Rupert Murdoch is pointing a gun to Google’s head, and Microsoft is helping him pull back the trigger. For the past few weeks, Murdoch and his officers at News Corp. have been very vocal about their distaste for Google and their desire to lead other media companies in a boycott of sorts.
Murdoch keeps threatening to stop letting Google index the WSJ.com and his other media sites, and wants other news sites to join him in this self-imposed silence. The folks at Microsoft’s Bing think this is a great idea. Not only that, but the FT reports that Microsoft is in fact in discussions with News Corp. and other publishers about the possibility of paying them to remove their sites from Google’s search index. This report comes on the heels of a meeting in Europe where Bing dangled the prospect of premium spots in search results to publishers and outright money for search R&D.
Microsoft is not afraid to buy search market share, which is what it’s doing with the Yahoo search deal and even its Cashback program. But with these latest talks, it is literally trying to buy the news, or at least exclusive access to the news.
Bing can’t buy all the news, it can only buy certain brands. If Bing can somehow become the only place you can find news results and working links to the Wall Street Journal and other top papers such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times, for instance, that would be a big reason to switch for a lot of folks. But it’s not clear how much Bing would have to pay the news companies of the world for them to give up all the traffic Google sends them in return for a fraction of that traffic and some cash.
Even Google couldn’t afford to strike such deals. Says Murdoch, of Google, “If they were to pay everybody for everything they took from every newspaper in the world, and every magazine, they wouldn’t have any profits left.”
In order to actually make a dent in Google’s market share, Bing would have to pay such exorbitant sums to so many different news companies that it would be difficult to recoup its investment. Bing certainly get some marketing buzz out of any such move, but that’s about it.
The big problem with a search engine trying to buy market share by buying parts of the news is that information spreads so quickly these days, exclusives last about 30 seconds. That information will end up on a site that is indexed by Google. Or the same news will be broken by someone else on the Web before the WSJ.com even gets to it.
Exclusive indexing goes against the Web’s inherent openness. Companies that try to curtail that openness don’t last long on the Web.
Adobe's seemingly triedeverything in its fight to get Apple to tear down enough development barriers to get Flash ported to the iPhone, culminating in a native compilation option in CS5 that... well, really doesn't solve much of anything. So far, nothing's worked. What's next? Get the masses fired up with some old-fashioned propaganda and let 'em riot down at One Infinite Loop, of course! Visiting Adobe's Flash download page from an iPhone now shows a pretty tersely-worded message informing the user that they're getting short-changed simply by Apple's refusal to budge, so yeah, if you hear an occasional cry of "this is outrageous, I'm writing Apple immediately!" while sitting at an airport gate or a coffee shop, you can safely guess what just happened.
Like some kind of evil sequel to Steven Spielberg’sClose Encounters of the Third Kind, The Fourth Kind takes real file footage from supposed alien abductees under hypnosis in Nome, Alaska and fictionalizes their stories for the silver screen.
Milla Jovovich plays Abby, a shrink who discovers a disturbing similarity in her patients’ nightmares. They all have visions of an owl at their window, paralysis, intense fear, yadda-yadda. The deeper she delves into this mystery, the scarier it gets. Under hypnosis, patients relive their terror as aliens abduct them and do God-knows-what to their helpless bodies. From what the trailer suggests, Abby goes from bystander to victim as the aliens begin targeting her for abduction.
I did a quick online search and came up with no easy-to-find articles about a rash of alien abductions related to the film. I did find a few message boards looking for info on Nome, Alaska abductions from people who likewise saw the trailer. They’ve come up with zip so far. It would appear we have another Blair Witch Project situation here.
I’m actually delighted about that. They had me going for a second with the supposed “real footage” shown in tandem with the fictionalized footage of the same events. I did notice that some of the supposed real footage had some some stagy CGI effects, so I knew it wasn’t all kosher. It’ll be neat to see the hype build as it did for BWP, but of course it won’t receive a fraction of the unprecedented level of interest that BWP generated due to the fact that audiences aren’t quite as gullible as they used to be.
I recall the (mediocre) movie Fire in the Sky caused a bit of a stir as one of the most credible “real life” instances of alien abductions, told in a fictional setting. The film set the standard for how abductions are visually portrayed and paved the way for shows like The X-Files to hit phenomenal levels of success. It also caused a wave of hysteria amongst a great deal of people who thought they had likewise been abducted by aliens.
I’m not particularly moved by the idea of people believing they are abducted out of their beds by aliens for two reasons: 1. because everyone has seen versions of the case studies one way or another know the protocol well enough to fake it. 2. because “sleep paralysis,” also known as “the old hag effect” debunks 99.99999% of these cases.
In all seriousness, sleep paralysis used to happen to me on a regular basis, and if you’ve ever experienced it, it’s easy to see how someone could twist that experience into thinking something supernaturally nefarious has happened to them. The details vary but the experience is universally the same. While drifting off to sleep, a neurological hiccup in the sleep cycle causes the mind to stay lucid while the body goes into sleep mode, leaving the person temporarily paralysed. In this state, the brain tries to initiate a dream, causing vivid auditory and sometimes visual hallucinations.
It’s a bit disconcerting at first but once you get used to it, it’s not so alarming. If you can manage to relax and not panic, the experience can be quite interesting. I’ve noticed I can will myself out of it by giving my brain the command to make my body twist back and forth. After a few tries I can usually wrestle my body awake. If I try to go back to sleep directly after that, the experience often repeats. My personal hallucinations were quite predictable and detailed. It always began with a funny noise, like the sound of my fan sputtering or the door to my room being opened. Then it would sound like someone was in the room, walking around and making noises. Sometimes I would hear voices and see strange things, but I kept calm so I saw nothing terrifying. I’d wake up, sometimes with witnesses awake in the room, and everything was fine. This all usually happened if I tried to take a nap during the day. As you can see from this old painting, the term “old hag effect” came from days of superstition when people believed that sleep paralysis was an evil spirit, sitting on their chest and trying to steal their soul/breath. One of the most common hallucinations was that of a scary, old woman or “hag.” People would talk about it, then others would have the same hallucination. Kind of like a mass hysteria of bad dreams amongst a bunch of people living within the same channels of communication. Now we have come full circle in the modern age. The “old hag” has become a “gray alien” and once again an explainable neurological phenomenon has become superstition.
That won’t keep me from enjoying or being frightened by this film. The teaser is highly unsettling and I honestly don’t want to see anymore until its release. No more spoilers for me. I want to experience it clear of expectations.
P.S. If you ever experience the “old hag effect” (or suddenly become paralysed and think you’re being abducted by aliens) do what I do: Use your mind to imagine yourself twisting/rocking from side to side in bed. Concentrate really hard and force it. After several tries you’ll find yourself jolting awake and nearly rolling right out of bed. Or can relax and enjoy it or at least try to wait it out. Eventually you’ll drift into a regular sleep cycle… as long as you don’t panic.
Just don’t let this super-scary trailer for The Fourth Kind psych you out into having one…
Calling it a “significant blow” to the operations of a major Mexican drug cartel, Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday the arrests of 303 people and the seizure of illegal drugs, weapons and millions of dollars over the past two days in a series of coordinated raids in 19 states.
At a news conference in Washington, Mr. Holder said the raids were aimed at the United States operations of the La Familia Michoacán drug cartel, which he described as the newest and most violent of Mexico’s five drug cartels.
“While this cartel may operate from Mexico, the toxic reach of its operations extends to nearly every state within our own country,” he said.
In Dallas alone on Wednesday, he said, 77 people were arrested.
Beyond the arrests, Mr. Holder said, the authorities seized more than $32 million in United States currency, more than 2,700 pounds of methamphetamine, nearly 2,000 kilograms of cocaine, about 16,000 pounds of marijuana and 29 pounds of heroin during the 44-month effort. More arrests are expected.
“These are drugs that were headed for our streets and weapons that often were headed for the streets of Mexico,” he said. “That’s why we are hitting them where it hurts the most — their revenue stream. By seizing their drugs and upending their supply chains, we have disrupted their ‘business-as-usual’ state of operations.”
The arrests were part of “Project Coronado,” focusing on La Familia, which controls drug manufacturing and distribution, mostly of methamphetamine and cocaine. The group began several years ago as a vigilante organization aimed at removing the influence of drug dealers in the state of Michoacán, but it has evolved into a ruthless cartel itself.
It now competes with the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels, but La Familia is unusual in that its leaders espouse a religious philosophy and ask the core members of the organization to carry bibles and attend church. It recruits heavily from drug rehabilitation centers in Michoacán.
Originally published October 7, 2009 at 12:13 PM | Page modified October 7, 2009 at 12:25 PM
LONG BEACH — Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife agents say seven sea birds were mowed down and killed by a vehicle on the coast at Long Beach.
Fish and Wildlife Officer Mike Cenci says the bodies of the birds were found amid tire marks in an area where vehicles are allowed on the beach. He says the dead birds include Heermann's gulls and juvenile Western gulls.
Sharnelle Fee, director of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast near Astoria, Ore., tells The Oregonian that the tracks indicate the driver hit three flocks of birds. She says the dead birds were found by one of the center's volunteers on Monday.
It's against federal law to kill or harm seabirds. The center is offering a $500 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case.
Published Friday, October 09, 2009 10:23 AM by dablukake
Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, is the fiery orange relative of common milkweed. While milkweed sprouts enthusiastically from every nook and cranny, butterfly weed can be reluctant to germinate at all. It can also be demanding about its site and growing habits. Midsummer is a good time to sprout this seed, because the plant often takes a full season of growth before it flowers.
What a payoff it gives!. Here in the northeast, butterfly weed is a joyous bloomer during summer with its deliciously dense oranges often deepening to red. Even after bloom, it draws Monarch butterflies, which feed on the leaves.
First things first: How do you persuade the seeds to germinate? All seeds have their unique germination requirements. Yes, marigold seeds often have 100% germination 100% of the time, but they're an exception. Seed packets try to describe the best way to germinate the seeds inside, but sometimes the instructions don't work. My own detailed books on starting seeds claim butterfly weed is, in fact, "easy" from seed. That wasn't my experience.
My first attempt at butterfly weed taught me an important lesson in seed germination. I put the seeds in a good medium, pressed them in, covered them very lightly, left the tray in a warm, sunny area, and kept them moist. Nothing happened—for weeks. I almost threw them out, but instead, in irritation, put the seed trays outdoors to deal with later. Lo! Within a few days almost all the seeds had sprouted.
Here's what I learned: some seeds need a germination environment that replicates their experience in the wild. My Asclepias seeds obviously needed a period of cold—possibly a period of alternating cold and warmth—in order to germinate. This may not be true for every Asclepias tuberosa seed, but it was true for my seeds.
After a little research I found that in order to germinate, seeds of perennials can require a sustained period of cold, or alternating cold and warmth, or alternating light and dark, or no light at all, or lots of light. Some don't care at all about light and darkness, but will only germinate when pressed very firmly into soil. I learned that last trick soon after I saw my cat walk across a tray of un-germinated alyssum seed. I was irate until a few days later I saw the lustiest germination occurring within the cat prints.
Back to the butterfly weed. After those first butterfly weed seeds germinated, I placed the plants in my front garden, which has a hot, windy, southwest exposure and sandy soil. Today butterfly weed dominates that garden, and germinates enthusiastically, yet selectively. Seeds sprout best from areas near pavement at the sides of the driveway, and in the sunniest, rockiest areas. The one place they don't germinate is within the dappled, grassy shade beneath the cherry tree. That's where my globe thistle (echinops) likes to germinate—and so freely that I have to keep pulling them up. Echinops has never germinated in the sandy, sunny, perpetually disturbed soil favored by butterfly weed. I've take the hint from my plants, and let their preferences design my garden
A few years back I gifted a few seedlings to a friend, who placed them in a sheltered windless spot with rich soil and half-day sun. The plants faded the first year and didn't come back the second. Lesson: butterfly weed develops vigor when it is exposed to hot afternoon sun. Give it moisture, but give it sun.
Another thing: butterfly weed doesn't like too much competition. My blanket flowers (gaillardia grandiflora) like the same dry, sunny habitat as butterfly weed, but a good-sized gaillardia within five inches of one butterfly weed killed it within a month. This inability to compete may explain why we don't often see butterfly weed in the wild, as often as we see milkweed.
Finally, once your butterfly weed is growing don't try to move it. It has a very long taproot; if broken, the plant dies.
Here's a summary of advice:
* Follow instructions for germinating butterfly weed on the seed packet—then allow the seed alternating periods of cold and warmth. Freezing temperatures probably won't hurt the seed, but the daytime temperatures need to get good and warm. Put the seeds outside during the night, or in the refrigerator, then into a sunny window during the day. Be patient.
* When planting butterfly weed outdoors, the soil should not be too rich or too wet or too dry. The spot should be hot and sunny, without competition from too many plants. (Exceptions exist. An established butterfly weed in my garden is growing from the middle of a carpet juniper. Go figure.)
* Rocks and stones are a good thing. Their ability to modulate soil temperature and hold moisture never hurt any plant.
Where to get seed: You might not be able to find butterfly weed seed at your local grocery store or nursery, but it is widely available through mail order. Use a good search engine to locate a source. Park Seed (parkseed.com) and Burpee (burpeee.com) are good, reliable sources. Another is Whatcom Seed Company (seedrack.com). Smaller nurseries often carry unusual varieties of Asclepias. Prairie Moon Nursery in Minnesota carries a dozen varieties of Asclepias seed, along with good information on its cultivation and its value as a native species. Other sources: (prairiemoon.com) and Swallowtail Garden Seeds in California (swallowtailseeds.com).
Police Discover World's Most Expensive Marijuana?
Posted 9/25/2009 9:40 AM MDT on CNJOnline.com
$6,000 an ounce? Lol!
Police in Texas just made a remarkable discovery that could potentially turn the domestic marijuana industry upside down. Although a recent drug raid only turned up a single marijuana plant, officers determined that it is the most valuable marijuana ever reported. According to Sheriff Thomas Kerss, this type of marijuana has a street value of $6,000 per ounce! window.onload=WorldNowRenderEmbedVideoPlayer616844 That's some very impressive pot. According to the government's own data, collected by the National Drug Intelligence Center, high-grade marijuana prices top out at around $7,500 per pound in high-value markets. That's around $470 an ounce. Similarly, the marijuana magazine High Timesestimates the average price of high-grade marijuana at $428 per ounce in August 2009.
As you can see, the marijuana just discovered in Texas is more than 12 times as valuable as anything currently on the market. Even the hippies at High Times have never heard of anything like this, but maybe that's because the police are doing such a good job keeping it off the streets.
***** Or maybe the police lied about how much it's worth. After finding only one little pot plant in a big dramatic drug raid, they wildly inflated the value of their drug seizure in order to make newspaper headlines. It's happenedbefore, although this is by far the most laughably outrageous marijuana price ever claimed by police in the three years I've been documenting this behavior.
At $6,000 an ounce, that would mean one little joint costs $200. A dimebag would be invisible to the naked eye. It just doesn’t make sense, which is why I refuse to believe it's an honest mistake when cops say stuff like this. Narcotics investigators buy drugs all the time so they can arrest people for selling to them. They know the market well and if their estimates come out all crazy, it's because they're trying to impress people with the fruits of their filthy labor.
But the stupidity doesn’t end there. Lying about the value of marijuana rather obviously encourages people to grow it. If these guys really gave a heck about "winning" the war on drugs, they wouldn’t be running around in the middle of an economic crisis telling people you can make thousands of dollars from a single marijuana plant. Nonsense like that could quickly blow up in your face.
Unless, of course, the people who get paid a good salary and benefits to bust marijuana growers actually want more people to do it. Say it ain't so.
