Brownian Motion

Does anyone know of any CDs featuring trumpeter Abbie Brunis, brother of George Brunis?

McDonald Carey Carey Lowell Lowell George Lowell Thomas Lowell Weicker Robert Lowell

She neglected to teach him to keep his eyes on the road.

Kenneth Millar Margaret Millar Ross McDonald

Damn Yankees Atlanta Joe Sherman

chewy Peppermint Patty The Nugrape Twins

Sam I Am The Cat In the Hat The Fish

What does a Scotsman have under his kilt?

Quite right. I'm on the Spammers' side. Parting fools from their money is a most public spirited economic activity. MG As the Bush administration has taught us Yanks again and again.

I guess that's the spammer's attitude too.

BBC NEWS Spammers manipulate money markets Spam messages that tout stocks and shares can have real effects on the money markets, a study shows. E-mails typically promote penny shares in the hope of convincing people to buy into a company to raise its price. People who respond to the "pump and dump" scam can lose 8% of their investment in two days. Conversely, the spammers who buy low-priced stock before sending the e-mails, typically see a return of between 4.9% and 6% when they sell. The study recently published on the Social Science Research Network say their conclusions prove the hypothesis that spammers "buy low and spam high". The researchers say that approximately 730 million spam e-mails are sent every week, 15% of which tout stocks. Other estimates of spam volumes are far higher. Mass marketing The study by Professor Laura Frieder of Purdue University in the US and Professor Jonathan Zittrain from Oxford University's Internet Institute in the UK analysed more than 75,000 unsolicited e-mails. All of the messages touting stocks and shares were sent between January 2004 and July 2005. Our analysis shows that spam works Professors Frieder and Zittrain The e-mail messages had either been received by Professor Zittrain or been posted on a newsgroup, known as NANAS. NANAS is used to alert network administrators about new spam messages and the action they can take against them. The researchers were then able to compare the estimated size of an e-mail campaign with trading activity and share prices immediately before and after the first arrival of a spam message. The team found that a spammer who bought shares the day before starting an e-mail campaign and then sold them the day after could make a return on his or her investment of 4.9%. "If he or she were to be a particularly effective spammer - returns to this strategy would be roughly 6%," they wrote. Conversely if someone who received the message chose to invest $1000 (£530) in a promoted company they would be left with $947.50 after two days. Victims of a large e-mail campaign could be left with $930 after two days. On average a victim loses $52.50 for every $1000 invested. However, real losses would be even greater the team suggest because the victim would also have had to have paid fees to buy and sell the shares. "Our analysis shows that spam works," the team wrote. "Among its millions of recipients are not only those who read it, but who also act upon it" Security firms advise e-mail users to install a spam filter, delete unsolicited messages and never to respond to offers. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/5284618.stm Published: 2006/08/25 11:10:42 GMT © BBC MMVI

Jose Limon No Way Jose Norway

Ka Ka Poo Poo Wee Wee Pee Pee

The New York Times Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By August 24, 2006 Astronomers Decide Pluto Is Not a Planet By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 12:20 p.m. ET PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) -- Leading astronomers declared Thursday that Pluto is no longer a planet under historic new guidelines that downsize the solar system from nine planets to eight. After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The new definition of what is -- and isn't -- a planet fills a centuries-old black hole for scientists who have labored since Copernicus without one. Although astronomers applauded after the vote, Jocelyn Bell Burnell -- a specialist in neutron stars from Northern Ireland who oversaw the proceedings -- urged those who might be ''quite disappointed'' to look on the bright side. ''It could be argued that we are creating an umbrella called 'planet' under which the dwarf planets exist,'' she said, drawing laughter by waving a stuffed Pluto of Walt Disney fame beneath a real umbrella. ''Many more Plutos wait to be discovered,'' added Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The decision by the prestigious international group spells out the basic tests that celestial objects will have to meet before they can be considered for admission to the elite cosmic club. For now, membership will be restricted to the eight ''classical'' planets in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Much-maligned Pluto doesn't make the grade under the new rules for a planet: ''a celestial body that is in orbit around the sun, has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a ... nearly round shape, and has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.'' Pluto is automatically disqualified because its oblong orbit overlaps with Neptune's. Instead, it will be reclassified in a new category of ''dwarf planets,'' similar to what long have been termed ''minor planets.'' The definition also lays out a third class of lesser objects that orbit the sun -- ''small solar system bodies,'' a term that will apply to numerous asteroids, comets and other natural satellites. Experts said there could be dozens of dwarf planets catalogued across the solar system in the next few years. NASA said Thursday that Pluto's demotion would not affect its US$700 million New Horizons spacecraft mission, which earlier this year began a 9 1/2-year journey to the oddball object to unearth more of its secrets. ''We will continue pursuing exploration of the most scientifically interesting objects in the solar system, regardless of how they are categorized,'' Paul Hertz, chief scientist for the science mission directorate, said in a statement. The decision on Pluto at a conference of 2,500 astronomers from 75 countries was a dramatic shift from just a week ago, when the group's leaders floated a proposal that would have reaffirmed Pluto's planetary status and made planets of its largest moon and two other objects. That plan proved highly unpopular, splitting astronomers into factions and triggering days of sometimes combative debate that led to Pluto's undoing. In the end, only about 300 astronomers cast ballots. Now, two of the objects that at one point were cruising toward possible full-fledged planethood will join Pluto as dwarfs: the asteroid Ceres, which was a planet in the 1800s before it got demoted, and 2003 UB313, an icy object slightly larger than Pluto whose discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, has nicknamed Xena. Charon, the largest of Pluto's three moons, is no longer under consideration for any special designation. Brown, who watched the proceedings from Cal Tech, took Thursday's vote in stride -- even though his discovery won't be christened a planet. ''UB313 is the largest dwarf planet. That's kind of cool,'' he said. ------ AP Science Writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this story. ------ On the Net: International Astronomical Union, www.iau.org Home

The Brother From Another Planet Sister Carrie Cousin Brucie

The New York Times Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By August 24, 2006 Evolution Major Vanishes From Approved Federal List By CORNELIA DEAN Evolutionary biology has vanished from the list of acceptable fields of study for recipients of a federal education grant for low-income college students. The omission is inadvertent, said Katherine McLane, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, which administers the grants. “There is no explanation for it being left off the list,” Ms. McLane said. “It has always been an eligible major.” Another spokeswoman, Samara Yudof, said evolutionary biology would be restored to the list, but as of last night it was still missing. If a major is not on the list, students in that major cannot get grants unless they declare another major, said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. Mr. Nassirian said students seeking the grants went first to their college registrar, who determined whether they were full-time students majoring in an eligible field. “If a field is missing, that student would not even get into the process,” he said. That the omission occurred at all is worrying scientists concerned about threats to the teaching of evolution. One of them, Lawrence M. Krauss, a physicist at Case Western Reserve University, said he learned about it from someone at the Department of Education, who got in touch with him after his essay on the necessity of teaching evolution appeared in The New York Times on Aug. 15. Dr. Krauss would not name his source, who he said was concerned about being publicly identified as having drawn attention to the matter. An article about the issue was posted Tuesday on the Web site of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Dr. Krauss said the omission would be “of great concern” if evolutionary biology had been singled out for removal, or if the change had been made without consulting with experts on biology. The grants are awarded under the National Smart Grant program, established this year by Congress. (Smart stands for Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent.) The program provides $4,000 grants to third- or fourth-year, low-income students majoring in physical, life or computer sciences; mathematics; technology; engineering; or foreign languages deemed “critical” to national security. The list of eligible majors (which is online at ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN0606A.pdf) is drawn from the Education Department’s “Classification of Instructional Programs,” or CIP (pronounced “sip”), a voluminous and detailed classification of courses of study, arranged in a numbered system of sections and subsections. Part 26, biological and biomedical sciences, has a number of sections, each of which has one or more subsections. Subsection 13 is ecology, evolution, systematics and population biology. This subsection itself has 10 sub-subsections. One of them is 26.1303 — evolutionary biology, “the scientific study of the genetic, developmental, functional, and morphological patterns and processes, and theoretical principles; and the emergence and mutation of organisms over time.” Though references to evolution appear in listings of other fields of biological study, the evolutionary biology sub-subsection is missing from a list of “fields of study” on the National Smart Grant list — there is an empty space between line 26.1302 (marine biology and biological oceanography) and line 26.1304 (aquatic biology/limnology). Students cannot simply list something else on an application form, said Mr. Nassirian of the registrars’ association. “Your declared major maps to a CIP code,” he said. Mr. Nassirian said people at the Education Department had described the omission as “a clerical mistake.” But it is “odd,” he said, because applying the subject codes “is a fairly mechanical task. It is not supposed to be the subject of any kind of deliberation.” “I am not at all certain that the omission of this particular major is unintentional,” he added. “But I have to take them at their word.” Scientists who knew about the omission also said they found the clerical explanation unconvincing, given the furor over challenges by the religious right to the teaching of evolution in public schools. “It’s just awfully coincidental,” said Steven W. Rissing, an evolutionary biologist at Ohio State University. Jeremy Gunn, who directs the Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at the American Civil Liberties Union, said that if the change was not immediately reversed “we will certainly pursue this.” Dr. Rissing said removing evolutionary biology from the list of acceptable majors would discourage students who needed the grants from pursuing the field, at a time when studies of how genes act and evolve are producing valuable insights into human health. “This is not just some kind of nicety,” he said. “We are doing a terrible disservice to our students if this is yet another example of making sure science doesn’t offend anyone.” Dr. Krauss of Case Western said he did not know what practical issues would arise from the omission of evolutionary biology from the list, given that students would still be eligible for grants if they declared a major in something else — biology, say. “I am sure an enterprising student or program director could find a way to put themselves in another slot,” he said. “But why should they have to do that?” Mr. Nassirian said he was not so sure. “Candidly, I don’t think most administrators know enough about this program” to help students overcome the apparent objection to evolutionary biology, he said. Undergraduates would be even less knowledgeable about the issue, he added. Dr. Krauss said: “Removing that one major is not going to make the nation stupid, but if this really was removed, specifically removed, then I see it as part of a pattern to put ideology over knowledge. And, especially in the Department of Education, that should be abhorred.”

Valley Girl Girl Girl of My Dreams

You may need this: Simple Roast Squirrel ~ 1 squirrel per person, cleaned ~ favorite seasonings ~ medium onions, chunked, 1 per squirrel Place onions evenly in a greased roasting pan. Season squirrel(s) to taste inside and out with your favorite seasoings. Place squirrel(s) on top of onions. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Remove foil and cook 10 minutes to brown meat. Turn halfway through. Serve and enjoy.

I'd like to know who is bankrolling "Felon".

He'll bring his friends. You're cooked.

Robert McNamara Casper Weinberger Donald Rumsfeld Rumpelstiltskin Rasputin Vladimir Putin

So, since nobody watches television anymore, how come the industry hasn't collapsed?

Dismal Dan Castor McCord Pollux

BBC NEWS Joke generator raises a chuckle Software that can construct jokes has been created by researchers. Computer scientists in Scotland developed the program for children who need to use computerised speech aids. They team said enabling non-speaking children to use puns and other jokes would help them to develop their language and communication skills. The researchers admitted some of the computer-generated puns were terrible, but said the children who had tried the technology loved them. The System to Augment Non-speakers Dialogue Using Puns (Standup) project has been developed by scientists at the Universities of Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Computer scientist Dr Annalu Waller, one of the project researchers the University of Dundee, said: "Basically, the computer comes up with novel jokes - many of which are terrible." "Children who are developing on a typical development track actually tell very unfunny jokes, so we have provided that facility for non-speaking children as well." Funny bunny Children using the software can choose a word or compound word, which will form some or all of the punchline, from the system's dictionary. The program then writes the joke's opener. It works by comparing the selected word with other words in its dictionary for phoenetic similarity or concepts that link the words together, and then fits them into a pun template. Some examples of jokes the software has generated include: * What do you get when you cross a car with a sandwich? A traffic jam * What do you call a strange rabbit? A funny bunny * What do you call a frog road? A main toad * What do you call artist who is a minister? A pastor master Dr Waller said children who are unable to speak can suffer from communication setbacks because their computerised speech aids can lack scope for generating novel language. Language play, including use of humour, is believed to have a beneficial effect on a child's developing language and communication skills. The software has recently been used in a 10-week trial at a school outside of Glasgow. Dr Waller said: "The kids have been superb, they have taken to the software like fish to water. They have been regaling everybody with their jokes." She said it seemed to have boosted their confidence as well as their language skills. "It gives these kids the ability to control conversations, perhaps for the first time, it gives them the ability to entertain other people. And their self-image improves too." The researchers are in talks with manufacturers to see if the software can be integrated into computerised-speech aids for children. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/5275544.stm Published: 2006/08/23 07:28:40 GMT © BBC MMVI

Ben Gunn Ben Pollock Ben Gay