For Japanese Math Wizards, It's a Mind Game

The Washington Post

By Ginny Parker, Dec 15, 2000


For Japanese Math Wizards, It's a Mind Game; Contestants Test Skill on Invisible
Abacus


The contestants sit hunched over bare tables, some in sweat shirts, some in
neckties. A small audience watches quietly, while judges pace the floor.


Suddenly, a teenager's had shoots up and shout breaks the silence. "Done!" he
calls out, and passes his answer sheet to a moderator.


Within seconds, Hiroaki Tsuchiya has multiplied in his head a list of numbers
that would make an accountant's head spin. How does he do it? On an imaginary
abacus, just as merchants, students and others have done throughout Asia for
centuries.


Today, despite computers and calculators, the technique survives as a strenuous
workout for the brain. Teachers say almost anyone can master it, although it
takes hours of practice, mental dexterity and extraordinary powers of
concentration.


"If you space out, you lose," said Tsuchiya, who at age 13 recently became the
youngest winner of a Kyoto tournament where Japan's best mental mathematicians
display their amazing feats.


Tsuchiya, for example, takes only a few moments to figure out the quotient of
992.587318 divided by 5,647.723.
more »

Stanford Accelerator Uncovers Archimedes' Text

Posted by timothy on Sunday May 22, @12:49AM
from the 2-quarts-olive-oil-1-bunch-grapes-goat-milk dept.
AI Playground points to a Newsday.com report which reads in part "A particle accelerator is being used to reveal the long-lost writings of the Greek mathematician Archimedes, work hidden for centuries after a Christian monk wrote over it in the Middle Ages. Highly focused X-rays produced at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center were used last week to begin deciphering the parts of the 174-page text that have not yet been revealed." more »

KnowledgeNews :: Your Home for Learning on the Web:

"Luke, I told you to do your science homework!"


He's baaaack! Unless you've been living in a galaxy far, far away, you've probably heard that the final installment of Star Wars opened just after midnight on Thursday--28 years after Darth Vader and Co. first flashed across the silver screen. All over America, die-hard fans waited in huge lines to see Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at early morning showings.


We love a science fiction thrill as much as anyone, but we can't help noticing that, in Hollywood, the fiction often gets the better of the science. So, to restore balance to the media force, we're sending some simple science correctives. (Just don't blurt them out during the show!



Today's Knowledge

The Top 5 Science Fiction Foul-Ups



Every science fiction movie has them: stupendous scenes of movie magic that sacrifice science on the altar of special effects. Here are our top 5 science fiction foul-ups--common movie scenes where science takes a holiday so we can get our fix of big-screen thrills.


1. No Ear Plugs Necessary


The Scene: The big impressive spaceship flies across the screen, emitting an equally impressive rumble of powerful engine noise. Or maybe just that really cool TIE fighter howl.


The Problem: These ships are moving in space, which is a vacuum, and sound can't travel in a vacuum. It takes matter to propagate the energy waves that we perceive as sound. So the sound of any ship in space is the sound of silence. (Call it the Garfunkel Effect.)


2. This One's a Dud


The Scene: A deadly firefight in space rages until someone goes down in flames, complete with incredible explosion and massive ball of fire.


The Problem: Most explosions are based on combustion, a chemical reaction that requires oxygen to take place. Of course, there's no oxygen in space. You can't even light a match out there, let alone set off stunning fireworks displays.


3. Think Jellyfish


The Scene: Our heroes enter a seedy space bar, full of strange alien life forms. Yet chances are they've got tables and chairs at which to nurse a beer, because the aliens look, and sit, pretty much like us.


The Problem: Our own little corner of the cosmos sports life in all shapes and sizes. Of the millions of species on Earth, only a small fraction look much like us. The odds that the bar crowd on completely different worlds would evolve to look like we do are pretty slim.


4. Set Phasers on "Slow"


The Scene: Science fiction's chosen weapon is the laser. Phaser, blaster, whatever you want to call it--it's a blast of energy fired from a gun. Whether it's dueling ships or dueling pistols, the bad guys get their due in a blaze of beams flashing across the screen.


The Problem: The energy in these weapons doesn't behave like real energy. Energy travels at the speed of light--far too fast for your eyes to follow it in beautiful blue and red beams.


5. "I'm Going Retro!"


The Scene: Squadrons of starfighters duel in a dogfight that puts Top Gun to shame. Inevitably, somebody gets a bad guy on his tail, desperately declares he "can't shake 'em," and, well, see #2.


The Problem: Spacecraft don't fly like planes. Because space is a vacuum, there's no need to maintain "lift," and no "drag" to slow you down once you get going. A starfighter in a dogfight could easily use retro rockets to spin around in mid-flight and blast the guy behind him, all while "vectoring" in the original direction.


Christopher Call and Michael Himick

May 18, 2005


Want to learn more?

Visit the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

http://www.sfhomeworld.org/

THE MOUSE THAT ATE THE PUBLIC DOMAIN:

Disney, The Copyright Term Extension Act, And eldred V. Ashcroft

By CHRIS SPRIGMAN



Unless you earn your living as an intellectual property lawyer, you probably don't know that the Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Eldred v. Ashcroft, a case that will test the limits of Congress's power to extend the term of copyrights. But while copyright may not seem inherently compelling to non-specialists, the issues at stake in Eldred are vitally important to anyone who watches movies, listens to music, or reads books.

If that includes you, read on.


Mickey Mouse Goes to Washington

Demise of a hard-fighting squad

Marines who survived ambush are killed, wounded in blast

By Ellen Knickmeyer

Updated: 4:38 a.m. ET May 12, 2005


HABAN, Iraq, May 11 -
The explosion enveloped the armored vehicle in flames, sending orange balls of fire bubbling above the trees along the Euphrates River near the Syrian border. more »





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Information Technologies industry in North Carolina

NCTA is the primary voice of the Information Technologies industry in North Carolina. NCTA is dedicated to growing and strengthening the IT industry through increasing public awareness and influencing key public policy issues. We provide our members the opportunity to network with other industry leaders, share information on critical technologies, and promote their companies. Learn more!







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Charlotte Oracle Users Group

CLTOUG BYLAWS


ARTICLE I


NAME


The name of this corporation shall be the Charlotte Oracle Users Group, a not-for-profit business association organized under the laws of the State of North Carolina of the United States of America (hereinafter "CLTOUG”)


ARTICLE II


PURPOSES

Section 1. Not for Profit. CLTOUG is organized under and shall operate as a North Carolina not-for-profit business association.


more »


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Lebanese Political Journal

More on Aoun

The web is blazing with commentary about the recently returned General Michel Aoun.
Here's some more fuel for the fire.
I disagree fundamentally with the claim that Aoun is bad because he killed people.
I differentiate between good war and bad war.
Amal fought very bad war. Jumblatt fought bad sometimes and good sometimes (kind of like his political opinions). Aoun was like Jumblatt. In Lebanese terms, Hezbollah fought good far more than bad.

The reason Aoun and Hezbollah get along so well is because they are both nationalist parties fighting for nationalist causes, although using different allies.
Was President Hafez al Assad better than Saddam? Can Hama (where Assad massacred tens of thousands) be compared with Kurdistan (where Saddam gassed his people)? Can the Lebanese war be compared with Kuwait?

I think going through such lists leads to frivolity.
Aoun did kill, as do all field generals in combat. He was employed to do so. His assignment was to defend his country. When all leaders were gone, he took orders from himself.





more »






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'They Came Here to Die'

Insurgents Hiding Under House in Western Iraq Prove Fierce in Hours-Long Fight With Marines

By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, May 11, 2005; Page A01


JARAMI, Iraq, May 10 -- Screaming "Allahu Akbar'' to the end, the foreign fighters lay on their backs in a narrow crawl space under a house and blasted their machine guns up through the concrete floor with bullets designed to penetrate tanks. They fired at U.S. Marines, driving back wave after wave as the Americans tried to retrieve a fallen comrade.


Through Sunday night and into Monday morning, the foreign fighters battled on, their screaming voices gradually fading to just one. In the end, it took five Marine assaults, grenades, a tank firing bunker-busting artillery rounds, 500-pound bombs unleashed by an F/A-18 attack plane and a point-blank attack by a rocket launcher to quell them.



more »











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Wireless developers plan to meld Bluetooth

Plan comes at crucial time for developing technology

Minutemen end border watch, plan to expand

Gov. Schwarzenegger praises group heading to CaliforniaBy Brock N. Meeks
Chief Washington correspondent
MSNBC
Updated: 11:32 a.m. ET May 4, 2005WASHINGTON - The month-long volunteer effort by a grassroots citizen group monitoring illegal immigration along a desolate 23-mile stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border ended much as it started: in a war of words.

more »

U.S. unprepared for nuclear terror, experts say

Evacuation plans available to public, first responders faultedBy John Mintz

Updated: 7:21 a.m. ET May 3, 2005When asked during the campaign debates to name the gravest danger facing the United States, President Bush and challenger Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) gave the same answer: a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists. more »

President Bush Honors Volunteers on Earth Day

On April 22nd, President Bush traveled to Tennessee to promote volunteer service and environmental stewardship on Earth Day (continue..)


"Yigaquu osaniyu adanvto adadoligi nigohilvi nasquv utloyasdi nihi"

Cherokee - "May the Great Spirit's blessings always be with you."

Justice Information Sharing Resource Directory Now Available

- The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in conjunction with the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices' Homeland Security and Technology Division, has created a resource directory of tools that support the development, design, and implementation of strategies to improve justice information sharing. The principal objective of this initiative is to correlate justice information sharing tools with various identified steps in the justice information technology (IT) integration process.




HOMELAND SECURITY E-Procurement Purchase Orders for Terrorism Grants

The National Security Agency/Central Security Service

has served as America's codemakers and codebreakers for over 50 years. At no point in the Agency's history has it been more important to share information about its rich legacy and to educate the public on its missions to protect our nation.


The NSA/CSS Public and Media Affairs Office works closely with elements throughout the Agency, to include the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) Office and the Center for Cryptologic History, to provide accurate and timely unclassified information in response to public and media requests.


In addition to answering specific queries, NSA/CSS regularly releases information to the public in the form of hard copy and electronic press releases, congressional testimony, public speeches and briefings, special reports, Freedom of Information Act releases, and declassification intiatives.


NSA/CSS understands that its long-term success is absolutely dependent upon the nurturing of future generations of U.S. cryptologists. Thus, the Agency is totally committed to continual learning and development for its current workforce, and reaches out into the community with a plethora of educational programs for students of all ages. Programs aimed at developing and recruiting the best and the brightest computer/electrical engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, linguists, cryptanalysts, and signals analysts in the world. » More

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Administration ends largest counterterrorism exercise everNo glaring deficiencies found in national prevention and response capability, but final results will take months to process.


UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Management of Internet Names and Addresses



Free Web Seminar!Achieving Performance Management Success in the Public Sector:
Lessons Learned from the FieldIn this one hour session featuring Carl DeMaio, president and founder of the Performance Institute, a government-focused non-partisan, private think tank, learn how organizations like yours have navigated the performance management battlefield to achieve success in today?s performance driven environment. Register Today!




World Trade Center 9/11 Investigation Could Result in New Generation of Building Safety and Fire Prevention CodesThe nation's leading developer of building safety and fire prevention codes will use findings from an investigation into the World Trade Center attack to better understand what led to the towers' collapse and develop construction guidelines... More




Loy Testifies Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

"We have dramatically improved our technical ability to share information. Tools such as the Homeland Security Operations Center, the Homeland Security Information Network, and the Homeland security Advisory system are steps toward full capacity and capability."




Cybersecurity Standardization Moves Forward - Compliance with the 2002 Federal Information Security Management Act is an expensive and frustrating process for agencies. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has launched a task force on cybersecurity standardization to identify problems and solutions for cybersecurity risks, improve cybersecurity processes, and reduce costs by eliminating duplication. The task force will analyze various elements, including training activities, threat awareness, program management, and the implementation of security products.
...More News

For additional information please visit Wooran's Web World Development.

...More interesting tips on safety on the Internet

This page is far from complete - if completion is even possible.
Wooran's Web World Development Resources shall continue to evolve for many years to come.


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Stephanie Beach Charron Copyleft


107 Circle Drive, Jacksonville, North Carolina 28540




Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the

GNU Free Documentation License

NC Department of Crime Control and Public Safety:

AMBER Alert Cancelled for Two Georgia Children
The AMBER Alert issued in North Carolina this morning for two missing Georgia children has been cancelled. The Clayton County Police Department in Georgia has advised North Carolina authorities that the children have been recovered safely.

A Guide to Small Claims Court

Choosing A Complaint Form
Before you file your lawsuit, you must fill out a complaint form. The clerk of court has different complaint forms for different kinds of problems. The three most commonly used forms are:

* Complaint for Money Owed*
* Complaint to Recover Possession of Personal Property
* Complaint in Summary Ejectment (used by landlords).

* [The Complaint for Money Owed is described in detail in
the next section.]

If you want to get back some property which is in dispute, you should use the Complaint to Recover Possession of Personal Property. On that form, you as the plaintiff must say if you are a "secured party" or not. A secured party is usually a finance company or other institution of some sort rather than an individual. If you have a written statement that you may repossess property if payments are not made according to an agreed upon schedule, then you are a secured party.

Landlords use the Complaint in Summary Ejectment form to collect back rent or evict tenants. This form is fairly complicated to understand both for landlords (the plaintiffs) and tenants (the defendants).

If none of the standard forms suits your exact situation, you may write your own complaint. Be sure to state what your claim is and include the type of information.

How to Fill Out "Complaint for Money Owed" FORM

* Step 1. If you are filing the suit, put your correct full name as plaintiff, with your address and telephone number, if any. You must include the name of your county.

* Step 2. Put the person's full name being sued as defendant, with the address and telephone number, if any, and the county where the person lives.

If you are suing a business, you must find out if it is a corporation or not. If the business is a corporation, you list the correct name of the corporation as the defendant. Your complaint and summons must go to the "registered agent" of the corporation, or to an officer, director, or managing agent of the corporation. If the business is not a corporation, you list the owners of the business as the defendants. For more explanation of businesses as defendants, see the appendix.
* Step 3. List the name and address of your attorney, if you have one. If you don’t have an attorney, leave this blank.
* Step 4. List the county where you are bringing this lawsuit.
* Step 5. After "Principal Amount Owed," put the exact amount of money which you claim the defendant owes you. If you are claiming interest on this money, put that amount on the next line. Add the two figures to get the "Total Amount Owed."
* Step 6. In the sample complaint form, note the choices of boxes the plaintiff may use. You can check a box and fill in the information on the line next to the box. Or you can check "other" and describe the purpose of your suit.
* Step 7. Sign and date the complaint. If you have a lawyer, he or she may sign it.

American copyright law got Charles Dickens down

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in MGM v. Grokster, a case that pits music and movie companies against Grokster and StreamCast. Both companies have made programs that let users share files online, including copyrighted music, movies, and TV shows.

At issue: whether the companies that make such programs should be held accountable when people use them to infringe someone else's copyright. Many in Hollywood say "yes." Many in Silicon Valley say "no." We say, "time to take a look at the history of copyright."


Today's Knowledge
Copyright Noticed



Ever since William Caxton sold England's first printed books in the 15th century, laws have been passed to regulate publishing rights. But the first publishing laws had as much to do with the crown's rights to censor ideas and collect revenues as with the rights of authors or publishers.

In fact, in the old days, authors hardly had any rights at all. Booksellers who published original works enjoyed what amounted to perpetual monopolies over them. The booksellers, not the authors, could even pass exclusive rights to profitable original works down to their heirs.

Queen Anne's Authorial Rights

That remained the case in England until the Statute of Queen Anne went into effect in 1710. This landmark act, the first full-fledged copyright act in the English-speaking world, said that authors should own the copyrights on their creations.

The statute also established that copyrights should expire after a certain period--in most cases, 14 years, with a one-time-only option to renew for a second 14-year term. That limitation helped create the public domain, the collection of creative works that have passed out of copyright and are now free for all to use and distribute.

The Colonies' Copyright Theft

The Statute of Queen Anne protected authors in Great Britain, but not in America. During the 18th century, American booksellers regularly sold British writers' works without permission (the wily Benjamin Franklin was one prominent offender). Still, America's founders clearly took copyright seriously. Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution says Congress can "promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries."

The United States passed its first major copyright law in 1790, but it protected only native authors. During the 19th century, American publishers continued to sell thousands of copies of British books without permission--and without ever having to pay their authors or legitimate publishers a penny.

Hugely popular British writers like Walter Scott, Benjamin Disraeli, and Charles Dickens tore their hair out in frustration as cheap pirated editions of their novels flooded the American market. Dickens protested against such piracy when he visited America in 1842, but many Americans didn't want to hear it. Piracy meant cheap British books.

The League of Copyrighted Nations

Eventually, the need for international copyright agreements became clear, and in 1886-87 a group of nations signed the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Each country agreed to extend its domestic copyright protections to any author from any of the other signing countries. One notable holdout was the United States, which didn't join until 1988 (though it worked out bilateral agreements with many nations years earlier).

The U.S. Congress passed the Copyright Act of 1976, which established the basic term of protection as the life of the author plus 50 years. In 1992, copyright renewal was made automatic, which prevented the copyright on many works protected before 1978 from expiring. In 1998, the term of protection was extended again--to the author's life plus 70 years, unless the work was made for hire or was anonymous or pseudonymous, in which case it was protected for 95 years after its publication.

Why so many extensions? For one thing, the heirs of early-20th-century authors--like, say, Walt Disney--aren't anxious to see their copyrights expire. Nor do they want to see their intellectual property shared at the click of a mouse.

Jeffery Vail
March 30, 2005

Want to learn more?
Browse a timeline of copyright history
http://arl.cni.org/info/frn/copy/timeline.html





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Toshiba's New Battery Recharges In One Minute

Toshiba announces a new lithium-ion battery -- the type used in virtually all laptops -- that recharges 60 times faster than current batteries.

TechWeb News



Toshiba on Tuesday announced a new lithium-ion battery -- the type used in virtually all laptops -- that recharges 60 times faster than current batteries and loses less than one percent of its capacity after 1,000 recharges.

The new battery can be refilled to 80 percent of capacity in one minute, Toshiba claimed, significantly less time than the one-to-four hours needed for lithium-ion batteries now in use.

According to Toshiba, the secret's in the negative electrode. "Nano-particles prevent organic liquid electrolytes from reducing during battery recharging," said Toshiba in a statement. "The nano-particles quickly absorb and store vast amount of lithium ions, without causing any deterioration in the electrode."

The Japanese technology giant said that it expected to put the new batteries into play in 2006, initially in automotive and industrial applications. One use, Toshiba said, would be within hybrid vehicles, which store power generated when, for instance, the car decelerates.

Toshiba said it would move the new batteries into consumer electronics applications, such as laptops and cameras, at a later date.