Check It Out

Links to cool places or things.

There are 1,524 posts filed in Check It Out (this is page 115 of 153).

Why does Paul Allen hate the Internet?

Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is one of the top twenty richest Americans, and life gets hard when you’re at the top. Those megayachts aren’t exactly easy on the gas pump, if you know what I mean. So what’s a poor billionaire to do, you say? Why not sue the biggest companies on the Internet by claiming patent infringement!?

Yes, Paul Allen – a man who once did some cool things with his Microsoft money – has become a lowly patent troll, claiming his company invented a number of web technologies. His claims are absurd, in my view, and strike me as being a money grab. Allen’s reputation has dived deeper than the submarines he keeps on his yacht.

See Engadget, Ars Technica, or the FOSS Patents site for the techie nitty gritty, or ABCNews for the non-geek version:

Interval Licensing LLC, a company owned by billionaire Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, has filed an amended lawsuit against Facebook, Google Inc. and nine other companies, claiming they infringed on patented Web technology.

Interval Licensing, based in Seattle, owns the rights to information systems, computer science and communications technology developed in Silicon Valley by Interval Research, which Allen co-founded in the 1990s. Interval Research no longer exists.

The filing is a revision of the lawsuit Interval Licensing filed in August against Facebook, Google, Google’s video site YouTube, AOL Inc., Apple Inc., Yahoo Inc., Netflix Inc., eBay Inc., Office Depot, OfficeMax, and Staples.

via Paul Allen Refiles Suit Against Internet Giants – ABC News.

Fossil DNA points to new branch of humanity

Truly fascinating.

A finger bone from Siberia now reveals that a previously unknown group of ancient humans once existed there, one neither like us nor Neanderthals.

Bizarrely, the DNA from these extinct Siberians seems unusually similar to that of Pacific Islanders from tropical Melanesia.

The 30,000-year-old fossil was found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia in 2008, a bone fragment that likely came from a fingertip of a young girl. It was discovered along with microblades (small stone blades used as tools), body ornaments of polished stone, and a molar shaped very differently from those of Neanderthals and modern humans, resembling that of much older human species, such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus. (The tooth and the finger bone apparently came from different members of the same population.)

via Fossil DNA points to new branch of humanity – Technology & science – Science – msnbc.com.

Gerry Reid gave the gift of life

On WTVD’s evening newscast tonight my friend Mandy Reid talked about the organ donations of her husband and my friend, Gerry Reid. It was a reminder of all the lives that were powerfully changed by his passing. It was tough watching it but it really is a story that must be shared.

I am an organ donor and so is Kelly. I hope those of you reading this will also choose to become an organ donor. One day you, too, could become a hero like Gerry.

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century

This makes me happy.

America’s neighborhoods became more integrated last year than during any time in at least a century as a rising black middle class moved into fast-growing white areas in the South and West.

Still, ethnic segregation in many parts of the U.S. persisted, particularly for Hispanics.

Segregation among blacks and whites fell in roughly three-quarters of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas as the two racial groups spread more evenly between inner cities and suburbs, according to recent census data.

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century :: WRAL.com.

Tour of the USS Elliot (DD-967)

A few weeks ago I unearthed a videotape I made while I was a sailor aboard the USS Elliot (DD-967). Taken one night in 1991 while the ship was in port in San Diego, the tape was meant to give my parents a virtual tour of the ship.

The quality isn’t the best as I had owned a videocamera for all of 6 hours, but I still found the video to be a fun look into the past. Careful viewers will see what I looked like when I had a full head of hair and big, dorky glasses. I’m also not sure what’s up with the Kermit the Frog-style narration, but it is what it is.
Continue reading →

Downtown deer

One early spring morning this year I was walking the dog on State Street when we stumbled upon three deer across the street from us. The deer made a well-worn beeline to a hole in the fence of the St. Augustine’s campus and bounded into the woods. In July I had another morning sighting, with deer standing near the edge of our front yard.
Continue reading →

Gerry lives on through his gift of lungs

My late friend Gerry was an organ donor at the time he died in a car wreck. Through the gift of his organs and tissue he gave four people he never met new life.

His wife Mandy and their families got a chance to meet one donor recipient earlier this month: the recipient of Gerry’s lungs. UNC Health Care created a profound video and story of the meeting, showing how Gerry’s gift changed the recipient’s life. Watching Gerr’y’s mom Pat as she listened to Gerry’s lungs brought tears to my eyes.

What an amazing gift of life from an amazingly generous friend.

Progress Energy’s SunSense rebates for residential solar

Photo by Gray Watson

There is good news today for homeowners who’ve been considering adding solar panels to their homes. Progress Energy received approval today [PDF] from the N.C. Utilities Commission to provide up to $10,000 in rebates for residential solar power installations. The program would begin January 1st and provide a $1,000 rebate per kW of solar capacity, up to a $10,000 maximum. According to the N&O’s John Murawski, a 10 kW solar installation that would normally cost $75,000 could be bought for $35,000 after the rebate and state and federal incentives are included.

I’ve been waiting for this program to materialize since fall of last year, so I’m finally glad it’s been approved. As for our home, I’ve been thinking a 6 kW system would be about right for our needs, though our large, southern-facing rooftop could host quite a bit more. I think 2011 will be the year to finally go solar!