Friday afternoon. Time to read a couple of journal articles. Nah, time for some online exploration.
LifeHacker describes an interesting image search tool – Pixolu. It works like this.
1) You enter a term and locate images related to that search term.
2) Based on the image collection returned, you then select a prototype image you like and Pixolu searches for images that are more similar to the prototype.
3) You then move to the location of images that suit your need/interest.
Today, Grand Forks’ Valley Middle School participated in the Mock election.
Students were given individual logins, connected to the polling site, cast votes for national and local contests, completed a survey on important issues, selected priorities issues to be addressed if funds are tight, and selected a miracle president for the next 4 years by selecting among presidents of the past.
The Wall Street Journal presents some data on recent iPhone sales that is quite intriguing.
Ownership of the iPhone rose 48% from June 1 to the end of August among households earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a year, compared to 21% overall …
Some speculated that Apple would be differentially harmed by an economic downturn because of the focus on more expensive products. Perhaps more expensive is better if one product can substitute for many.
I must add my usual complaint. North Dakota is part of the U.S. – it would be nice if we could buy iPhones too.
“Colleges and universities are entering into very difficult financial times — and access and quality are likely to remain at great risk”
I had a sense this was coming. Tuition has been going up consistently and we hear more and more criticism from the public. In the past, I was not that sympathetic to complaints about tuition increases. It really depends on how you crunch the numbers. Tuition dollars represent only a fraction of what it costs to fund public higher education. As states offer less money, students and parents must pick up the slack. The total cost per student changes far less drastically than one might assume from watching the increase in tuition. Lower taxes and the burden for higher education falls more heavily on the families of college students. As pressure from those most directly impacted mounts and the system within any given state becomes noticeably inferior to other states, one hopes that those who make such political decisions intervene. What happens, however, when everyone goes into a recession?
Explaining why a pay as you go system is unfair and why higher education offers broader advantages to a state and the nation than is directly manifest through those who benefit as students is difficult. Part of the explanation concerns equity and the unfairness to bright individuals who happen to grow up in families with limited means. We all don’t start life with the same chance to be happy and productive. Part of the explanation concerns the general value of the relatively inexpensive research and scholarship that drives economic development, medical advances, and cultural opportunities. Business and industry do R&D within a very narrow range and even this commitment is one of the first thing cut when budgets are threatened.
Public institutions in North Dakota are competing for a shrinking pool of in-state students. Distance education offers some opportunities, but most institutions have looked to this alternative at about the same time. Let’s hope that student loan money is part of the “bail out”.
Daughter Kim spent the summer + working in Ketchikan and continues to follow developments in Alaska even though she is now back in MSP in graduate school. She just sent me a link to a Newsweek article authored by the mayor describing the “bridge to nowhere”. I kind of met the mayor. Actually, he was heading into his favorite bar while I was walking past. We passed within a few feet. Close enough to meeting a politician for me. According to my daughter, the mayor is very approachable and it would have been fine to start a conversation.
I understand the position of the mayor. When your there is described as nowhere by so many, it must be irritating. Perhaps living in North Dakota has encouraged this level of empathy.
I even understand where the bridge was supposed to be. We arrived on the island across the water from Ketchikan on the last flight of the evening. We boarded the boat (translation – a ferry) with the other passengers, pilots, crew, and airport workers and headed across. If the bridge to nowhere went to somewhere, I could have taken a taxi.
The New York Times reports that the Christian Science Monitor has decided to terminate the hard copy edition and try to make it online (with the addition of a weekend magazine).
“We plan to take advantage of the Internet in order to deliver the Monitor’s journalism more quickly, to improve the Monitor’s timeliness and relevance, and to increase revenue and reduce costs. We can do this by changing the way the Monitor reaches its readers.”
The article also indicates that sales have trended downward for 40 years. A video from major players at the Monitor offers a very informative account of trends faced by print publishers and their thinking in trying to make the move before other papers with a national distribution.
Sometimes, the idea of change seems remote and speculative. Sometimes, the idea hits you up alongside your head.
This post is time sensitive. CodeWeaver is offering some free software TODAY ONLY. See this post from Slashdot for an explanation. Pretty funny and I assume a legit explanation. Use your own judgment.
I downloaded CrossOver Mac Pro (a program allowing Windows programs to run on the Mac without the installation of Windows) and I was successful in running Picasa (a free program for the Windows OS resembling iPhoto).
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