Blog

The “Double Beef Patti” at Serpas True Food ($13) in the Old Fourth Ward is not so much a hamburger as it is a small building.

Though it was too dark on the patio for me to get a good picture of the actual burger eaten, this publicity shot is essentially what we had — minus the green frills and the upside-down top bun. The middle slice of bread on ours had compressed into something that looked like one of those novelty dry sponges that spring into form when you put them in water.

And I mean this in a good way: it was nicely absorptive.

The curious spelling must surely be a reference to the first line of Patti Smith’s “Gloria” — i.e., “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine” — because this burger is the very picture of gluttony. Maybe chef Scott Serpas can enlighten me.

Despite its verging-on-preposterous height, this burger is neither too drippy nor too plumped with slide-about ingredients. So if you are able to open wide and not risk lockjaw, it is possible to eat with …

Facebook wants to own the web. Specifically, Facebook wants to own your web. In fact, Facebook wants to become the web, it wants to be in every page on every site. It wants to be your news source, it wants to recommend movies or music or even people you might like, it wants to be your shopping platform, it wants to be your gaming platform, it wants to serve yo… (read more)

One of the surprising benefits of KFC’s Double Down wonder sandwich is its lack of calories — 540 for the fried version and 460 for the grilled.

Those figures are from KFC. CityRag is challenging them, insisting the Double Down is actually packing 1190 calories.

I’d take KFC at it’s word, if only because the Double Down seems shockingly small once you finally get ahold of it, especially after you’ve built up visions of wretched excess in your mind and shelled out $5 for something far, far short of a foot long.

Who do you believe?

Kentucky Fried Bullsh*t [Cityrag]
(Thanks, Jarred!)

Moody’s downgrades Greece from A3 to A2. It’s almost over.

We’ll just bring you this updated euro chart since it’s the only real story.

Join the conversation about this story »

[JURIST] A US military panel in Iraq on Thursday acquitted Navy SEAL Julio Huertas of any wrongdoing in connection with the alleged assault of a high-profile Iraqi detainee. A six-person jury found Huertas not guilty on charges of dereliction of duty and impeding an investigation for taking no action while a fellow SEAL allegedly punched and kicked Iraqi prisoner Ahmed Hashim Abed. US authorities believe Abed to be the mastermind behind the 2004 Blackwater contractor killings in Falluja. A US military judge ruled in January that Huertas’s court-martial would be held at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq, so that Abed could testify against him. Two other Navy SEALs, Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Keefe and Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew McCabe, have also been charged in connection with the incident, and their trial is scheduled to begin Friday.
Detainee abuse has been a major issue during the Iraq war. In September 2008, the UK Defense Ministry admitted the unlawful abuse of nine detainees and announced monetary compensation. Three British soldiers were ultimately convicted, and dishonorably discharged. In 2005, another Navy SEAL was charged with assault, dereliction of duty, and conduct unbecoming of an officer stemming from the treatment of an Iraqi prisoner. Abuse of detainees during the Iraq War first garnered international attention after the 2004 release of pictures depicting prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Hey kids! Do you have a Palm Pre or Pre Plus? Do you long for a little extra oomph? Some extra glide in it stride, spring in its step, and dip in its hip? Are you aware that overclocking hacks exist, but are fearful of how difficult they are to implement? Are you still listening? Good, because I have some fantastic news!

Some of Pre Central’s finest have created what they call the Super PreKernel App, which is a dead-simple way to bump the speed of your Pre or Pre Plus up to Superman speeds, or down to snail’s pace, as you see fit.

They’ve even gone and created a video detailing the whole process, illustrated with the very metaphors you just read, and complemented by a classic soundtrack to boot. I’ve embedded it below for your enjoyment.

The overclocking process is now dead-simple, so you might as well read the disclaimer and get going.

Details and instructions are available here.

[via Engadget]

Image adapted from:

If you have read anything about Android, you will know that it is an open-source style platform, which means that development for the Android is pretty common, and many people have come up with some amazing things for it — including custom ROMs.  But the process and sheer number of available ROMs can be rather scary. Some great developers have created an application that essentially has become a one-stop shop for all your custom ROM needs. Read on after the break.

read more

The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased by 0.7% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a pretty major change from February’s 0.6% decline. It’s also higher than the consensus forecast of a 0.3% rise. Does this indicate that inflation is ramping up? Probably not.

First, PPI is a rather volatile statistic. The following chart from BLS demonstrates this point:

As you can see, there’s no trend that appears to be forming. Most of these big swings are driven by energy and food price, which tend to move around more than other prices. In March, they were up 2.4% and 0.7%, respectively.

It’s more useful to look at the more stable core PPI, which strips out those factors. In March, core PPI was nearly flat with a 0.1% increase. That matched the increase for February and the consensus forecast. The following chart shows how less erratic core PPI has been, using the same vertical bounds as the chart above:

Core PPI has only risen by more than 0.3% for one month in the past year. That shows pretty stable prices. This continues to support the argument based on the consumer price index that inflation is not much of a worry at this time.

Note: All statistics above are seasonally adjusted.

For somebody old enough to remember PBS before “fair and balanced” news, last night was a shock.

“Energy: the Big Gamble” on PBS Nova contained blatant lies about the pending climate legislation in California. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, Pacific Life, David H. Koch… This is the same Koch family, that makes its billions off oil and gas, that Greenpeace found had spent $25 million from 2005 to 2008 funding  climate denial. This show was designed to scare US voters, and initially, California voters who now face the oil industry’s ballot initiative to put a stop to pending climate legislation, AB32 to move the state to a clean energy economy.

The message of the NOVA piece is that moving to a clean energy economy is just too risky. To drive the message into our subconscious, the show itself is called “Energy: The Big Gamble” and each time the narrator intones on the terrors of climate legislation, dice are shown being rolled (by uncaring hands) to show you just what a risk is being taken with your life. Tremble, Californians!  Some unseen gambler is messing with your livelihood.

Two segments contained particularly self-serving lies for the oil and gas industry now battling the climate legislation in California. In one segment about all the problems they claim will come with clean energy, they actually insinuate that California has blackouts – supposedly because we have too much renewable energy!
(more…)

They may not be sure if monsters did in fact steal the princess, but developer Mediatonic knows for sure that Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess will be on today’s PlayStation Store update as a downloadable minis title.
 
 
 

Princeton Review recognizes colleges for their green practices through research that will guide applicants that are seeking a sustainable school practicing what they preach. …

… “Other highlights include Appalachian’s 2009 installation of the largest wind turbine in the state, a commitment to LEED certification for all new construction, and renovations or retrofitting of current buildings. Appalachian’s commitment to sustainability also includes projects funded through the student initiated Renewable Energy Imitative, a $5 a semester fee that has funded installation of photovoltaic and solar thermal panels on several campus buildings, and provided half the cost of installing the wind turbine located near the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center. ” …

Via Appalachian State University: Green colleges

Exemplary green schools:

• The Princeton Review Guide to 286 Green Colleges: “This is a guide to 286 U.S. colleges and universities that have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to sustainability. “
• Green Guide to Colleges: “The Princeton Review noted that another unique aspect of the Guide is that it provides important information on schools that have dedicated environmental studies curriculums. “

This guy has hacked his iPhone so it runs Android. In fact, he can choose to run either the iPhone OS or Android. It only works on the original 2G iPhone and it’s a little buggy, and not recommended that casual users try it, but the future could hold implementations on the 3G and 3Gs. Apple’s secret garden just got further pried open.

As commenter pecan 3.14159265 points out:

Well, now everyone who has a 2G and has to upgrade to a new iPhone to get firmware and hardware updates has a use for their old 2G!

Android running on iPhone! [Linux on the iPhone]

For the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, organizations around the world are sponsoring events, new publications, and programs. In the U.S., the Earth Day Network is sponsoring two full days of events on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on April 24th and 25th. See updated coverage of Earth Day at Google.

Perhaps one particular focus on Earth Day should creating a plan for addressing the massive garbage patches in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. According to an article in The Huffington Post, “Our Plastic Ocean Turns Forty,” there are now “continent-sized bowls of plastic soup” floating in the oceans. The Pacific Garbage patch, just one of eleven major gyres, says Ocean Trust Film, “covers an area approximating ten million square miles, […] roughly the size of Texas.  It contains approximately 3.5 million tons of trash, including shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bottles too numerous to count.  First discovered in 1988, the size of the patch has roughly doubled in the last five years.”

Plastics in sea water attract bacteria and absorb polychlorinated biphenyls. Continual wave energy breaks plastics into tiny plastic components eaten by fish, which are then eaten by people. In other cases, the garbage that hasn’t been broken down also causes major problems for sea life. On this year’s Earth day, a whale found dead off the coast of Seattle was found to have more than “50 gallons in volume, from hand towels, surgical gloves, duct tape to sweat pants,” in its stomach. The local news station’s Web site says the whale was feeding off the coast. 

The Huffington Post argues that Earth Day launched a real movement. In the U.S. alone in 1970, more than 20 million people participated in Earth Day events. However, since then, plastic production has only exploded. “Use of single-use disposable plastic and plastic pollution grew exponentially. The plastics industry stepped on the gas, hired lobbyists and marketers and did their thing. Profits from plastics soared. Life became more ‘convenient’.” In return for convenience, The Huffington Post says, we’ve gotten massive garbage patches.

Some scientists are working on alternatives to plastics.  While recycling can lead to reuse of many plastics, they can only be down-cycled, and fossil-fuel-based break apart after continual recycling. There aren’t currently any “cradle to grave” fossil-fuel based plastics. Wikipedia lists a range of bioplastics or organic plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable oil, corn, or various starches. However, many of these new technologies haven’t scaled up so the costs remain high.

Regulatory or legislative action on plastic waste products may be part of the solution. In the world of technology, the EU’s WEEE-ROHS system has helped ensure hazardous elements in electronic products are captured and reused since 2003. The European Union describes the system: “The legislation provides for the creation of collection schemes where consumers return their used e-waste free of charge. The objective of these schemes is to increase the recycling and/or re-use of such products. It also requires heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) to be substituted by safer alternatives.” The EU is also exploring expanding WEEE-ROHS so it can tackle the ”fast increasing waste stream of such products.” Perhaps a similar system is needed so that fossil-fuel-based plastic components are designed to be fully recycled, and any waste biproducts are addressed early in the design and manufacturing process. 

There has also been a towards turning waste into energy through incineration. If plastic and other wastes can’t be recycled, perhaps they can produce new energy. While incineration has taken off across the European Union, landfills remain popular in the U.S.

The New York Times describes Denmark’s cutting-edge incinerator technology and its benefits: “Far cleaner than conventional incinerators, this new type of plant converts local trash into heat and electricity. Dozens of filters catch pollutants, from mercury to dioxin, that would have emerged from its smokestack only a decade ago. In that time, such plants have become both the mainstay of garbage disposal and a crucial fuel source across Denmark, from wealthy exurbs like Horsholm to Copenhagen’s downtown area. Their use has not only reduced the country’s energy costs and reliance on oil and gas, but also benefited the environment, diminishing the use of landfills and cutting carbon dioxide emissions. The plants run so cleanly that many times more dioxin is now released from home fireplaces and backyard barbecues than from incineration.”

Across Europe, there are now 400 of these plants turning garbage into energy. Most of these are located in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands. In comparison, the U.S., a country of 300 million people, has less than 90 plants, even though the E.P.A. now classifies burned waste as a renewable energy eligible for subsidies.

On the other side, there are legislative and regulatory efforts to attack demand for plastic bags and other common applications of plastic. In Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and other U.S. cities, there are now taxes on plastic bags (see earlier post). Some countries, like China, Russia, Uganda, Ireland and South Africa, have announced total bans on plastic bags. However, this needs to occur worldwide to get plastic materials out of oceans. According to The Times of India, around 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide. India’s plastic waste alone is around 4.5 million tonnes a year. This is the result of every day use by every Indian citizen: 10 to 12 plastic bags are used each day in every Indian household.

Lastly, however infeasible, some designers are trying to turn those massive ocean garbage patches into usable resources. Rotterdam’s WHIM Architecture came up with an impractical but interesting idea — “Recycled Island,” a plan to turn those continent-sized floating garbage patches into habitable islands. Good magazine writes: “the island would be built out of the muck already out there polluting the Pacific, which would clean the ocean of the debris and also put that waste to use. Ridiculous, yes. Impossible, probably.” But can this floating ocean garbage be turned into a renewable resource?

Add your thoughts. How would you address plastic supply and demand?

Also, check out Ocean Trust Film.org, a group working with the producers of Super Size Me, to create a documentary on the Pacific Garbage Patch.

Image credit: Ocean Trust Film

I joined the late Sen. Gaylord Nelson’s (founder of Earth Day) staff just out of college, shortly after the celebration of the second Earth Day in 1971. He instilled in me a passion for the environment that lives within me to this day.

The project began when Nelson called two of his senior aides into his office in September, 1969. He had just returned from Santa Barbara right after the horrific oil spill off the California coast. He was outraged by the environmental devastation and political inertia in Washington. He had read in the local newspaper about teach-ins on the Berkeley campus against the war in Vietnam and had an idea. He told his staffers, “See what you can do about having environmental teach-ins on college campuses around the country on the same day next spring.”

On April 22, 1970, about 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day (a record for any event of any kind at that time). Sen. Nelson was justifiably pleased. He had made protecting the environment his career and it seemed that the United States, then the world’s chief polluter, was ready to lead an ‘environmental’ revolution. Not quite.

The first project the Senator assigned me was to call the “Top 100” Fortune CEOs and encourage them to recycle. It took some time (no internet then) but I completed my task. Two things stand out about that experience. First, I got through to 98 of them (directly or they called me back). Second, all of them either hung up on me or laughed and then hung up (Today, not one of those companies, still in existence, would tell me that they don’t recycle in some capacity).

One of those senior aides, John Heritage, wrote in the Madison (WI) Capital Times recently, “Unfortunately, the ecological health of our nation and much of the world has deteriorated in the last four decades. We now face…a warming world climate, degradation of the oceans, decimation of tropical forests, and the loss of habitats and species.”

To honor Gaylord Nelson and his profound understanding of ecological limitations, it is imperative that we work together to find ways to implement a more environmentally favorable system of human living.

About the author: John Larmett has worked in the Office of Public Affairs since 2008. He worked for Sen. Nelson from 1971-80.

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Motorcycle

Valentino Rossi, widely acknowledged as the greatest motorcycle racer of all time, may have a second career on something with more than two wheels. As diehard MotoGP and Formula One fans are already aware, the Italian superstar has proven to be just as fast around a race circuit when piloting a Ferrari F1 car as he is on his Yamaha motorcycle, and the Scuderia has made numerous overtures to The Doctor in an effort to get him to cross disciplines.

Apparently, outgoing Fiat Group Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo reiterated once again earlier this week that it would love to put Rossi in the driver’s seat of one of its scorching red F1 cars, saying:

We want a third car [in F1 next year] and I would do everything to have Valentino… When he wins this year’s MotoGP, enough is enough, he must also win in Formula 1.

So, is it going to happen? We have no idea, but there is some conjecture that if Rossi continues his winning ways by capturing his tenth World Championship on two wheels, it might make the decision to try his hand at F1 a bit easier to make.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2009 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Motorcycle Daily]

Ferrari reportedly still pursuing Valentino Rossi for F1 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Over at the very fine TaxVox blog, Howard Gleckman writes a good explanatory piece on the current VAT debate. But this one  part really struck me:

Our current revenue system has reached its breaking point. To fix our terrible budget problem, we are going to have to cut spending. But we are also going to have to raise more revenue. And for the life of me, I don’t understand why we wouldn’t want to do so in the most efficient way possible. And that may lead us to a consumption tax in one form or another, Senate resolutions notwithstanding.

Me:  That was directed at conservative critics of the VAT.  Now from what I can tell, plenty of conservatives would have no problem with a VAT if it a) replaced the income tax and b) was designed to boost tax revenue by boosting economic growth.  And as far as a way of increasing the tax burden, the budget cuts are going to have to come first. Optimize government, try to quick the pace of GDP growth and then raise taxes if necessary.

Mark Reuss – President, GM North America

According to General Motors President Mark Reuss, the Detroit automaker is close to hiring lower-paid hourly workers and accelerate the production of popular vehicles that are in short supply due to strong demand. Reuss said that any hiring depends on further recovery in vehicle sales.

Reuss statement came just hours after GM Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre Jr. touted a $257 million investment in plants in Kansas and Michigan to produce the next-generation Chevrolet Malibu.

Click here to get prices on the 2010 Chevrolet Malibu.

Reuss did not specify a hiring timeline or identify which plants may be getting additional workers. However, before GM hires low-paid employees, it will have to call back a nationwide pool of 4,000 to 5,000 workers.

Under an agreement reached in 2007 with the United Auto Workers, GM is allowed to hire new lower-paid workers for $14 an hour and less-generous benefits than veteran workers.

Since coming out of bankruptcy in July 2009,GM has invested $1.5 billion in 20 U.S. and Canadian facilities and has created or restored 7,500 jobs, including 900 at its Fairfax plant in Kansas.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

Barbara Bodine

KNOXVILLE — Barbara K. Bodine, a retired U.S. ambassador to Yemen — the reputed land of the Queen of Sheba, home of the three wisemen and burial spot of Cain and Abel — will discuss the future possibilities of the United State’s relationship with Yemen on April 28.

Free and open to the public, the event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Toyota Auditorium at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, 1640 Cumberland Ave. Her appearance is sponsored by the Baker Center and the Center for International Education through its Great Decisions Program. Funded by the Ready for the World initiative, Great Decisions has brought a series of speakers from around the country to UT this semester to address our nation’s most pressing foreign policy issues.

Since the failed Christmas bombing attempt over Detroit, Yemen has reappeared on the American radar as a terrorism threat and much has been written on the country’s poverty, governance inadequacies and security challenges. Bodine will talk about whether Yemen is the next front in the war on terror, or an opportunity to commit the resources, people and will to help Yemen change course.

Bodine is a lecturer and diplomat-in-residence at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where she teaches courses on the Iraq War, U.S. diplomacy in the Persian Gulf region and Yemen. She also serves as the director of the scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative, an intern and fellowship program for students pursuing careers in federal service.

In the U.S. Foreign Service, Bodine spent more than 30 years focusing on the Arabian Peninsula and greater Persian Gulf issues. From 1997 to 2001, Bodine served as an ambassador to Yemen, and in spring 2003, she was the senior State Department official and the first coalition coordinator for reconstruction in Baghdad and the central governorates. She also has had several assignments in the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

Since leaving her governmental career, Bodine has been a senior fellow at the Kennedy School of Government and the Robert Wilhelm Fellow at MIT. Bodine is a regular commenter for PBS NewsHour, CNN, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other media.

—

C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, [email protected])

It has been a little over two weeks since the explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, which killed 29 people in the worst mining accident in 40 years. On Sunday, President Barack Obama heads to Beckley, West Virginia, for a memorial service for the miners. Last Friday, Massey Energy (MEE), which owns and operates the mine, filed its annual proxy, at 5:01 p.m.

That’s one day after the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail published its conversation with Massey CEO Donald L. Blankenship, who reported that the company would pay the families of those 29 miners five times their annual pay, plus lifetime income for the widows, health insurance for 20 years or more and $5,000 a year for child-care. (Article and transcripts at the link; Massey says families don’t have to settle potential legal claims to receive benefits.) Here’s an excerpt from one of the transcripts posted by the Daily Mail:

“Blankenship: I’m always careful to say that they will be OK financially. I think that they will be OK if we get past the trauma and the other issues. They will get sizeable life insurance payments because it will be about five times their pay. They’ll get a workers comp check, and we will make up any difference between their workers comp amount per month and their straight time pay at Massey for life for widows. We will pay for childcare, I think, up to $5,000 a year for so many years. I don’t know each detail, but the life insurance, the ongoing medical coverage are a minimum of 20 years, in some cases for life. Full pay on a straight-time basis, large life insurance, the funeral expenses that you mentioned. So the benefits by any measure are very good. We’re very proud of the benefits, although we realize that doesn’t help much.”

That may seem generous, even in the face of the lawsuits that have already begun, but it’s a fraction of what Blankenship himself would be entitled to in similar circumstances. His family or heirs would have gotten $8.4 million if he had died on Dec. 31, according to the proxy.

That figure — roughly nine times Blankenship’s $933,369 salary last year — includes a $4 million cash death benefit, as well as accelerated stock awards and options. Perhaps most curiously, it also includes a “Special Successor Development and Retention Program” perk: “the title to a company-owned residence valued at $305,000,” in Sprigg, West Virginia — and $212,168 to make up for income taxes due on receiving the house. (See the post Michelle wrote a little two years ago about the house.) Massey’s investor relations contact, Roger Hendriksen, didn’t respond to questions about the death benefits sent by email.

We couldn’t immediately track down just what the house looks like, but we imagine it’s pretty nice: Searches at multiple real-estate Web sites didn’t turn up many homes on the market in Mingo County for more than about $170,000. A profile of Blankenship by Bloomberg News — which also recounts an ugly unemployment-benefit dispute with a former maid — suggests it’s located on the grounds of the company’s Rawl Sales & Processing Co., in his home county of Mingo near the Kentucky border, in Hatfield & McCoy territory.

Life insurance, of course, is often seen as a safety-net for widows and orphans, and it can certainly be just that. For those in the corner office, however, it has a tendency to morph into a sort of all-purpose perk. Blankenship’s heirs would get $4 million if he dies on the job, but when he retires — he’s 60 years old and eligible for full pension benefits at 62 — he could also choose to continue that benefit at Massey’s expense. Or, if he prefers, he can take $1.1 million cash at age 65, or $2.2 million paid out over 10 years at $18,241 a month.

All that, of course, is on top of the $5.7 million in pension benefits he is entitled to, and the $27 million he has accumulated in his deferred-compensation account.

By contrast, Massey said in a recent 8-K filing that it expects its entire second-quarter charge for the Upper Big Branch Mine tragedy to approximate $80 million to $150 million, “for charges related to the benefits being provided to the families of the fallen miners, costs associated with the rescue and recovery efforts, insurance deductibles, possible legal and other contingencies.”

Elsewhere, others have analyzed Blankenship’s pay, and how he stood to benefit from certain safety measures even as the company faced a blizzard of violations from mine-safety regulators. (The company has been fighting many of those citations and the related fines, and Blankenship told the Daily Mail that the company doesn’t put profits over safety.)

We’re glad to read that Massey seems to be making an effort to help the miners’ families, though it wouldn’t surprise us if reasonable people concluded the company should pay more. But it’s also clear that, when it comes to the company’s top executives, Massey Energy will spare no expense making sure “that they will be OK financially,” whatever happens.

Image source: public.resource.org via Flickr