  27:58

Or, these playlists break out individual performances (leave autoplay on so the next one just plays):

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ocrE0tlpoDJdm-iKb4DznrR7AnxMwh9 

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ocrE0tlpoBu9Ds6Vhav3MAAXCNRphgE 

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ocrE0tlpoAbZtCULm8fSyWcWDg1p1jT

New competitor for RaspPi
http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/15/meet-utilite-a-99-quad-core-arm-based-pc-running-ubuntu/

from the article:

That box you see above? It's a quad-core ARM-based PC running Ubuntu called Utilite. The desktop system, made by Compulab, will be available next month starting at $99. While there are plenty of Android dongles built on ARM SoCs out there, few (if any) can truly offer a PC-like experience. The company -- best known for its Trim Slice, Fit-PC and MintBox products -- wants to change this.

Utilite packs a single-, dual- or quad-core Freescale i.MX6 Cortex-A9 MPCoreprocessor (up to 1.2 GHz), up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM (1066MHz), an mSATA SSD (up to 512GB), WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, HDMI and DVI-D outputs, two Gigabit Ethernet sockets, four USB 2.0 ports, one micro-USB OTG connector, audio jacks (analog and S/PDIF), a micro-SD XD slot and two ultra-mini RS232 interfaces -- phew!

Rounding things up is support for OpenGL ES, OpenVG and OpenCL EP plus multi-stream 1080p H.264 on-chip decoding. All this fits in a chassis mesuring just 5.3 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches (135 x 100 x 21mm) and only consumes 3-8W using a 10-16V supply (unregulated). Those are impressive specs for the price, and the system sure looks positioned to compete favorably with some of the x86 boxes out there.

block unwanted calls to your android or blackberry

ordinarily I would not do free advertising but this product seems to be free (at least for now):
http://www.everycall.us/call-control/

Community BlacklistAutomatically block thousands of reported spam callers. The Community Blacklist is continually updated to your device to insure you’re always blocking the latest threats to your privacy!

Call & Text BlockingCall Control effortlessly blocks any call or text message on the Community Blacklist or that you’ve added to your personal Blacklist. Your phone won’t ring and you won’t be interrupted.

Call Control Gives You OptionsChoose exactly how you want Call Control to behave. Hide notifications, block private or unknown callers, send calls to voicemail, mute your ringer, block by area code or prefix and dozens more custom options.

Block FCC Do Not Call ViolatorsCall Control is the only app that works with the FCC and blocks reported violators of Federal Do Not Call laws.

Report Spam CallersHelp power the Community Blacklist by reporting a spam call. Spammers and fraudsters are tricky and new phone numbers. Reporting them quickly adds them to the Community Blacklist for everyone’s benefit. And it just feels good.

when the internet crashes

what is Your plan B after the internet crashes ?
http://www.ted.com/talks/danny_hillis_the_internet_could_crash_we_need_a_plan_b.html

twenty years of free burritos !

http://www.adventurrito.com/
and various other prizes. put it on your calendar.

Adventurrito is a 20-day-long treasure hunt that starts on Chipotle's 20th anniversary. Each day we'll release a new puzzle, and every day but the 20th day we'll choose 20 players at random to receive FREE BURRITOS FOR A YEAR. Players that correctly solve the first 19 puzzles get a shot at the Grand Prize on the 20th day. The first 20 people with the highest scores on the 20th puzzle win FREE BURRITOS FOR 20 YEARS (no, that's not a typo).

DAILY SWEEPSTAKES
Free burritos for a year:
it's the luck of the draw
19 days, 20 winners per day, 380 happy people

GRAND PRIZE
Free burritos for 20 years:
OMG is totally appropriate
20 puzzles, 20 speedy high scores, 20 big winners

Motorola Blur users read this

http://m.blogs.computerworld.com/smartphones/22435/motorola-secretly-spies-droid-phone-users-every-9-minutes-collects-personal-data?mm_ref=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FmmQ3ODgi4r

For certain models motorola not only captures your ID and pw but redirects your web traffic through their servers and retransmits over unencrypted http.   That seems to be the gist:
---------
Motorola secretly spies on Droid phone users every 9 minutes, collects personal data
By Darlene Storm

July 03, 2013 3:35 PM EDTYou know the NSA is “listening,” nabbing Verizon customers’ cell phone metadata, but did you know that Motorola is listening too? A security engineer with a Motorola Droid X2 smartphone discovered that Motorola is silently slurping up personal info like passwords, GPS data from photos, email addresses, and usernames to name but a few. His phone is checking in with Motorola every nine minutes. Even worse, the data is often sent over an unencrypted HTTP channel. As a Slashdot comment stated, “The NSA would like to thank Motorola for their cooperation.”

ukes ukes ukes

Ukes http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/856126_Ukuleles-go-mainstream-in-Lancaster-County-music-scene-.html
watch on yt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OumNwFZDrDI
 thanks DanS

print your own ukelele

3d printed uke - what tuning are they using ?
http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2013/02/ukulele-3-d-printer/

from Skymall catalog. wow

Uke Madness in Cambridge !

One month to practice !  July 25th (Thursday)
http://www.ccae.org/catalog/detail.php?id=567444

Summer 2013 for 20-Somethings
Uke Jam


It's like a luau in Harvard Square! Join in the jam or just relax and enjoy as uke teacher Danno Sullivan and a courtyard full of uke players crank out the hits from 1913 to 2013. Bring a uke or borrow one of ours. Sign up in advance so we know to expect you!
Uke Jam Sec. 01: 1 Thursday, 7:00-9:00 pm. Jul. 25, 56 Brattle St. | $0
SUTS–01
$0.00

from 2011:

Perhaps "madness" and "Cambridge" redund.  So be it.

music of the universe

Rhythm of the Universe, Boston Common July 13, 2013
8pm,  150 piece ensemble, 80 minutes --
this is from last year:  http://youtu.be/4I5gY20GI0M

what is your favorite position?

sleeping positions and what it says about your personality
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3112170.stm

I switch among starfish, yearner, soldier, and foetus.
--------------------------------------------------
Then there's this happy kid (in the "royal position"):

and how you sleep reveals about your relationship ...
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/what-your-sleep-position-says-about-you-and-your-relationship/story-fnet0he2-1226589671117

what is the successful life ?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/your-money/a-call-for-a-movement-to-redefine-the-successful-life.html?smid=pl-share

A Call for a Movement to Redefine the Successful Life

By ALINA TUGEND
Published: June 14, 2013

EVERY day, news releases and books cross my desk that promise success in all sorts of areas — getting a job, getting a better job, managing your employees, managing your boss, managing your relationships.

Some are interesting, some are ridiculous and many are repetitive takes on the same theme. But recently, I came across two items that, separately, talked about an issue I’ve tackled before in one of my columns — questioning what we actually mean by success.

That column, which appeared almost a year ago to the day, discussed how we shouldn’t always aim for the extraordinary, but celebrate the ordinary. It was one of my most popular articles ever.

So I was intrigued when I was told that a conference was being held on the very issue of redefining success. And, separately, that American Express had recently released a study showing that Americans were thinking of success in different ways than in the past.

“The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money & Power” was the conference presented last week by Mika Brzezinski, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of the Huffington Post, at Ms. Huffington’s new apartment in TriBeCa (some 200 people squeezed into her living room).

linguistic maps: how you say it reveals where you came from, or not.

where did the hot spots for "soda" in Milwaukee and St Louis come from?

see the list at http://www.businessinsider.com/22-maps-that-show-the-deepest-linguistic-conflicts-in-america-2013-6?op=1

"Seriously? Alabama and Mississippi that is terrible.":

kobayashi maru redux

beyond analysis:  just enjoy it
directly on yt: http://youtu.be/OIkgcWtK_rQ

origami workshop

workshop this Saturday !  - sign up






Origami Fold-A-Thon
Join us at
WinCAM
on
Saturday, June 8
11 am – 2 pm
Special Hands-on Workshop
Presented by
Origami Master, Shukong Ou
Bring 1 or more thick paper shopping bags
(any size) to make your own container.

Limited to 12 participants.
Lunch included.
All ages welcome (children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult)

To register: Call WinCAM at 781-721-2050
or email: [email protected]

WinCam is located at the back of WHS
(follow the signs)

don't let me down

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=122020628005318

another uke player makes a hit -

finding your big emails in gmail

http://www.labnol.org/internet/sort-gmail-by-size/21191/

using native google tools (gmail, docs) to find your big gmails
see Tools->edit script to see that the script being run is not sending your info to some hacker, it is working on your own stuff locally only within your account.

Thanks you, Amit !

deathstar ice cube (must have!)

Everyone needs this: Death Start ice cube:  (thanks to SS)

See the other fabulous "must haves" at
http://littlewhitelion.com/18-kitchen-products-you-never-knew-you-needed-28621/
including:

The Domo Toaster:

fast joy

see on YT directly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ibCtsHgz3Y

if you can't wait to hear the whole thing...  see at 4:46 in the clip  http://youtu.be/6ibCtsHgz3Y?t=4m46s

classic British insults

At least you will know when you've been insulted, and what it means: http://mentalfloss.com/article/50449/origins-9-great-british-insults

Alastair Parvin: Architecture for the people by the people



Cameron Sinclair: A call for open-source architecture

Sinclair lives in Bozeman MT.

finally perspective

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMGZQZRIsJE -- view directly
from pressure to succeed to depression to perspective
"do you  feel like you are all alone?"  (05:25)


The familiar theme from Barry Lyndon at 08:29  -- must be nice to have a backup orchestra!
http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/7/71/IMSLP130583-PMLP126189-Handel-Sarabande_D_minor.pdf

what dementia patients can teach us: executive function is not everything

from the article:
... residents as "closer to the higher being.  This is who they are: real, honest, and sometimes raw.  There is no ability to reason, or to cover up who you really are.  And so, for much of the time, you see the loveliness of the soul-- it is bare for everyone to acknowledge."

Valorizing dementia as a higher state of being may strike many people as bizarre, and such sentiments are unlikely to comfort the children or partners of people who must endure living in a state of almost perpetual confusion.  Yet our society does tend to prize cognition and executive function at the expense of other essential human qualities:  sensuality, pleasure, intimacy.   For people who can no longer think clearly, a life of small sensory pleasures is a considerable achievement.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/05/20/130520fa_fact_mead

2013 otr at wlf

Off the Record at Wright Locke Farm 2013
watch on youtube at  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ocrE0tlpoDpQNs7mCJP5WkDNVUdZiXe:

best ooo reply

I am away on trip.
Information flow will probably dip.
      I'm quite far away.
      I've a full week to stay.
Please find someone else to whip.

great funky music - synths galore

funk !
full playlist here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npqD602G90o&list=PL73E464138C37E06A

extending beyond the edge of the screen -

See on youtube: “IllumiRoom: Peripheral Projected Illusions for Interactive Experiences” — IllumiRoom is a proof-of-concept system - fun and games --

Porgy and Bess at WCMS 4/28

see the whole thing with links to the songs at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjWsx0TL-6o

Peter Kenagy, trumpet
Tad Hitchcock, guitar
Harvey Diamond, piano
Mark Pucci, bass
Andrew Jones, drums

Mildred O'Connor, March 26, 1920 - April 24, 2013

"The Brain Loves Novelty" -- do something new and fun and stay sharp.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/15/176920391/how-exercise-and-other-activities-beat-back-dementia   "The Brain Loves Novelty"  -- do something new and fun and stay sharp.

How Exercise And Other Activities Beat Back Dementia

LiaT - Live webDVD

if you have broadband try the HD version at:
http://ourigami.com/LiaT/Play_webDVD.html

Love is a Tattoo - Live

Mike Verge at Winchester Community Music School
"Love is a Tattoo" - live performance

so where is your motivation ?

for what do YOU get up in the morning ?  Dan Ariely looks inside your brain :-)

caution: time sink

Service dogs:  Great Dane puppies -awww
http://servicedogproject.org/

See the webcams:
http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/great-dane-service-puppies-indoor-puppy-room
http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/great-dane-service-puppies-puppy-hill

wcms open mic night at sbx

Open mic night at the local starbucks (double click below to see full screen) or just go to the video directly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E-ZG2M_U24


The coffee-making noises are part of the charm of being in a coffee spot, right?

unloading a truck

http://www.wimp.com/unloadingtruck/

Be patient, it doesn't look like anything is happening for a while...
Have to admit, it works, and efficiently.

why stop with magazines? just deliver letters !

Here's a solution for the US Postal Service - never mind the paper, just deliver the mail !
http://www.businessinsider.com/drones-delivering-newspapers-2013-3

Prediction:  new meaning to the verb "to drone" == deliver by drone 

Happy Easter

Blue Zones, not blue hair

Blue Zones:   http://www.bluezones.com/

http://www.npr.org/2013/02/18/171926131/how-to-thrive-short-commutes-more-happy-hours

Jake Shimabukuro

Jake Shimabukuro -
"If everyone played the ukelele this world would be a much happier place."


and start with a few suggestions :


And for you George Harrison fans, While My Guitar Gently Weeps:

Happy Pi(e) Day

3.14159 ..
March 14, 1:59 pm

Enjoy a Pi  http://www.raspberrypi.org/
or a Pie http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Meringue-Pie-241172

roll your own cloud

https://owncloud.com/  - server and client software for running your own private or public cloud

similar to the pogoplug appliances http://pogoplug.com/devices that allow you to maintain physical possession of the storage media holding your files

roof is not the only thing leaking ...

the article from the personal theologian to the Pope speaks for itself:

what's a few feet of snow compared to raining spiders?

http://gawker.com/5982891/meanwhile-in-brazil-its-raining-spiders



then in the comments there is mention of the Brazilian bird-eating spider, yes!  Look for the original picture...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_birdeater

back door fridge

Working on our own back door fridge; just need a little more snow:



from:  http://www.facebook.com/WickedNewEngland

make me a bicycle

I actually had the same experience with "Make me a yellow and blue school bus"

fight flu with chocolate

It must be true now that it's been published:

Curb a Cough With... Chocolate. Indulge in a square or two of dark chocolate. Researchers found that chocolate's theobromine compound is more effective than codeine at suppressing persistent coughs without the side effects of drowsiness and constipation.

http://www.wcvb.com/Lesser-known-natural-remedies-for-cold-symptoms/-/9849586/4722952/-/format/rsss_2.0/-/b09li1z/-/index.html

Garlic and a good imagination also come into play if chocolate doesn't work.

cookie

are you being Primed ?

Not referring to Prime Numbers, but Suggestions in your environment that affect your thinking and behavior.

http://chronicle.com/article/Power-of-Suggestion/136907/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en

January 30, 2013
Power of Suggestion
The amazing influence of unconscious cues is among the most fascinating discoveries of our time­—that is, if it's true

By Tom Bartlett
New Haven, Conn.

Mark Abramson for The Chronicle Review

John Bargh rocked the world of social psychology with experiments that showed the power of unconscious cues over our behavior.

A print of "The Garden of Earthly Delights" hangs above the moss-green, L-shaped sectional in John Bargh's office on the third floor of Yale University's Kirtland Hall. Hieronymus Bosch's famous triptych imagines a natural environment that is like ours (water, flowers) yet not (enormous spiked and translucent orbs). What precisely the 15th-century Dutch master had in mind is still a mystery, though theories abound. On the left is presumably paradise, in the middle is the world, and on the right is hell, complete with knife-faced monster and human-devouring bird devil.

moosic in time and space

Music, space, time,  mirrored, tranlated, glide-translated:


If you have not already done so, check out other Vi Hart items.

better living through chemistry and biology

A recent article on modifying ethical and virtue behavior, from the Journal of Medical Ethics talks about the ethics of modifying human behavior.  From the paper:
Here are some examples of non-traditional means of moral enhancement:
▸ Glucose as a means of increasing resistance to temptation to do something wrong or to stop trying to do what one should
▸ Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as a means to being less inclined to assault people
▸ Propranolol as a means of decreasing unconscious racial bias.
▸ Deep-brain stimulation (eg, electrical stimulation of the amygdala) as a means to reducing aggression
▸ Neurofeedback to increase sympathy and/or treat antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy)
▸ Selection of embryos that contain a gene coding for a greater disposition to altruism
▸ Genetic interventions to gametes, embryos or postnatal human beings as a means to the same end
▸ Embryo selection or genetic engineering as a means of avoiding or neutralising genes associated with antisocial personality disorder
▸ Either of these means as a way of securing a stronger predisposition to fairness
▸ An artificial chromosome that includes multiple genes coding for stronger predispositions to a variety of moral virtues\

The original article can be found at 

http://m.jme.bmj.com/content/early/2013/01/24/medethics-2012-101157.full.pdf?papetoc 

Or, a copy is available here:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7HntxpE-k80Tko1aTczaVZnMW8/edit?usp=sharing 

How do we differentiate between "moral improvement" (that is, reducing tendency for aggression, violent assault, antisocial personality disorders)  and the improvement obtained by athletes using doping (thank you, Lance Armstrong)?

one-take music video

This entire clip was done in ONE TAKE:

misheard lyrics

from kissthisguy.com
I'm only stealing the first 20. Go see the rest for yourself.
This week's pick: I left my brains down in Africa ??? This Week: I left my brains... 
Then there's Creedence Clearwater's "Bad Moon Rising" - "there's a bathroom on the right"
You will never hear these songs the same way ever again.

All Time Funniest 100 Misheard Song Lyrics
Here are the top 100 misheard song lyrics of all time as ranked by our viewers!
The ranking is automatically updated daily. Enjoy, Review, Vote and Save to your Favorites!
Robert Palmer: Addicted To Love
Might as well face it, you're a dick with a glove.
Abba: Dancing Queen
See that girl, watch her scream, kicking the dancing queen
Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody
The algebra has a devil for a sidekick eeeeeeeeee....
Traditional: We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Now bring us some friggin' pudding
Madonna: Like a Virgin
Like a virgin touched for the thirty-first time.
Bee Gees: Stayin' Alive
Steak and a Knife, Steak and a Knife
OneRepublic: Apologize
It's too late to order fries
Bee Gees: More Than A Woman
Bald-headed woman... bald-headed woman to me
Fifth Dimension: Aquarius
This is the dawning of the Age of Asparugus, Asparugus

food in food

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/11/snacks-dishes-served-inside-other-foods/

12 Delicious Dishes Served Inside Other Foods
Categories: LISTS Tags: · food · Leave a Comment

Recently I’ve noticed a trend where treats and snacks are served inside other edible goods. My first experience was a bowl of clam chowder soup served inside a bread bowl. Since then, I’ve seen bacon, chocolate and hollowed out apples used as a bowl. I’ve even seen eggs cooked inside other vegetables to give it a unique shape or extra flavour.

With the popularity of food and recipe sites and the explosion of ‘foodie’ culture on Instagram and Pinterest, I thought I would take a stab at compiling some of the more popular images floating around online. I’ve also tried to mix in a few delicious examples you may have not seen before. Bon appetit!

1. Bacon and Egg Cupcakes

hurry up and die

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/22/elderly-hurry-up-die-japanese

World news from the Guardian

Tuesday 22 January 2013 03.42 EST
Let elderly people 'hurry up and die', says Japanese minister

Taro Aso says he would refuse end-of-life care and would 'feel bad' knowing treatment was paid for by government
Taro Aso referred to elderly patients who are no longer able to feed themselves as 'tube people'. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Japan's new government is barely a month old, and already one of its most senior members has insulted tens of millions of voters by suggesting that the elderly are an unnecessary drain on the country's finances.

Taro Aso, the finance minister, said on Monday that the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die" to relieve pressure on the state to pay for their medical care.

"Heaven forbid if you are forced to live on when you want to die. I would wake up feeling increasingly bad knowing that [treatment] was all being paid for by the government," he said during a meeting of the national council on social security reforms. "The problem won't be solved unless you let them hurry up and die."

National Pie Day

Today:  http://www.piecouncil.org/Events/NationalPieDay/

Not what I thought, which would have been March 14, just before 2 o'clock

3.14  1 59
3/14  1:59

thermoacoustic refrigerator

not to be confused with thermoelectric (direct electricity-to-heat/cool).

These are not toys:  http://qdrive.com/UI/ProductsListing.aspx?mcid=111&pcid=111&ccid=111 shows cryogenic coolers that go down to 50K (yep degrees Kelvin, that's 50 degrees above absolute zero)!.

In particular, in space where there is no air to carry away excess heat, these coolers can regulate temperature of components.

Of course the reverse physics can use a temperature differential to generate a (very loud) sound.

Then refrigeration that does not need electricity, stored fuel, just a campfire:

texting sheep from bovid bracelet

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57487599-1/texting-sheep-collar-protects-ewe-from-wolf-attack/

Texting sheep collar protects ewe from wolf attack
Sheep could soon don heartbeat-monitoring collars that text shepherds to warn of dangerous wolves. No, really.
by Luke Westaway

August 6, 2012 12:30 PM PDT
(Credit: CNET UK)

It's not easy being a wolf. You finally find a delicious sheep to eat, but before you can take a bite it sprays you with repellent chemicals and then texts a shepherd who comes and chases you off with a horrible big stick.

A biologist in Switzerland is researching an SMS-powered sheep collar that monitors the woolly one's heart rate and could summon a shepherd if a significant change is detected, the BBC reports.

Tests have already been carried out on 12 unlucky sheep, who were scared by muzzledCzechoslovakian wolfdogs while their heartbeats were monitored, revealing that the grass-munching animals' heart rates jumped significantly when stressed out.

Read more of "Texting sheep collar protects ewe from wolf attack" at Crave UK.

shukonggoshin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vajirapani_Shukongoshin_Todaiji.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shukongoshin

capitalism and outsourcing one's work

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21043693

16 January 2013 Last updated at 08:50 ET

US employee 'outsourced job to China'

A security check on a US company has reportedly revealed one of its staff was outsourcing his work to China.

The software developer, in his 40s, is thought to have spent his workdays surfing the web, watching cat videos on YouTube and browsing Reddit and eBay.

He reportedly paid just a fifth of his six-figure salary to a company based in Shenyang to do his job.

Operator Verizon says the scam came to light after the US firm asked it for an audit, suspecting a security breach.

According to Andrew Valentine, of Verizon, the infrastructure company requested the operator's risk team last year to investigate some anomalous activity on its virtual private network (VPN) logs.

greener than kermit ?

http://www.good.is/posts/the-greenest-office-building-ever-seattle-s-new-bullitt-center

Seattle's New Bullitt Center May Be the Greenest Office Building Ever

The new Bullitt Center, currently under construction in Seattle, combines virtually every possible green building technique. The six-story building is entirely powered by solar panels, putting to rest any doubts that solar power only works in sunny climates. It's heated naturally through geothermal wells. And all of the water used in the building comes from something Seattle has no shortage of: rainwater.

robo music

and the 4 armed drummer

so how did he get my boots?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/11/list-too-long/1o6QU2B2QHs6mvLtxzJfAN/story.html

KEVIN CULLEN

A list far too long

By Kevin Cullen

 |  GLOBE COLUMNIST   

  JANUARY 11, 2013

Just days after a young man massacred a group of first-graders at an elementary school in Connecticut, Dr. Leonard Rappaport sat down with a mother who had brought her 7-year-old son in for an appointment at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

The woman spread some notes out as they prepared to talk about her son, a nice boy who has struggled with behavioral ­issues. Rappaport, chief of developmental medicine at Children’s, noticed that one of the sheets of paper had names on it, listed in three separate columns, with a line drawn through each of them.

“That’s impressive,” Rappaport told her. “You’ve got all your Christmas shopping done.”

The woman looked at him and shook her head. It wasn’t a gift list, she explained. It was a list of the mental health professionals she had called to no avail: Either they weren’t taking new patients, or they wouldn’t accept her insurance.