For the entire cartoon, click here.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Where the Internet came from
Inventing the Internet
I attended a fascinating conference last week in DC, the 20th anniversary celebration of the National Information Technology Research and Development program (NITRD), a 15-agency cooperative mission launched in 1992 to coordinate federal R&D around information technology.
Funded as a consequence of the 1991 High-Performance Computing Act (a/k/a the “Gore Bill”), this was the funding that created the backbones of the internet, and persuaded the admins of ARPAnet and NSFnet and the other smaller networks to join in creating the single internet that we know today.
If I was King of the Dark Skies....
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| Parshield hoods for outdoor spotlights |
Since, as I've often said, I am an astronomy buff and love Charlestown's night time sky, I really would like to see us make sure we preserve it. I don't doubt the sincerity of many of the advocates of the proposed ordinance in wanting to preserve the night sky vistas.
Dr. Lew Johnson has fought for this issue for years. The problem is that this latest ordinance proposal isn't going to get the job done.
Inconvenient Truths about the YMCA's Appraisal
More details about false assumptions that jacked up the campground's price
By Will Collette
On Friday, I presented information from the $735,000 YMCA campground appraisal that had been conveniently overlooked by Charlestown Land Trust officials when they pitched the YMCA land purchase deal to the Town Council on February 13.
As the appraiser himself admits, the "new" appraisal value presented at the February 13 meeting was based on hypothetical circumstances "known to be false."
In this article, I will explore some of the many reasons the appraisal presented before the Town Council was a gross misrepresentation of the YMCA Camp's real world value.
Last Friday, I wrote about the biggest factor that produced a $735,000 appraisal figure - assumption that the land was going to be re-zoned residential and that a 10-home conservation development would be built on it.
On Friday, I presented information from the $735,000 YMCA campground appraisal that had been conveniently overlooked by Charlestown Land Trust officials when they pitched the YMCA land purchase deal to the Town Council on February 13.
As the appraiser himself admits, the "new" appraisal value presented at the February 13 meeting was based on hypothetical circumstances "known to be false."
In this article, I will explore some of the many reasons the appraisal presented before the Town Council was a gross misrepresentation of the YMCA Camp's real world value.
Last Friday, I wrote about the biggest factor that produced a $735,000 appraisal figure - assumption that the land was going to be re-zoned residential and that a 10-home conservation development would be built on it.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Science bits and bytes
A Practical Blueprint for a Low-Carbon Electric World?
New report presents “transformative” technologies to wean world from fossil fuel-based electricity.
Writing Classes at The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center
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| Weaver and writer Grace Farrell at the loom |
The Carolina Fiber and Fiction Center was started by weaver Jan Doyle of Wakefield and writer Grace Farrell of Charlestown.
We have been writing about their course offerings and we are pleased to announce that Ms. Farrell is starting a new series of writing sessions on Tuesdays from 10 am until noon, starting March 27.
Cracking Down on deadly drivers
Rep. Donna Walsh introduces bills to improve legal tools to stop bad drivers
Representative Donna Walsh (Democrat, District 36) has introduced H-7178 and H-7179 to make it easier to identify serious repeat offenders and impose harsher penalties for drivers who drive under the influence and either kill or seriously injure another driver.
H-7178 introduced by Rep. Walsh in cooperation with Attorney General Peter Kilmartin would increase penalties and simplify sentencing for drivers convicted of DUI with serious injury or death resulting. Under Rep. Walsh’s legislation, the penalty for DUI, death resulting, would be a 5 to 30 year prison sentence, $5000 to $20,000 fine and license revocation of 5 to 10 years. For causing serious bodily injury, the penalties would be 1 to 20 years in prison, $1000 to $10,000 fine and lost of license for 2 to 5 years.
Once more into the Dark Sky
For the 357th time, the Planning Commission will discuss proposed Dark Sky Ordinance
By Will Collette
For once, it looks like the Charlestown Planning Commission has set itself a manageable agenda for its upcoming February 22 meeting. That’s this Wednesday. The “new” items on the agenda are three housing development plans – two have been hashed over before.
For once, it looks like the Charlestown Planning Commission has set itself a manageable agenda for its upcoming February 22 meeting. That’s this Wednesday. The “new” items on the agenda are three housing development plans – two have been hashed over before.
The other major item is the Planning Commission’s Advisory Opinion to the Town Council on the Dark Sky Ordinance (Ordinance #347) the Planning Commission sent to the Council for a hearing and vote. That ordinance was bumped from the jam-packed and tumultuous February 13 Town Council agenda where the $475,000 YMCA deal was approved, largely based on ANOTHER Planning Commission Advisory Opinion.
Having been burned by the Planning Commission on Y-Gate, I think it’s important to make sure the Advisory Opinion and proposed Ordinance #347 are honestly portrayed. As the cliché goes, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Give to the Jessica Ahlquist scholarship fund
Help make her future better than her present
By Will Collette
Jessica Ahlquist is a brave young woman who took a wildly unpopular stand for her principles in Cranston. Her lawful challenge to the Cranston prayer banner was an affirmation of the First Amendment on several levels, not just the separation of church and state, but the right of free speech and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
But since she took her stand, she has paid a heavy price - hate mail, social shunning, death threats and more.
There is an effort afoot to give her a head-start on her adult life - probably someplace other than Cranston, by raising money for a college fund.
Jessica Ahlquist is a brave young woman who took a wildly unpopular stand for her principles in Cranston. Her lawful challenge to the Cranston prayer banner was an affirmation of the First Amendment on several levels, not just the separation of church and state, but the right of free speech and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances.
But since she took her stand, she has paid a heavy price - hate mail, social shunning, death threats and more.
There is an effort afoot to give her a head-start on her adult life - probably someplace other than Cranston, by raising money for a college fund.
Politics, Perpetrators and the Plight of Women
Angelina Jolie's "In the Land of Blood
Angelina Jolie's writing and directorial debut "In the Land of Blood and Honey," snubbed by the Oscars and screened in very few U.S.
"Blood and Honey" hinges on a personal relationship between a man and woman from opposing sides of the Bosnia
The Real Social Security Crisis
It may be difficult to face facts in an election year, but the fact is that Social Security retirement benefits are just too low.
President Barack Obama is ready to support "reforms" to "strengthen" Social Security, he declared in his State of the Union address. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels thinks we need "repairs" to make Social Security more "affordable," he said in the Republican Party's official response.
Neither Obama nor Daniels got down to details. But it's a good bet that their reforms and repairs to strengthen Social Security and make it more affordable won't lead to higher retirement benefits for America
Un-Presidential Primaries
Despite the Santorum speed bump, it seems certain now that Mitt Romney will be the eventual nominee.
Breaking news: Republicans have found their long-sought alternative to Mitt Romney.
Surprisingly, it's Mitt Romney.
Remember the old Mitt Romney? That white-shoe Republican who was all for health care mandates? Who favored reproductive choice and who was no enemy to gay rights — that Mitt Romney?
Earth Care wants Nitrogen....NOW!!!
RI’s Compost King Needs Nitrogen
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Racist Double Whammy
African Americans are disproportionately impacted by the Great Recession and the Great Disenfranchisement.
Last one hired,
First one out;
That's what bias
Is about.
First one out;
That's what bias
Is about.
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