Idea Lawyer Blog http://www.idealawyerblog.com/ en Copyright 2009 Tue, 19 May 2009 09:08:25 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Wolfram Alpha !!!! http://www.wolframalpha.com/
Great fun - watched the video - many new ways to create the illusion of knowing by rearranging data.....
Without detracting in the slightest from the genuine accomplishment of WA, I here repeat my concern that proper critical thinking skills must be taught and practiced. For example, does the average citizen differentiate causality from correlation from co-incidence? Too much psuedo-science popular press depends on the non-appreciation of the distinctions in order to make stories sensational. Check out my earlier post on the book by Berkeley Journalism Prof, entitled "American Carnival" - or better yet, use Wolfram Alpha to search the title!
How often does our culture encourage merely passing along a story without question or examination? How seldom do we underscore and reward reasoning skills. Just one evening of television drama should suffice to heighten concern for the cultural acceptance of non-sense. Personally, I have observed that the typical adult cannot discern metaphor from analogy, never mind simile or allegory, other than a dim recollection that maybe they heard about it in high school English.

Brings to mind a now out of print book, commended to me by a mentor researcher from Michigan, with a title confusingly similar to the Clemens attributed pithe: "Figures Don't Lie But Liars Figure."
Tools to assist in the perpetuation of critical thinking and reasoning are needed now more than ever.
If you know of games that assist in developing and strengthening these skills, please commend them to me.

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/wolfram_alpha_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/wolfram_alpha_1.html Tue, 19 May 2009 09:08:25 -0800 FEMA TRAILER Evictions? (speaking of off the grid) http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/03/FEMA-trailer-eviction-deadline-ambiguous/UPI-26741241390395/

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/fema_trailer_evictions_speakin_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/fema_trailer_evictions_speakin_1.html Thu, 14 May 2009 08:42:17 -0800 Off- the- Grid Green Airstream! http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/05/green-renovation-livingreen-airstream-altbuild-2009.html

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/off_the_grid_green_airstream_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/off_the_grid_green_airstream_1.html Thu, 14 May 2009 08:37:27 -0800 Largest re-cycled building?!? http://www.homedesignfind.com/green/worlds-largest-recycled-building-to-open-in-berkeley/
One finds interesting stuff which is distracting......I really wanted to find the cost of a Z Glass house from lot to living....

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/largest_recycled_building.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/largest_recycled_building.html Thu, 14 May 2009 08:28:00 -0800 THIRST Is water a human right- or a property right?

http://ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu/ethics-events/events/view/518/?date=2009-05-14

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/thirst.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/thirst.html Thu, 14 May 2009 07:21:32 -0800 Will best writers migrate to video games? http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/13/for-whom-the-video-game-tolls/?hp

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/will_best_writers_will_migrate.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/will_best_writers_will_migrate.html Wed, 13 May 2009 17:24:23 -0800 Classic Literature for Gamers At last- some zip into Dante! Not as efficient as Cliffs Notes but a bit more fun.

http://www.dantesinferno.com/home.action

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/classic_literature_for_gamers.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/05/classic_literature_for_gamers.html Cybersocial Wed, 13 May 2009 17:18:40 -0800 Green Living but where is the dog door? http://www.latimes.com/features/home/la-hm-treehousereview21-2009apr21-pg,0,5215477.photogallery?index=8
Lassie needs to climb a ladder....and where is the handicap accessible toilet, eh???
My picks: 8, 12 and 13

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/green_living_but_where_is_the.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/green_living_but_where_is_the.html Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:06:41 -0800 Clean and Green; Produce and Pesticides Pocket guide to best & worst for pesticide usage.
for the downloadable guide and more information see http://www.foodnews.org

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development and early childhood.Scientists now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.
What’s the Difference?
EWG research has found that people who eat the 12 most contaminated
fruits and vegetables consume an average of 10 pesticides a day. Those who eat the 15 least contaminated conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables ingest fewer than 2 pesticides daily. The Guide helps consumers make informed choices to lower their dietary
pesticide load.
Will Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all the studies used to create these lists assume that people rinse or peel fresh produce. Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. Peeling helps, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the skin. The best approach: eat a varied diet, rinse all produce and buy organic when possible.
How Was This Guide Developed?
EWG analysts have developed the Guide based on data from nearly 87,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2007 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. You can find a detailed description of the criteria EWG used to develop these rankings and the complete list of fruits and vegetables tested at our dedicated website, www.foodnews.org.

SHOPPER’S GUIDE TO PESTICIDES
WORST (buy these organic)
Peach
Apple
Bell Pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Grapes (Imported)
Carrot
Pear

CLEANEST(lowest in pesticides)
Onion
Avocado
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Papaya
Watermelon
Broccoli
Tomato
Sweet Potato

THE POWER OF INFORMATION
Headquarters 1436 U St. N.W., Suite 100 Washington, DC 20009 (202) 667-6982
Learn More at FoodNews.org

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-
No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco,
California, 94105, USA.

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/clean_and_green_produce_and_pe.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/clean_and_green_produce_and_pe.html Ask Neville Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:33:00 -0800 Music Reaches Any Body Inspiring!!! Can You clap the sound of snow? Deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie can!
Accessibility of music to Every Body --- Give this a listen:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen.html
Particularly wonderful in light of having watched a 1970 DVD of Leonard Bernstein/New York Philharmonic/ Young People's Concert- where all visible players but one were white guys - no women, no body different....what message gets sent to the Young People?

Ohana is family, as Stitch says in Lilo and Stitch. Ohana is no one left behind. Music is all inclusive, as Evelyn Glennie vividly demonstrates.

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/music_reaches_any_body.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/music_reaches_any_body.html Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:32:29 -0800 I Phone for the Blind iPhone for the blind

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/i_phone_for_the_blind_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/04/i_phone_for_the_blind_1.html Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:08:31 -0800 Worlds.com launches Virtual World Patent Suit Economic hardtimes foster wrangling. In a wrinkle uniquely "new millenium, ensuring a distinction of the current downturn as compared with earlier troughs, litigators wrangle realtime over virtual gaming worlds. Virtual worlds developer Worlds.com (provider of custom virtual environments for corporations) has sued NCSoft, the Korean maker of virtual worlds such as Lineage, City of Heroes and Guild Wars.
Check out System and Method for enabling users to interact in a Virtual Space
Spokepersons for plaintiff assert the patent is "robust" and the list of target defendants is long. But it took 7 (long) years of prosecution, and is purportedly a continuation of an application filed in 1995. Twelve years to issuance is not generally a sign of a "robust" patent. What does the file wrapper show, one must wonder. Comments on the internet abound, and long time gamers themselves point to past MMO offerings such as Realm Online (1996), Ultima Online (1997), Lineage (1998), and Everquest (1999) as providing what the patent purports to cover.
Sounds like a great opportunity for NCSoft - and all potential defendants - to organize themselves and get busy rounding up prior art. East Texas jurors may be overly tempted to do their bit for a stimulus package, and understandably eager to find a way, whether or not well-founded, to "hometown" Korea-based NCSoft.
The very short 4 page complaint: Download file

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/worldscom_launches_virtual_wor_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/worldscom_launches_virtual_wor_1.html Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:35:57 -0800 Twitter awards 140 characters in search of authors.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123435724633872715.html

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/twitter_awards_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/twitter_awards_1.html Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:38:21 -0800 Color Matters in Some Cognitive Tasks Says Study of 600
Color shown to affect work performance

One should check the cohort sizes supporting the various conclusions. Here is the link to the study.
As with most "hot headlines" in science, it makes interesting chatty conversation, but it pays to read the protocol and see the underlying experimental design so as to temper incautious generalizations.

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/color_matters_1.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/color_matters_1.html Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:44:36 -0800 Is Google culpable for Cell Phone hate speech? http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/google-executives-face-jail-time-for-italian-video/
For some reason, this scenario reminds me of Shirley Jackson's short story, The Lottery.

]]> http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/is_google_culpable_for_cell_ph.html http://www.idealawyerblog.com/2009/02/is_google_culpable_for_cell_ph.html Cybersocial Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:00:17 -0800