Here is his TED speech. What is TED?

The Global Public Debt Clock referenced in the talk is here.

• for Windows Vista PCs
• for Windows XP
• for Macs

Wow! I don't know if the Canadian legal system has a tenant similar to "Innocent until proven guilty." (I could look it up...) I do really hope there is more evidence then what is suggested by the article. Considering the experiments I conducted at that age, I could have been locked up for creation / possession of explosives, alcohol while underage, violating FAA airspace, suspicion of terrorism, anarchy, plotting to overthrow the government and more I am sure.

Please don't misunderstand my next comment because I am quite unhappy and worried at hearing this story. But, if this had happen in our country I would yet another nail that I'd wish to put in Bush's coffin (Oh, that could add conspiracy to commit murder.) Plus, I would feel more compelled to do something about this were it here but, it is not a battle that I would want. I suppose I might have some influence even in another country but, I wouldn't expect much. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2009.html#Jan.03.2009@11:34:14 2009-01-03T11:34:14-06:00 "Why can't man be more like animals?" http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2008.html#Nov.08.2008@14:09:08 2008-11-08T14:09:08-06:00 Waving Hands User Interface - the Minority Report UI.

They claim to replace the keyboard but their demo doesn't show text input. I'd have to see that to believe it can do a better job than a keyboard. But, I would love to use this in place of a mouse or trackball. I think my wrist would be much happier at the end of a day of programming.

Some of the Slashdotters mention a drawback of having the shoulder strength to hold up one's arms for long periods. I agree that it would be tiring. That is another reason I doubt this would replace a keyboard. But, this doesn't need to be the case. People can type all day because they rest their elbows/arms on could their laps. The same could be done with a gestures. If you raise your hands but leave your elbows on your lap or desk when performing the gestures it would be much longer before your arms got tired.

I didn't want George W. Bush to be president in 2000 because he struck me as too untrustworthy and under-intelligent to hold the office. History seems to have done little to dispel that first point and only proved the second.

This does not even mention the different views we have. And when I say views I don't include morals which I don't think should have any place in political discussions. If somebody is amoral they should hardly be a candidate. And the presidential campaigning and vetting process should assure they can not end up in office. So, I assume a certain lack of amorality in the candidates.

Holding political office is about "serving the people". Note that people is plural. I don't think one's own personal morals should not come to into play. (Now this seems to totally go against historical precedence. One could argue that it is blatantly false based on the definition. I understand that but, this is a blog. You, my reader, must understand this is my view. And, if you want to broach the topic, I have many disagreements with the English language. That is something one Ms. Carrero can attest to.) If one holds some beliefs that strongly then they do not belong in office because, at best, they would constantly fight internal conflict when performing thier duties. More likely many of their decisions would be subtely if not blatantly bias. One with such convictions should start or champion a foundation/organization to further such views. They don't belong in

This is too widely reported for me to find an attribution but, I was rather struck by the thought that if Hillary Clinton ended up in the White house this election cycle we could end up with just two different families (immediate families non-the-less) holding control of the country for 24 years--ea quater of a century--a whole generation. That just seems like a bad idea to me. Please understand that I like Hillary Clinton but, that doesn't mean that I think she should be president. I like my brother but, I don't think he should be president either. (No offence.)

So, that is a brief context to my thoughts. I do my best to keep an open mind about candidates. I will consider one affilitated with just about any party. That said, I found this comment by Sean Carrol on the Cosmic Variance blog to be interesting:

[Sarah Palin] is a person who has no business being anywhere near a national ticket. Sufficient evidence for this conclusion comes from the words of her supporters, along the lines of: Sure, she's woefully underqualified, but in all probability John McCain will live for at least another four years! And if he doesn't, we're sure she will have the good sense to resign.

"The IPCC is a scientific intergovernmental body set up by the WorldMeteorological Organization (WMO) and by the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP). Its constituency is made of:"

• "The governments: the IPCC is open to all member countries of WMO andUNEP. Governments of participate in plenary Sessions of the IPCC where maindecisions about the IPCC workprogramme are taken and reports are accepted,adopted and approved. They also participate the review of IPCCReports."
• "The scientists: hundreds of scientists all over the world contribute tothe work of the IPCC as authors, contributors and reviewers."
• "The people: as United Nations body, the IPCC work aims at the promotionof the United Nations human development goals"

Glen speaking again. Wikipedia has a good description of the IPCC and some of the resultsof their latest report including some criticisms of the report. Ill let my readers decide if that iscredible enough to be believed.

Also of note is the potential for such research to spark internation conflict over the causes, culprits and clean-up of this situation. In the future wars about oil may be viewed as trivial... But, let's hope that is not the case. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2007.html#Oct.12.2007@20:56:03 2007-10-12T20:56:03-05:00 Gotta love it--NPR quote one hit for that quote. Note, in the image below that Google says the site was last updated 22 hours ago. But, when I click on the link and search the page for weight it is not there... Curious. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2007.html#May.01.2007@22:01:32 2007-05-01T22:01:32-05:00 The end of [human] telemarketers? http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2007.html#Feb.10.2007@11:21:23 2007-02-10T11:21:23-06:00 Need your "Zara fix" - Introducing the ZaraBar this link. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Oct.15.2006@12:35:54 2006-10-15T12:35:54-05:00 Do you think marathon runners are crazy? (yes, negative) degree temperatures, and ran for 350 miles--three days--straight without sleep.

And, yes he is human: Here is a professional evaluation, and proof: brief story or the detailed story

Most people cannot conceive of running a marathon let alone an Endurance 50 or E50. He plans to run 50 marathons... and as if that wasn't enough, to do it in 50 consecutive days, one in each of the 50 states of America. As of this writting he is currently running his 29th marathon.

Dean, my best wishes go out to you. You are an inspriation to everybody. And, that reminds me, I need to get back into my excercise regimen. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#May.16.2006@21:27:01 2006-05-16T21:27:01-05:00 Stilton perfume (yes, the cheese) -> Stilton (yes, stinky cheese) perfume. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Apr.12.2006@20:48:08 2006-04-12T20:48:08-05:00 God's Debris by Scott Adams (Dilbert's author--If you don't know Dilbert; I'm sorry) Gods Debris by Scott Adams --> "a religion/science book written by a cartoonist, using hypnosis techniques in the writing". I haven't read it so, I could not put it any better. And, after reading it I am not sure I will be able to improve upon that. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Apr.08.2006@23:06:05 2006-04-08T23:06:05-05:00 Non-dairy ... Milk? ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Apr.08.2006@22:36:04 2006-04-08T22:36:04-05:00 Zara update and pictures! YEAH!!! latest pictures of this beautiful girl follow this link.

Zara is maturing so quickly. Some recent notable events:

She has been sitting up unaided for about 2 months now, though she still needs help getting into that position.

Thuesday, 3/28 she first reached for daddy and mommy -- heart melting time.

That Thursday (3/28), she first picked up and started drinking from a bottle, while in a sitting position. This has become good thing for mom & dad when she consents to hold her bottle. Alas, she does still prefers that we do it, particularly if she is tired but, if she is hungry and we are dawdling she isn't shy.

The next day, Friday, 3/31 she stood up holding on to something for the first time. She was holding onto floor-length mirror and just having the time of her life with that beautiful baby she saw in it!

While we suspected it the previous weekend this past Friday, 3/31 was also the first time we can say for sure that she has become clingy to mom and dad. Though, she hasn't become shy around strangers (yet).

This has been an unbelievable week for little Z. On Thursday, 4/6 she stood for the first time without any type of support. And, it was on the couch next to me none-the-less! She is just amazing.

On Monday she had a check up and is doing well. 75% for heigh, 92% for weight, and about 90% for head size. None of that is unusual right before they crawl and we should expect it again just before she walks (though that maybe happening now also--keep reading) While she may be difficult to get to sleep we don't have any issue getting her to eat. The doctor found her [re]actions and curiousity to be precocious. She had three shots which was probably more difficult on dad than her. She is generally easy going, takes a bump on the head and continues on (except for the ones that leave red bumps for days--sorry Zara!) so, when she got the first shot she looked surprised and opened her mouth but she didn't cry. When she got the second one though she decided that she had had enough with the first one...

This week Zara has learned how to fall from a sitting position onto her back or stomach without injury and is working on crawling. She has progressed from absolutely hating being on her stomach to tolerating it, I think because she knows it is a means to learning to move around. She still would rather not be on her stomach (and usually doesn't last long there). She has also come to object to sitting--when you try to put her down (sitting) she will straighten her whole body as stiff as a board to try to get you to stand her up. She really likes standing! I think shed do that for hours if mom or dad had the patience. I get the distinct impression that she would rahter give the whole crawling thing a miss and go straight to walking. Either way, it is time for us to start thinking about what to do with that square glass topped coffee table (sharp corners). With the menace it has been to my shins, I can only imagine...

There are a lot of things about my pre-Zara life that I miss... but, I would not trade her in to have them back again. In addition to amazing, she is adorable, amusing, addictive -- and those are just the As off the top of my head! -- a just slightly proud father.

I am not going to get into Blockbusters "No more late fees"(instead you agree to purchase the video) campaign. I, at least, have had no involvement with that. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Mar.11.2006@13:07:40 2006-03-11T13:07:40-06:00 Diverse Eclectica Among the countys natural curiosities may be mentioned the "Ringing Rocks," on Stone Hill, three miles northeast of Pottstown. They consist of trap rocks, exceedingly hard and compact, which on being struck with a hammer, ring like iron. These rocks are piled one on another, and cover about one and a half acres of ground, within which no trees or bushes are found growing. It is supposed that the largest rocks would weigh from five to twenty-five tons each, and some of the apertures are visible to the depth of twenty-five feet. A number of impressions can be seen on them, among which are three closely resembling the human foot, from three to six inches in depth; also a number resembling the tracks of horses, and elephants, and cannonballs from six to twelve inches in diameter. The sounds emitted by these rocks are various, depending on their shape and size. Some when struck resemble the ringing of anvils, others of church bells, with all their intermediate tones. As was well said by old Aristotle, there is a statue in every block of marble, but it takes a sculptor to find It, so it might be said of these rocks, in every one there is some note in music, but it would still take the aid of a skilled musician to discover it. It was the early German settlers who gave these rocks the name of Klingleberg, meaning Ringing Hill.

For those that have trouble getting out of bed in the morning (YOU know who you are!) one (or more) of these alarm clocks may help.

But, if you are a regular reader of this page you probably already knew that. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Jan.25.2006@21:46:04 2006-01-25T21:46:04-06:00 Need to Get a Life but, don't know where to find one? SecondLife.com has just the thing for your for just $9.95/month... ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Jan.10.2006@22:14:04 2006-01-10T22:14:04-06:00 Email SPAM filtering. (Not luncheon meat filtering--enjoy that image!)

I don't see why this latest measure has slowed the spam counter-measures. This is not to say that we shouldn't strive for a better prevention mechanism all together instead of being reactive. But, detection algorithm changes to handle the preceeding seem obvious enough. First, add a spell checker to messages. Too many errors then result in a message being flagged as spam. For those that cannot spell, type or don't care enough about either of the preceeding, whose message get flagged (or even canned) I don't feel sorry at all. Learn to care, spell and type. Second, strip/convert markup. What is left can be filtered using the other usual methods: soundex, character-set/code-page equivalencies, etc...

Then again, perhaps I should put my (rather professional) fingers where my mouth is... ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2006.html#Jan.10.2006@21:57:45 2006-01-10T21:57:45-06:00 The new Coakley's first flight. http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2005.html#Dec.17.2005@15:50:02 2005-12-17T15:50:02-06:00 A Long Overdue Post on a Some Unrelated Topics

If you are having computer problems, here is some online technical support. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2005.html#Aug.29.2005@11:17:47 2005-08-29T11:17:47-05:00 A Grammar God!

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!

Congratulations! If your mission in life is not already to preserve the English tongue, it should be. You can smell a grammatical inaccuracy from fifty yards. Your speech is revered by the underlings, though some may blaspheme and call you a snob. They're just jealous. Go out there and change the world.

How grammatically correct are you? (with answer key)
brought to you by Quizilla

I have been declared a Grammar God. I just had to post this to annoy a certain former coworker. But, I do think this title is passed out a bit too generously since 32% of the 1300 people who took the quiz attained such deity status. And, while the questions are each weighted differently, you can attain god status by answering as few as nine of the questions correctly as per the answer key. (This was based on my testing. It may be possible with fewer correct answers.) But, this is not to say that the quiz is easy particularly, if you are most accustomed to hearing common American English. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2005.html#Aug.18.2005@17:38:26 2005-08-18T17:38:26-05:00 The Information Grid The Information Grid.... ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal2005.html#Jul.01.2005@10:54:49 2005-07-01T10:54:49-05:00 New Languages Created Google.com not only is trying to save them but also to promote new languages. Check out some of Googles translations options:

• Bork, bork, bork!,
• Elmer Fudd,
• Hacker,
• Klingon,
• Pig Latin

If you too would like to google me, click here. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#May.16.2005@23:17:38 2005-05-16T23:17:38-05:00 I'm famous! (Images of England) English Heritages Images of England (IoE) project. This means that I went around the local area taking pictures of historically listed (i.e. significant) buildings. This was sponsored by the national lottery fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund. They would pay for any reasonable expenses which, specifically, did not include pints. (Come on, some of those days, that I was walking around outside hunting for buildings were quite windy, cold, and soggy--I think a pint or two to be quite reasonable!) The pictures are added to much other information in the National Monuments Record, such as, architectural investigations, aerial survey and archaeological survey information from the National Building Record, The Ordnance Survey , Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME).

To see the pictures I have taken you need to register with the site, which is free. If you would rather not register, you may use mine which uses the username nocrud2003@yahoo.com and the password none. Then go to the photographer search (Advanced Search / View Photographers), enter my last name, Coakley in the surname box, click Submit, click my name name on the result page. This will return you to the Advanced Search page with my name filled in the View Photograpers section. You can now click Submit to see most of the photographs that I took for IoE.

Also, from the Advanced Search, you can choose Search by Map, click on the dot for Oxford (lower center), click on the dot for Kidlington (bottom center). The Wotton in the top left is where we lived. You can click anything of interest. I took pictures in Combe, Shipton-on-Cherwell and Thrupp. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#May.09.2005@22:45:04 2005-05-09T22:45:04-05:00 Darth Tater

(© Popular Mechanics May 2005) ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Apr.15.2005@11:56:09 2005-04-15T11:56:09-05:00 Scientific American Mind Scientific American Mind (www.sciammind.com) is a new quarterly magazine put out by the creators of Scientific American (SciAm). For those literalists, no, it is not just about the minds of American scientists. It focuses on..., you guessed it, the human mind.

Apparently, with the advent of fMRI and the dropping in cost of other scanning techniques, this has become a hot area of research. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Feb.18.2005@21:45:23 2005-02-18T21:45:23-06:00 What's scarier than a rootKit on your Unix system? Be Afraid. Be very Afraid. The wonderful guys at SysInternals.com, Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich, have created a program to detect these scourges. More information about their RootkitRevealer can be found here. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Feb.16.2005@00:11:54 2005-02-16T00:11:54-06:00 Job Support Calendar for the Twin Cities, MN Job Support Calendar for the Twin Cities, MN. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Feb.08.2005@00:13:47 2005-02-08T00:13:47-06:00 Added RSS and XML Feeds Want to know what RSS is? or where to get software to read an RSS feed?. The one this page doesn't mention is the highly regarded RSS reading plug-in for Internet Explorer (IE) known as Pluck. Get Pluck here. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Jan.28.2005@15:56:22 2005-01-28T15:56:22-06:00 Telephone Monitoring While on Hold Bruce Schneier reports on: Telephone Monitoring While on Hold. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Jan.27.2005@00:00:00 2005-01-27T00:00:00-06:00 Updated computer security information computer security page. ]]> http://GlenCoakley.org/Journal/journal.html#Jan.18.2005@00:00:00 2005-01-18T00:00:00-06:00 'Tis past the season Something special for the holidays: A new album! ]]>