It is just good fortune that there were not serious injuries. How could the coach allow such tactics? Perhaps Coach Kit Vela did not know what was happening. Then she should not be coaching at this level. If she knew what was happening and allowed this conduct to continue, she should not be coaching.

Catherine Forsythe

“… the study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, titled “Social Isolation and New Technology,” found people’s use of mobile phones and the Internet is actually associated with larger and more diverse social networks.

“When we examine people’s full personal network… Internet use in general and use of social networking services such as Facebook in particular are associated with more diverse social networks,” the researchers said in a statement.”

link: Technology doesn’t isolate people: U.S. study

You might have more social connections in different time zones than your own. It’s just becomes a bit more difficult going out for a walk with some of these people.

Catherine Forsythe

related link: even China is taking an easier approach to those spending loads of time online: China bans physical punishment for Internet addicts

“… Elena Bodnar, who lives in Chicago, got her start as a scientist in Ukraine, when she witnessed the devastating effects of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in 1986. She noticed, among other things, that women were wearing bras that may have been lacy but were certainly not life-saving.

At the ceremony, Bodnar demonstrated her invention, which she said could have prevented people from breathing in Iodine-131 in the wake of Chernobyl. She graciously gave pink bras (each of which can turn into two gas masks) to actual Nobel laureates…”

link: Introducing the bra that is meant to be taken off

It is amazing that there is a sudden interest in gas masks.

Catherine

“… Today marks the 40th anniversary of children’s TV show Sesame Street.

To celebrate, Sesame Street’s website has been running a contest, where visitors can vote for their favorite episodes from the the show’s impressive four-decade public television run.”

link: Big Bird goes Google for Sesame Street’s 40th birthday

Happy Birthday, Sesame Street! It’s a childhood home for so many of us.

Catherine Forsythe

“Harvard students will be able to watch the “The Wire” for class credit next year.

At a panel last night, stars of the HBO hit series joined Harvard professors in discussing the applications of the show—which depicts the struggles of urban life in Baltimore—in understanding and combating real urban social issues.”

link: HBO’s “The Wire” Earns Credits

So for some Harvard students, they are not wasting time in front of the television. They are doing course work.

Catherine Forsythe

The video is over eight minutes. It is just brilliant.

Catherine Forsythe

If that is the case, then you might want to bookmark this post. It will give you a scientific, witty response to those people. You are not wasting your time and just tapping away at your keyboard. You are in the process of ‘brain training’:

“… you’ll get extra benefits in the form of improved cognitive dexterity and better short-term memory. So says a study presented today at the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in Chicago.”

link: Internet use may help you search and find…a healthier mind

The study does not specify which sites to visit. You’re on your own there.

Catherine Forsythe

“A jury on Wednesday found that the maker of Louisville Slugger baseball bats failed to adequately warn about the dangers the product can pose, awarding a family $850,000 for the 2003 death of their son in a baseball game.

The family of Brandon Patch argued that aluminum baseball bats are dangerous because they cause the baseball to travel at a greater speed. They contended that their 18-year-old son did not have enough time to react to the ball being struck before it hit him in the head while he was pitching in an American Legion baseball game in Helena in 2003.”

link: Mont. jury awards $850,000 in aluminum bat lawsuit

The accident is indeed tragic. However, it simply begs that question of whether a warning on the aluminum bat would have protected the pitcher. Apparently, a jury in Montana thinks it would have.

Catherine Forsythe

These critics may want to review the case of Jenny Paton is the United Kingdom:

“… the intrusions visited on Jenny Paton, a 40-year-old mother of three, were startling just the same. Suspecting Ms. Paton of falsifying her address to get her daughter into the neighborhood school, local officials here began a covert surveillance operation. They obtained her telephone billing records. And for more than three weeks in 2008, an officer from the Poole education department secretly followed her, noting on a log the movements of the “female and three children” and the “target vehicle” (that would be Ms. Paton, her daughters and their car).

It turned out that Ms. Paton had broken no rules…”

link: Britons Weary of Surveillance in Minor Cases

Ms Paton broke no rules. There was an intrusion into her life in a search for some wrong-doing. Suspicion is sufficient. There does not have to be just cause.

One of the best examinations of the “nothing-to-hide” argument was presented by Professor Daniel J. Solove, from the George Washington University Law School. One of the premises of the nothing-to-hide argument is that belief that innocence can withstand any examination.

In theory that may be true. However, there is a shift of approach. Now, the paradigm is suspicion until innocence is proven. An example of that is the search and seizure of electronic equipment at border crossing, without just cause.

Similar to Jenny Paton, many people will have intrusions into their lives. The lack of wrong-doing has to be proven. At one time, there was the presumption of innocence. Those days are long gone. The admonition of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas has been set aside. Justice Douglas cautioned that “the right to be left alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms”. And that is privacy.

Catherine Forsythe

“… Gizmodo says the “malware” was on its site “for a little while last week”. Its announcement did not specify the nature of the problem, but some attacks are now able to infect some Windows machines simply when an advert is viewed. Others flash up warnings that encourage people to download and pay for programs that claim to protect them from fake viruses.”

link: Gizmodo, world’s biggest gadget website, hit by malware in ad

No legitimate security program would try to market their programs through pop-up warnings.

Gizmodo is not giving out much detailed information. However, just to be sure, update the latest definitions for your security programs and scan your computer. And, if you don’t know what that means, then you might want to read Chris Pirillo’s security article.

Catherine Forsythe