firehose

Happy times are ahead for Venezuela.

Yesterday (Oct. 24), Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, announced the creation (link in Spanish) of a new governmental office: Viceministerio para la Suprema Felicidad Social del Pueblo, or “vice-ministry for the supreme social happiness of the people.” Now, as of Friday, Maduro has officially introduced Rafael Ríos, the country’s very first vice-minister of happiness. Ríos will be responsible for overseeing a number of government programs focused on social wellbeing.

“I have decided to create the office, and I have called it as such in honor of our commander [Hugo] Chávez and our [Simón] Bolivar, for the supreme social happiness of the people of Venezuela,” Maduro said, invoking the country’s late former president and the 19th-century liberator of Latin America. “Comrade Rafael Rios will be responsible for implementing and coordinating the famous missions created by our ‘perpetual Commandant’ with the purpose of ensuring ‘supreme social happiness.’”

According to Maduro, Ríos’ responsibilities will include, among other things:

• attending to “the old men, old women, young boys and young girls, in order to watch over Venezuela’s most sublime and loved people”
• attending to the disabled
• attending to the homeless
• fielding “claims and needs of Venezuela’s most vulnerable”
• supervising collaborative social programs with Havana, Cuba, a key Venezuelan ally.
• coordinating the more than 30 social programs called “Missions” recently launched by the Venezuelan government

While Venezuela’s move looks like the latest in a series of zany populist responses to the country’s deepening economic misery, it also plays into a global shift away from traditional measures of national growth. More and more countries are beginning to keep happiness metrics as a means of gauging governmental success. Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index, for instance, includes 124 components—some of which are economic, but many of which are not. And Brazil, New Zealand and the UK, among others, are also hopping on the happiness bandwagon. The United Nations even started publishing an annual world happiness report, according to which Venezuela is already the 20th-happiest (pdf, p. 22) of 156 nations—not a bad position, all things considered.

But the new office is also a not-so-subtle revival of Chávez-era populist programs. These “missions” helped large swaths of Venezuela’s population that were otherwise overlooked—namely, the poor, old and disabled. Corruption and bureaucracy eventually ruined the programs’ success, but Chávez used to resuscitate them ahead of elections as a means of vote-wooing. The announcement coincides with the creation of the “Loyalty and Love to Hugo Chávez Day” just before December’s key municipal elections, which aren’t likely to favor Chavez’s ruling party, given its proven inability to provide the populace with sufficient food and basic goods.

Esther Schindler writes "We all know that the arts reflect the technology of their times. So let's look at The Doctor ('the definite article,' as Tom Baker said in December 1974) and his use of computers. Actually, for a show so closely associated with the Slashdot-techie lifestyle, Doctor Who didn't have much to do with computers early on. This article by Peter Salus traces the formative years: 'In January 1970, Jon Pertwee (Doctor #3) acquired a Cambridge scientist (Caroline John as Liz Shaw) as his companion, which might lead the unsuspecting viewer to think that a firmer computer science basis might ensue. But only in April did Liz exhibit her technical knowledge (by recognizing a Geiger counter reading).' And then we get to K-9....."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

taterpie:

koikoikoi:

Japanese Photographer Takes Imaginative & Adorable Photos of His Daughter

Japanese photographer Toyokazu Nagano, taking just the most adorable photos of his youngest daughter, Kanna. Each picture is taken on the same road, with little Kanna giving all of her into each pose and mood.

More on KOIKOIKOI

I figured out your sexy halloween costume for you

thehappysorceress:

On Patrol by Ian Navarro

OK, this one’s fantastic.

The Line it is Drawn celebrates Richard Belzer's Detective Munch, extending his crossover streak by bringing him to the world of comics!

A painstakingly compiled blog detailing just how impossible it is to make a living wage as a writer today.

Hundreds of clowns gathered in Mexico City to protest violence and give nightmares to people all across the world.

Chomsky claims that he knows of “actual cases” of “adolescents who think they have 500 friends, because they have 500 friends on Facebook, but these are the kinds of friends who, if you say, ‘I had a sandwich,’ they ask ‘Did it taste good?’”

fabled-foreigntongues:

secretobama:

cirk-urk:

That guy in the lower left corner in the crowd remembered every move 10 years later. 

is that ryan gosling 

thats fucking ryan gosling

popular shared this story from kottke.org.

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In an interview accompanying a Frontline episode on drug-resistant bacteria, an associate director for the CDC, Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, says that "we're in the post-antibiotic era".

The more you use an antibiotic, the more you expose a bacteria to an antibiotic, the greater the likelihood that resistance to that antibiotic is going to develop. So the more antibiotics we put into people, we put into the environment, we put into livestock, the more opportunities we create for these bacteria to become resistant. ...We also know that we've greatly overused antibiotics and in overusing these antibiotics, we have set ourselves up for the scenario that we find ourselves in now, where we're running out of antibiotics.

We are quickly running out of therapies to treat some of these infections that previously had been eminently treatable. There are bacteria that we encounter, particularly in health-care settings, that are resistant to nearly all -- or, in some cases, all -- the antibiotics that we have available to us, and we are thus entering an era that people have talked about for a long time.

For a long time, there have been newspaper stories and covers of magazines that talked about "The end of antibiotics, question mark?" Well, now I would say you can change the title to "The end of antibiotics, period."

We're here. We're in the post-antibiotic era. There are patients for whom we have no therapy, and we are literally in a position of having a patient in a bed who has an infection, something that five years ago even we could have treated, but now we can't.

You know how when you first hear a joke it's the funniest thing ever and then you hear it a second time and it's less funny and then a third, fourth, and fifth times and it just keeps getting less and less funny until you're not laughing at all and it actually becomes annoying? That's how antibiotics work across the entire human population. And if Dr. Srinivasan is correct, we're transitioning into the not laughing stage and the annoying stage where lots of people start dying can't be far behind (unless we get some new jokes/treatments).

Yesterday, Mark Sample tweeted about disasters, low-points, and chronic trauma:

"Low point" is the term for when the worst part of a disaster has come to pass. Our disasters increasingly have no low point.

After the low point of a disaster is reached, things begin to get better. When there is no clear low point, society endures chronic trauma.

Disasters with no clear low point: global warming, mass extinction, colony collapse disorder, ocean acidification, Fukushima.

To which I would add: drug-resistant infectious diseases. (via digg)

Tags: Arjun Srinivasan   Mark Sample   medicine   science

My old man would sit there for hours, in his underwear, playing games. He wasn’t into golf or sports cars or expensive booze. He was really into sitting in his underwear and pushing buttons and winning games.

nk497 writes "Police in Manchester have arrested a man and seized what they claim are 3D printed components to a gun. They made the arrest after a 'significant' discovery of a 3D printed 'trigger' and 'magazine,' saying they were now testing the parts to see if they were viable. 3D printing experts, however, said the objects were actually spare parts for the printer. 'As soon as I saw the picture... I instantly thought, "I know that part,"' said Scott Crawford, head of 3D printing firm Revolv3D. 'They designed an upgrade for the printer soon after it was launched, and most people will have downloaded and upgraded this part within their printer. It basically pulls the plastic filament, and it used to jam an awful lot. The new system that they've put out, which includes that little lever that they're claiming is the trigger, is most definitely the same part.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers entered Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as one of the NFL's most consistently inconsistent teams. Three weeks removed from an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals, the Panthers find themselves above .500 for the first time since 2008 and poised to make a playoff push in the second half of the season.

The evolution of Newton as a passer has changed the face of the team. It's a modified case of addition by subtraction, with the offense simultaneously asking less of the third-year quarterback while also allowing him to make more choices on the field. It's a phenomenon known in Carolina as "Letting Cam be Cam," and this combination has made Newton to trust his teammates organically, rather than having his hand forced.

In past seasons a needlessly complicated offensive scheme resulted in a noticeably uncomfortable quarterback. Newton clung onto the one raft that was always there, wide receiver Steve Smith. An over-reliance on the veteran made Newton a one-trick passer. Opposing defenses learned to bracket Smith, which turned the Carolina offense into feast or famine -- there were times they would turn out highlight reel plays, but equally as many where drives stalled due to Newton's inability to find other receivers in short yardage situations.

Newton has stunningly morphed into an accurate intermediate passer. In the last three weeks he is effectively running Mike Shula's run-based offense to the tune of 32 points per game, completing 77 percent of his passes. Most importantly, Newton has thrown six touchdowns without a turnover. The coaching staff put their faith in their quarterback, and he has lived up to the responsibility.

Gambling didn't come easily to head coach Ron Rivera, but his decision to shout down the inner voice preaching conservatism allowed for his team's offense to flourish. Initially this manifested itself as attempting to convert in fourth-down situations, but this was simply most visible symptom of a coach it took two years to understand how to win in the NFL. Newton is more vocal on the field, a result of offensive coordinator Mike Shula allowing his quarterback to make decisions himself.

Three wins later the Panthers have positioned themselves as one of the most underrated teams in the NFC. Their record might be just 4-3 -- and it's easy to write off wins against Minnesota, St. Louis and Tampa Bay -- but the rise of the Panthers extends beyond wins and losses. For all the bravado and promises of Super Bowl wins, this is a team that has lacked confidence, in themselves and in a coaching staff that too often squandered close games with a series of bad late-game decision making.

There are nine games remaining for Carolina in 2013, but everything comes down to two divisional matchups against the NFC South leading Saints. The Panthers find themselves two games behind, provided New Orleans wins on Sunday. The two head-to-head games between the teams will determine who leads the division and which team will be pressing for a wild card spot.

A few weeks ago the idea would have seemed asinine, but now the Panthers might be the team nobody in the NFL wants to see on their schedule.

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	Courtney shared this story from The ToastThe Toast:
	Oh my god.

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Listen, you don’t need me to tell you to go watch videos on YouTube. It’s frivolous and frankly a little insulting: like you don’t already know how to find whimsical cover bands on the Internet? But I had to do this. I had to talk to you about the Tambourine Guy.

It’s…I can’t quite figure out the name of whatever band that is. Frankly, that’s a little embarrassing. It MIGHT be Postmodern Jukebox, but that also might just be the name of one of their channels. They do a lot of covers of pop songs in various old-timey musical styles, which may or may not be your thing. But they’re extremely good! The guy who uploads all the videos is called ScottBradleeLovesYa, if that helps. They always look like they’re having a lot of fun, and the piano player is good astits at playing piano. But it’s the tambourine player who will change your life (I call him Tambourine Guy, but you can call him whatever you want). Who is Tambourine Guy?

Look at that dude. Look at how happy he is.Look at him. “He’s living his best life,” Nitasha Tiku of Valleywag told me over Gchat after I sent her the link with the caption “look at the tambourine guy.” gay.” She wasn’t wrong, either. Every one of the top comments on this group’s videos is about him.

“tambourine man loves his job,” Aimee Ray says.

“Dunno how many times I’ve watched this video, but the tambourine man never stops being magic. Shine on tambourine man. You’re a superstar <3″ – Veezyjung

You want more? There’s more. He puts on a helmet in this one, because he is just that into it.

Right off the bat.Right off the bat. His eyebrows have more life in them than some human people I know. You remember the manic, dervish-like quality Ethan Embry brought toEmpire Records? This guy is the Ethan Embry of tambourines.

What’s this video doing here? Sure, the singer is terrific, and her polka-dot skirt is aces, but Tambourine Guy isn’t even in it.

Wait. Hold on. Have faith. 0:42: TAMBOURINE GUY LEAPS OUT FROM BEHIND THE DRUM KIT. There he is! Doing tiger hands and trying to high-five the bassist, as sudden and as glorious as the sun. Thank God. He’s here. He’s here at last.

Tambourine Guy led me to leave my first-ever YouTube comment. No one’s upvoted it, but that’s okay. Learn from this man. Pattern your life after his. You are a champion. He’s going to hear you roar.

The post Watch A Man Living His Best Life appeared first on The Toast.

AFP

3D printer 'gun parts' found in Manchester raid BBC News A 3D printer and suspected "homemade" gun components seized during police raids in Manchester are being examined. Detectives initially said the parts were a "plastic magazine and trigger" that could make a "viable" gun. A man who was arrested in ... British police may have jumped the gun on 3D printed weaponIrish Times UK police cast doubt on 3D-printed 'gun parts'Houston Chronicle Police find 3D gun parts in ManchesterAFP Telegraph.co.uk -NEWS.com.au -Business Standard all 110 news articles »

An employee of the Ohio Department of Health has reportedly confessed to illegally downloading, television series and more than 30,000 comic books from torrent sites to state computers. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Edward Jones Jr., who has worked in information technology for the agency since 1992, admitted to the activity during an investigation [...]

Sesame Street has released a 6-second Vine video that shows Cookie Monster curiously asking a fox, “What does the fox say?” The fox responds to Cookie Monster by singing “Ring-ding-ding-ding-ding,” lyrics from the viral hit song “The Fox” by Ylvis. The little orange Muppet then comments further with “yeah, I don’t really say that…”

To change things up a bit, the fox then asks Cookie Monster, “What does a monster say?”:

via Sesame Street

ananyo writes "Allen Nicklasson has had a temporary reprieve. Scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Missouri on 23 October, the convicted killer was given a stay of execution by the state's governor, Jay Nixon, on 11 October — but not because his guilt was in doubt. Nicklasson will live a while longer because one of the drugs that was supposed to be used in his execution — a widely used anesthetic called propofol — is at the center of an international controversy that threatens millions of U.S. patients, and affects the way that U.S. states execute inmates. Propofol, used up to 50 million times a year in U.S. surgical procedures, has never been used in an execution. If the execution had gone ahead, U.S. hospitals could have lost access to the drug because 90% of the U.S. supply is made and exported by a German company subject to European Union regulations that restrict the export of medicines and devices that could be used for capital punishment or torture. This is not the first time that the E.U.'s anti-death-penalty stance has affected the U.S. supply of anesthetics. Since 2011, a popular sedative called sodium thiopental has been unavailable in the United States. 'The European Union is serious,' says David Lubarsky, head of the anesthesiology department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida. 'They've already shown that with thiopental. If we go down this road with propofol, a lot of good people who need anesthesia are going to be harmed.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Some mice were cause of the 1950 fire. They (mices) gnew the crackers which produced the first spark of the big fire. That fire destroyed big and important part of the city.

Link

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