Continuing to read the book that inspired the Patriot Missile post, I looked up a YouTube video for the Challenger space shuttle explosion and found the above result. I know that this was a fairly significant moment in our space program and the collective conscious of the United States, but I’m not sure I had seen until this morning.
Click to continue reading “Challenger Explosion”
Share ThisAccording to the FT, Google and Facebook are going to try and compete with one another more directly by making forays into one another’s core territories.
Google is planning to give Gmail users a way to aggregate the updates of their various contacts on the service, creating a stream of notifications that would echo the similar real-time streams from Facebook and Twitter, according to reports.
According to a report on the tech website TechCrunch, Facebook is planning to upgrade this messaging service to compete directly with Gmail and other internet-based mail systems.
Click to continue reading “Two Bad Ideas”
Share ThisFor an Information Systems class I am reading a book that has a chapter on the debate about the effectiveness of the Patriot Missile system during the first Gulf War. The chapter is interesting and goes over how different groups presented the effectiveness of the system during and after the war.
After doing a little searching around Wikipedia and YouTube I found this video which shows CNN footage from early on in the Iraq War with a SCUD heading toward a major American base. The Patriot Missile having been improved since the 90’s, automatically recognizes the attack and takes out the SCUD. For something so hotly debated after it’s initial adaptation as a missile defense system, interested parties definitely responded to criticism and improved the system.
The video is about 6 minutes, but worth watching if you have any interest at all.
A slump in financial stocks sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its first close below 10000 in three months as concerns about the global economy and U.S. interest-rate policy simmered.
Here is a question no amount of searches on Google will help answer: Why did Google choose the one product it doesn’t need to advertise for its first Super Bowl commercial?
No commentary here, just some food/articles for thought!
The question to ask about the president’s eye-popping budget, also rolled out last week, is whether it prepares the country for its future—or shackles it to past decisions that our leaders would rather not confront.
This quote from an article written by the dean of the Columbia Business School summarizes many of my feelings on the subject of the size and budget of the U.S. government. Most of you probably heard recently about the $3.8 trillion Obama budget with future ‘plans’ for reducing the deficit. As I have said many times on this blog, budget deficits and national debt do not concern me too much. It certainly does not worry me nearly as much as a major meltdown of our financial system (which it appears has been avoided). But in the long-run a growing national debt can pose problems for the economic health of a nation. The analogous situation for an individual seems obvious:
Click to continue reading “Concern for Our Future”
Share ThisToday, I just started watching the TV show Archer, created by the same group that made Frisky Dingo and Sealab 2021. Considering how hilarious I find Frisky Dingo, I’m not terribly surprised that I find the humor similar and just as funny.
The show just started this winter on FX, which also marks the first time I’ve actually watched an FX show…a surprising environment for Archer, in my opinion. The show revolves around a secret agent, Archer, and his agency ISIS. Unlike the incompetency of Xander Crews from Frisky Dingo, Archer actually has some legitimate secret agent skills. The frequent mistakes that he makes, though, like hiring call girls and taking drugs, often come close to ruining missions, but miraculously turn out okay. Several points of tension play out in the show, including race and sexual harassment in the office, serious topics treated with little pretension.
If you enjoy Sealab and/or Frisky Dingo, definitely watch Archer. If you haven’t seen either, give Archer a view. Archer is more accessible than either of these shows and should get a good reception. The first season is still in progress now.
Until moving to London, I made a frequent point of cooking and trying out new things. Partly, as a result of cooking for a girlfriend who is less likely to settle for pasta or rice every night of the week. Moving to London resulted in losing both cooking facilities and utensils that I had previously relied on. With a set of knives and sauce pan left from last year’s residents I have managed to get by so far.
Over winter break, I decided that I needed to step up the cooking game. Considering that I eat 90% of my meals at home, a little effort could go a long way. Also, living in a part of London with almost immediate access to the Borough Market, an abundance of fresh ingredients are at my disposal.
For my first foray back into cooking, I decided to take inspiration from what has been my staple – pasta. A good meat sauce is my favorite addition to some properly cooked pasta and parmesan cheese. Additionally, a traditional ragu sauce requires several hours of cooking, legitimizing this as a real attempt at making something.
Two recipes, found online, guided this experiment. The first provided the outline for the ingredients and steps, the second provided some guidance on using fresh tomatoes instead of canned. All of the ingredients, aside from salt, pepper, olive oil, and wine were purchased from the Borough Market in Southwark, London.
Note: I make no claim to the authenticity of this recipe and the list of ingredients is largely inspired from the first recipe (linked to above).
400g x Ground Beef
100g x Streaky Unsmoked Bacon
24 x Vine Tomatoes
1 x Large Onion
3 x Garlic Cloves
3 x Bay Leaves
1 x Rosemary Stalks
Red Wine
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
The vegetables and herbs were purchased from Elsey and Bent and the meat was purchased from the Ginger Pig, both within the market.
1. Chop the tomatoes into smallish cubes (I list this first because it will take a while and you don’t want to leave everything else on the burner too long)
2. Turn a stove burner on medium heat and place a large pot on it (large enough to fit all of the ingredients)
3. Pour about two tablespoons of oil into the bottom of the pot (eye this up, enough to cook your onion, garlic, and bacon in)
4. Finely chop the onion, garlic, and bacon. Place these ingredients in the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Avoid over-cooking the garlic.
5. Add the tomatoes, about a glass and a half of wine, the bay leaves, and the rosemary.
6. Cook for about 2.5 – 3 hours, stirring every half hour. Add a bit of oil if the sauce sticks to the pot. If the sauce seems quite thick about an hour in add a dash of wine, but don’t overdo it.
7. Add basil, salt, and pepper in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Enjoy! Serves 6-8 people.
Roger Federer won the Australian Open this morning 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (13-11). The first two sets, it was clear that Fed was dominating play in this match. Murray looked frustrated initially and frequently made motions toward his knee and quadricep. The Scot turned things up for the third set, breaking Federer early, but Fed fought back to force the tiebreak. Throughout the match Federer looked fairly calm, even when the set was within reach of Murray.
Being in the UK, I was able to enjoy this evening match (Melbourne time) in the morning. The match was definitely a bit of a nail biter at the end, but I was happy to see Federer come out with his 16th grand slam victory. Playing a tiebreak to 13-11 is tough, but both players looked strong throughout it. I’m sure we have more to see in the future from Andy Murray. At the end, Federer looked genuinely elated to win this match.
At points, any Zelda game can be painstaking to get through. Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks can be downright embarrassing. Sitting on the plane or train blowing into the spirit flute does not usually make you look particularly cool. But I fought through the temples, bosses, and annoying puzzles.
Two temples away from the end, I accidentally erased my saved game. All of the progress…gone. Not sure if I will play again. Definitely need some time away from that game now.
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