QuinCunx

Is Technology Fostering a Race to the Bottom? - NYTimes.com :  "A new group of technology start-ups is building online platforms to facilitate offline transactions in this new informal economy: renting out your spare bedroom (Airbnb ) or Volkswagen (RelayRides ); hawking yourself as a handyman (TaskRabbit ) or personal chef (Kitchit ); selling custom-made furniture (Etsy ); or transcribing someone’s interview tapes (oDesk ). In each case, a transaction that was possible but complicated before is smoothed by the matchmaking skills, quality assurance and rating systems of a known company." .. .ero .

Venus transit of the Sun (Photo credit: MarkGregory007 ) Venus’s Transit Between Earth and Sun Will Be Last Until 2117 - NYTimes.com : " Look Now for Venus to Cross the Sun, or Wait Another Century" .. .ero . Related articles June 5-6 Is Your Last Chance (Ever) to See the Transit of Venus Venus not scheduled to make rare transit past the Sun again for 105 years Venus's Transit Between Earth and Sun Will Be Last Until 2117 Excitement Builds for Rare Transit of Venus on June 5 Last Transit of Venus for 105 Years Everything you need to know about next week's Transit of Venus (blogs.discovermagazine.com) The transit of Venus (phys.org) Why is the transit of Venus so rare? Why do transits of Venus happen twice in eight years, either in June or December, then not again for over 100 years? (thesciencebulletin.wordpress.com) Excitement Builds for Rare Transit of Venus on June 5 (livescience.com) Venus not scheduled to make rare...

36 Firms Interested in Verizon Spectrum | News & Opinion | PCMag.com : Verizon this week revealed that it has at least 36 entities interested in purchasing the spectrum it owns in the 700-MHz band. That sale, however, is contingent upon whether regulators approve  Verizon's purchase of $3.6 billion worth of spectrum from a coalition of cable firms. The chairman of the Senate's antitrust subcommittee yesterday penned a letter to federal officials expressing concern with that deal.  ""In brief, without reaching any final judgment as to the legality of these transactions under the antitrust laws or Communications Act, I believe these transactions present serious competition concerns which should be examined closely by your agencies for the reasons set forth below," Sen. Herb Kohl wrote to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and Attorney General Eric Holder." .. .ero .

Senator Urges Potential Divestitures in Verizon-Cable Deals : "With one exception ... there appears to be no other spectrum of this type available for competitive carriers in the foreseeable future, and no prospect of the FCC auctioning any such spectrum for at least three or four years, or longer," Kohl wrote in an eight-page letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Google Gives Search a Refresh - WSJ.com :  "Google isn't replacing its current keyword-search system, which determines the importance of a website based on the words it contains, how often other sites link to it, and dozens of other measures. Rather, the company is aiming to provide more relevant results by incorporating technology called "semantic search," which refers to the process of understanding the actual meaning of words." .. .ero .

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Maya Calendar Writing - NYTimes.com :  "“For the first time,” Dr. Saturno said, “we get a real look at this kind of work space in a Maya city and the scribes’ tight connections to the royal court.”" .. .ero .

ViddyMe! Record, send, done. No WiFi or 4G necessary. - YouTube : " " Send 20 second videos from Android 2.2 or newer smartphones by sms, email, or any app on your phone! Post to friends on Twitter , Facebook , wherever you like. Recipients can see your videos regardless of where they receive it or phone. Free, bare bones easy, and no need for WIFI or 4G to upload! "1 bar video messaging " is finally here. Try ViddyMe today! .. .ero . Related articles Review: Viddy for iPhone (macworld.com) RWW Recommends: The Best Social Video App (readwriteweb.com) Vyclone video app aims to out-social Viddy and Socialcam (guardian.co.uk)

How Male Orb-Web Spiders, Who Can Mate at Most Twice, Choose - NYTimes.com :  "When a male mates with a virgin, he is able to secure 100 percent paternity of her eggs. If she is not a virgin, paternity decreases by as much as 90 percent." {hmmmmm . . . ?} .. .ero .

Best of the Left Podcast : " 13 May 2012 (2012/05/13) The climate of our discontent ( Climate Change ) Edition #605 " .. .ero .

You Are Not Your Brain | Think Tank | Big Think :  "Just as love does not live inside the heart, consciousness is not contained in a finite space  -- it's something that arises, something that occurs: a verb rather than a noun."  ~~  Alva Noë .. .ero .

INL cybersecurity researcher operates a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System inside the lab’s Information Operations Research Center. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) CISPA Rushed to Passage - Blog - OpenCongress :  "Basically this means CISPA can no longer be called a cybersecurity bill at all. The government would be able to search information it collects under CISPA for the purposes of investigating American citizens with complete immunity from all privacy protections as long as they can claim someone committed a “cybersecurity crime”. Basically it says the 4th Amendment does not apply online, at all. Moreover, the government could do whatever it wants with the data as long as it can claim that someone was in danger of bodily harm, or that children were somehow threatened—again, notwithstanding absolutely any other law that would normally limit the government’s power." .. .ero .

Fireball lights up sky, rattles eardrums in Sierra Nevadas | The Chronicle Herald : "“If you hear a sonic boom or loud explosion, that’s a good indication that some fragments may have reached the ground," Lunsford told The Associated Press. “We’ll have to get some people to work on it to pinpoint where it broke up and see if anything can be found on the ground."" .. .ero .

Landline rules frustrate telecoms - The Washington Post :  "“For many, landlines are their lifeline,” said Coralette Hannon, a senior legislative staffer at AARP, which has been fighting the legislative proposals. “In rural areas, wireless service can be spotty or expensive and not at all a real option.”" .. .ero .

The Mitchell and Webb Look - Bronze Age Orientation Day - YouTube : " " .. .ero .

Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Česky: Logo Facebooku English: Facebook logo Español: Logotipo de Facebook Français : Logo de Facebook Tiếng Việt: Logo Facebook (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Do you love Instagram, but think to yourself, "If only it could suck ..." Well, good news! (Photo credit: rholliday? )   Facebook's 'Gutsy' Instagram Deal Seen as Hedge Against Pinterest | CIO Today :  "What Facebook needed was a hedge against Pinterest going into the IPO to assure a strong one," Enderle asserted. "Instagram on paper gives them that hedge -- underneath both [Pinterest and Instagram] are photo indexing sites, just going about it differently." {after several attempts to get invited to an Pinterest account, i've pretty much given up hope.  :-( as for Instagram, well i DO have an account an i've successfully used it to post to both Facebook and Google+ , but i get the feeling that i...

Science Buddies (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Science Buddies Blog :  Wiggly worms perform important tasks that are critical to the health and survival of other organisms. Chiefly, many worms are " decomposers ." By eating dead plants, worms process the debris and return important nutrients to the soil . At the same time, by tunneling their way through soil, they keep the soil aerated, which allows water and air to enter. Thanks to worms, your plants and vegetables have a better chance of success! .. .ero . Related articles A Watershed Moment: Anybody Want Some Worms? Earthworms ruin nutrients, moisture on forest floor, say researchers Recycling Manuscripts, Part 2 - Worm Composting I have Worms!! Yes, you read that right. Scotts Snap Spreader System Review Global Worming: How To Save The World (steinalive.wordpress.com) Soil blocks: how to transplant seedlings without going potty (milkwood.net) Worms (thegardenaffair.wordpress.com)

Five People Are Charged In China After Boy Sells Kidney For An iPhone | Cult of Mac :  Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury after a Chinese teenager sold his kidney to purchase an iPhone and an iPad last April. The group includes the surgeon who removed the kidney from the 17-year-old, who now suffers from renal deficiency. . .ero .

AT&T, Verizon try to put end to landline telephone era -- Decoder - YouTube : " " .. .ero .

Barack Obama - NDAA Legacy (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey ) Anonymous joins forces with OWS against NDAA-supporting politicians — RT :  “Elected officials serve one purpose — to represent their constituents, the people who voted them into office,” reads a statement posted to the website. “Last year, many of our elected officials let us down by giving in to deep-pocketed lobbyists and passing laws meant to boost corporate profits at the expense of individual liberty.” .. .ero . Related articles Anonymous joins forces with OWS against NDAA-supporting politicians - RT (cosmicconnection.wordpress.com) Letter: Elected officials should not be prejudging results of Martin inquiry (tcpalm.com) Anonymous and Occupy Join Forces to Launch 'Our Polls': Occupy the Vote 2012 (blippitt.com) Letter: Put honesty and credibility back into elected officials (tcpalm.com) Letter: Elect those who support term limits, and take control of local, U.S. government (tcpalm.com) Let...