One World Technologies, manufacturer of Ryobi tools, has been ordered to pay damages of US$1.5 million to Carlos Osorio who injured his fingers while using a Ryobi table saw. The case hinged on the Ryobi's lack of "flesh sensing technology" which is found only SawStop's [previously] saws. SawStop garnered extensive bad press in hobbyist circles by attempting to make their patented technology mandatory on all table saws after they failed to find a market for their blade stopping technology with other manufacturers.
If the judgment is not overturned it will usher in sweeping changes to stationary woodworking tools of every description as SawStop's technology could be adapted to anything with a blade or electric motor.
Open Library has a new collaborative open source website that aims to catalog every book ever published. About the project. The vision is one Wiki page for every edition of every work with description details.
A French, state-run TV channel appears to be stirring controversy by airing a documentary about a fake game show in which contestants torture eachother, called "Game of Death." Based on the well-known Stanley Milgram experiments of the 1960's that, in the wake of Nazi Germany, sought out to measure man's willingness to obey orders. "In Game of Death, 81% of contestants went all the way by administering more than 20 shocks up to a maximum of 460 volts. Only 16 of the 80 subjects recruited for the fake game show refused the verbal prodding from the host — and pressure from the audience to keep dishing out the torture like a good sport — though most expressed misgivings or tried to pull out before being convinced otherwise."
Just to be clear, the pain inflicted is not real. But the contestants are made to think that it is. Clips: one, two, three. Filmmaker Christophe Nick suggests that "[Future] television can — without possible opposition — organize the death of a person as entertainment, and eight out of 10 people will submit to that."
Related: "The Perils of Obedience" by Stanley Milgram. And for a closer look at human beings committing unethical acts under particular social conditions, check out "The Human Behavior Experiments" (Part 1, Part 2) by Alex Gibney.
The original version of Alice in Wonderland, handwritten and hand-drawn by Lewis Carroll, has been posted online. The illustrations are a treat in themselves. "[Carroll] was fond of children and became friends with Lorina, Alice and Edith Liddell, the young daughters of the Dean of his college, Christ Church. One summer's day in 1862 he entertained them on a boat trip with a story of Alice's adventures in a magical world entered through a rabbit-hole. The ten-year-old Alice was so entranced that she begged him to write it down for her. It took him some time to write out the tale - in a tiny, neat hand - and complete the 37 illustrations. Alice finally received the 90-page book, dedicated to 'a dear child, in memory of a summer day', in November 1864."
Eating healthy on a budget isn't just for hipsters on food stamps. While some have called Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman's ideas about cooking and eating "elitist," there are many cooks who are smart enough to know that cooking at home is the only way to eat healthy on a budget. While Jamie Oliver pledges to give all school children "10 recipes that will save their lives," almost anyone on any budget can change the way they shop for, prepare, and think about food. Blogs that focus on budget & healthy eating: Budget Bytes - easy recipes, cost breakdown, some veg-friendly dishes. Thirty Bucks a Week - vegetarian, weekly receipt breakdown. Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget Cheap, Healthy, Good - nutrition and cost breakdown, weekly vegetarian focus. Not Eating Out in NY - cost and health breakdown.
And many, many more in this list of 100 frugal cooking blogs. (Although not all of them with a healthy focus)
"In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV. The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him: On his own initiative, in anticipation of his first year in college, he had purchased his own health insurance. Shortly after his diagnosis, however, his insurance company, Fortis [now Assurant Health], revoked his policy. Mitchell was told that without further treatment his HIV would become full-blown AIDS within a year or two and he would most likely die within two years after that."
"Previously undisclosed records from Mitchell's case reveal that Fortis had a company policy of targeting policyholders with HIV. A computer program and algorithm targeted every policyholder recently diagnosed with HIV for an automatic fraud investigation, as the company searched for any pretext to revoke their policy. As was the case with Mitchell, their insurance policies often were canceled on erroneous information, the flimsiest of evidence, or for no good reason at all, according to the court documents and interviews with state and federal investigators."
"And as the story points out, the evidence is that the overwhelming majority of rescissions, not just at Assurant but across the board, are, in fact, without justification."*
If you'd like something to work on today other than your pint of Guinness, why not take a crack at "one of Australia's most profound mysteries," a sixty-two-year-old unsolved murder known as the Taman Shud case? The Taman Shud Case, also known as the "Mystery of the Somerton Man," is an unsolved case revolving around an unidentified man found dead at 6.30am, December 1, 1948 on Somerton beach in Adelaide, Australia. Considered "one of Australia's most profound mysteries," the case has been the subject of intense speculation over the years regarding the identity of the victim, the events leading up to his death and the cause of death.
Ilikebagpipes. And I'm not afraid to admit it. They can be traditional, rock, or cross-cultural. They may have been around since ancient Rome. It's the instrument everyone claims to hate, but who can really hate a good drone?
