Lack Knowledge About Cyber Security Issues

A study released yesterday indicates 25 percent of teachers are uncomfortable teaching students how to protect themselves online despite the mandate in the No Child Left Behind Act that all students be digitally literate by the 8^th grade.  Of the 1,788 educators polled, 90 percent have received less than six hours of professional development about cyber security in the last year.

A two-year-old already working the computer. A great tool with a great responsibility. Photo courtesy of Jean Macado

Children ages 10 - 14 spend more time on the Internet than watching television, but only the states of Georgia, Illinois, Tennesee and Virginia have educational curriculum requirements that include cyber security.  The precautions normally taught include protection measures for online predators, cyber bullies and identity thieves.

The study conducted by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology, Policy Research and Outreach also indicated that 60 percent of educators are interested in learning more about cyber security issues.

Although many are highly concerned about online sexual predators, a bigger problem for children is cyber bullying that affects more children and is one the rise.  A report from the Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC) at the University of New Hampshire indicates that online harassment has risen from six to nine percent for American children ages 10 to 17 during the period from 2000 to 2005.  Read more …

Pew Forum Research Indicates Democrat Made Headway

President-elect Barack Obama made considerable progress among religious voters according to a report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.  Surprisingly, some of the greatest gains were seen among those who attended church more than once a week, Catholics and - hold on to your hats - white evangelical Protestants.

The 2008 Democratic candidate fared better among almost every religious group than Senator John Kerry (D-MA) did in 2004.  Obama successfully retained and increased traditionally Democratic supporters among the faithful and made significant in-roads among groups that traditionally support Republican candidates.

Catholics who favored Bush in 2004 by a five-point margin switched their allegiance to Obama in 2008 by a nine-point preference over McCain.  The overall change favoring the Democrat apparently came from Latino Catholics who voted in overwhelming numbers (67%) for Obama.  White Catholics remained faithful to McCain, but the margin dwindled from 13 points in 2004 to only five points this year.  Read more …

A Proposal

As discussion about a second stimulus package begins, Writer to the World^TM would like to put forth the idea of a cap-and-trade system to revive our economic engine of consumerism.  The seed of the following proposal was first put forth by a commenter to my last story about bailouts, but I’ve since refined it to work across the economic spectrum.

An economic stimulus package that simply throws money at everyone doesn’t maximize the amount of cash actually finding its way into circulation.  The system needs an incentive to both improve the number of circulating dollars and limit the cost to the treasury.  The emissions cap-and-trade system that stopped acid rain serves as an excellent model of efficiency that may be applied to the stimulus package.

Under the emissions cap-and-trade system, companies are permitted a set of allowances for emissions every year.  They may purchase additional emissions tolerance from businesses that are below the maximum cap.  If we apply the same logic to the stimulus package combined with a time limit for spending, we’ll likely generate far greater consumption across all sectors of the economy.

The government can issue numbered stimulus allowances that have value caps depending upon how they’re used.  A car purchase allowance can be worth as much as $1,000; for other durable goods the value could be $700; for non-durable goods the value may be $400.  All allowances expire within six months. Read more …

Bailout Bids Abound, but Where Will It End?

In the last two months of the Bush administration, bailout plans are at the top of lawmaker’s agendas.  A poll released yesterday indicates Americans support an automaker bailout of yet undetermined size by a nearly two-to-one margin, and on the same day the U.S. Conference of Mayors reiterated their call for a $24.4 billion bailout of their own.

A poll conducted November 11 - 12 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates found that 55 percent of Americans support government loans to automakers while 30 percent were opposed.  The main source of the support is the belief by 60 percent of those polled that an automaker collapse would result in an economic depression.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill wrangling with the issue are uncertain about how to proceed.  Key Republicans seem opposed to the idea of lending a hand to automakers as Democrats draft an amendment to the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street.   Read more …

Analog Photos to be Digitized at Higher Resolution

The earth rises above the moon in this famous photo that stunned the world in 1966.

Yesterday NASA released a restored version of the iconic photo of the Earth rising over the horizon of the moon that was first taken in 1966 with analog technology and stored on large magnetic tape. The data was retrieved from the original tapes with the aid of newly restored tape drives and then enhanced with 2008 software.

The remaining images to be improved will be calibrated with mapping coordinates from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Research Program in Flagstaff, AZ. When NASA launches the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009 with a mission to map the moon’s surface, the older photographs will provide a baseline for comparison to indicate the changes of the last four decades. This information will be useful to assess the long-term risk to future lunar inhabitants from small meteor impacts and to establish mapping coordinates similar to the ones commonly used on earth.

The Lunar Orbiter Program of the 1960’s sent five missions to photograph the surface of the moon. The purpose was to get a better understanding of what awaited the Apollo explorers, because although there were theories about what to expect, no one knew for sure. Part of the reason for the spider-like appearance of the original lunar lander was to account for the possibility of the vehicle sinking a substantial distance into the surface. At the time, some theorized the soft, fine-grain of the moon’s surface could extend several feet down. Read more …

RecycleBank Expands Across U.S.

Recycling has been around for years in America, but the results have been marginal - until now.  RecycleBank of New York, NY has an economic model that works for everyone in the recycling stream, and they’re expanding rapidly.

RecycleBank weighs each recycling container it picks up from resident’s homes, and based upon an identification chip embedded in the container, is able to create an online account that accumulates points for every pound recycled.  The points can be used for product shopping ranging from groceries to spa trips. 

The results are nothing short of dramatic, and the reason is clear.  RecycleBank makes the system work for everyone in the chain.  Residents enjoy an increased disposable income that averages $200 - $300 per year.  Local businesses enjoy revitalized sales.  Communities reduce their landfill fees and earn income for the additional recycling of residents.  Haulers build brand recognition and loyalty.

It works for everyone.

Recycling rates in the communities RecycleBank operates in are up 100 percent, The company’s initial launches in Wilmington, DE, Fairfax, VA and Cherry Hill, NJ have saved more than 559,475 trees, 37 million gallons of oil, 200 million gallons of water and diverted in excess of 59,946 tons of landfill waste.

The company announced yesterday they’re expanding services into the Southern, Mid-Western and Western states of the U.S.  The new launches include Montgomery, OH; Sioux Falls, SD; Eden Prairie and Maple Grove, MN; Carrollton and Plano, TX; North Miami, FL; Wichita, KS; Albuquerque, NM and Knoxville TN.

“The value we are creating in the municipalities we service is fueling tremendous demand for our program,” CEO and co-found of RecycleBank, Ron Gonen said.  “This is an incredibly exciting time in our company’s history.”

RecycleBank has partnerships with several local and national haulers such as Allied Waste Services, Waste Connections, Republic Services, Novak Sanitary Service (a Waste Connections company), Rumpke Recycling, AAA Recycling, and Leck and Sons.

RecycleBank raised $30 million in financing in March of this year with the help of the Silicon Valley venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers that more than doubled the $13.1 million raised with the assistance of RRE Ventures and Sigma Partners the year before.

Wikipedia reports that RecycleBank is also a member company of a network of investors, environmental organizations and other groups known as Ceres.  The group’s stated mission is to “[integrate] sustainability into capital markets for the health of the planet and its people.”

In the interests of full disclosure, Writer to the World^TM has seen the RecycleBank operation work quite successfully in the neighboring town of Cherry Hill, NJ, and residents there are very pleased with the program.  I did volunteer work to promote the plan in its very earliest stages but have not had any contact with anyone at RecycleBank at any time.  This report was entirely generated by the company’s press release and independent research.

But let’s face it - a good idea is a good idea.  I’m happy the company is finding acceptance across the country and happier still to write about it here.

Innovative Wind Power Design for Homes & Businesses

The Windspire is the winner of the 2008 “Best of What’s New” Award from Popular Science Magazine. Congratulations to Mariah Power.

Popular Science magazine has awarded the “Best of What’s New” award in green technology to the Windspire wind power generator in the magazine’s upcoming December 2008 edition. The device suitable for urban, suburban and rural locations and is applicable to residential and commercial uses.

This is a second personal wind power solution to be featured at Writer to the World^TM that delivers at least 2,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electric energy per year. The average American household consumes approximately 11,600 kWh electrical energy per year according to a 2005 report from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Every fifth year of electrical energy for homeowners using only one unit of the technology would be entirely free.

Moreover these units are easily installed in tight quarters that make multiple units not only possible but quite practical. In ideal situations, the Windspire can be spread only eight feet apart, but the prevailing wind conditions are the ultimate deciding factor. Yet, there are remarkably low requirements for the amount of wind needed.

The Windspire can start generating electricity from a standstill position with a breeze as low as 9 mph, and the Helix can generate power at 8 mph. Additionally, the noise from these smaller units is negligible. Read more …

The Human Side of the American Presidency

Things are going to be pretty quiet around the U.S. until the next president takes office on January 20.  George W. Bush, the most unpopular president in recent memory and probably of all time, is unlikely to be able to do much more than tend to the Rose Garden. 

The president-elect has much planning to do, but at Writer to the World^TM there isn’t much fun in postulating about what kind of dog the first family is likely to get.  So, let’s cast an eye backward to the human side of past presidencies if for no other reason than to get a context for the upcoming term.

George Washington  First President  (1789 - 1797)

George Washington First President of the United States

Washington never represented a political party and was the only president to be elected unanimously.  James Monroe, the fifth president (1817 - 1825) received every electoral vote except one.  The holdout was a single New Hampshire delegate who wanted to preserve Washington’s legacy as a unanimous victor.

Washington never lived in the Executive Mansion, and was an avid collector and player of marbles - a passion he shared with Presidents John Adams (1797 - 1801) and Thomas Jefferson (1801 - 1809).

John Quincy Adams  Sixth President  (1825 - 1829)

America’s first professional journalist, Anne Royall, had several interview requests rebuffed by John Quincy Adams, but she remained persistent.   Royall knew Adams frequently swam nude in the Potomac River during the early morning hours.  Royall  gathered Adams’ clothes on the riverbank during one of his 5 a.m. swims, and sat on them until she was granted an interview. Royall thus became the first woman to interview an American president.

John Quincy Adams was the first son of a former president to be elected, which has since only be replicated by George W. Bush. 

Adams was also the first to be photographed, and fortunately for us all, it wasn’t during his skinny dipping swims. 

Martin Van Buren  Eighth President  (1837 - 1841)

Martin Van Buren Eighth President of the United States

Van Buren was the first American president born in the United States, a distinction that has since become a requirement for all subsequent presidential candidates. Earlier presidents were all born in colonies that became states after the adoption of the Constitution.

Van Buren’s political tag as “Old Kinderhook” is reported to be the root of the popular expression, “O.K.”  Van Buren’s hometown of Kinderhook, New York earned him the public moniker that was later shortened into O.K. when referring to the President.  It’s unclear how the term evolved into an expression of agreement. Read more …

Obama is a Good Poker Player

The last poker player in the White House was Richard Nixon who had among his compatriots’ renowned presidents that included Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Warren Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson.  Obama counts himself among their company.

The Obama campaign declined to answer questions about his early admission in the presidential campaign that his hidden talent was being “a pretty good poker player.”  Obama’s penchant for the game preceded his debut on the national stage however, and the games he hosted during his tenure as an Illinois state senator had a waiting list that included Democrats and Republicans alike.

Troops playing poker in Iraq. Please remember Mr. President-elect, the stakes of the game depend on where you’re playing. Photo by Jayel Aheram

Obama’s games were not high-stakes ventures.  The worst loser might give up $200, but the benefit of the game for the young politician was to transform his fellow politician’s perceptions of him as a hard-core liberal into that of a normal guy.

Poker has had a mixed recent history in America.  While the last six presidents have not had any connection to the game at all, its popularity has risen to gain televised coverage on major television outlets.  Poker advocates have even lobbied to have the game included in the Olympics, and although the effort failed, some believe the game will eventually be included.

Could Obama eventually become a gold medallist?  One can only hope so if the game’s reputed ability to transcend politics and provide a secure environment to be both straightforward and unthreatening is true.  Such a setting could serve the charming and highly intelligent president-elect well. Read more …

Sound Barrier Previously Broken by Land-Based Vehicle

In an earlier version of the story, North Americans Could Recapture Land Speed Record, it was incorrectly reported that the attempt by the North American Eagle team to reach 800 mph would be the first to break the sound barrier.  This was inaccurate, because the sound barrier is relative to ambient temperature and altitude.

At lower temperatures sound travels more slowly, and the speed required to break the sound barrier is consequently lower also.  The day the British team drove their car 763 mph at the estimated altitude of 2,000 feet above sea level, the temperature was 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which was sufficient to break the sound barrier with a recorded measurement of Mach 1.002. 

Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound, and anything above that exceeds the speed of sound.

At the time of publication Writer to the World^TM did not have all the data for the test run, and a standard measure for the speed of sound was used as the source for the statement. 

We apologize for any inconvenience.  The story has been since edited to remove any reference to the North American Eagle being the first land-based attempt to break the speed of sound.