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Today's post is in honor of the birthday of one of the best bakers I know. Happy birthday, Dr. Baby Sister!
One of the things that really thrills me about my blog is that it gives me the opportunity to profile artists who can create beautiful things I've never seen before. Atelier Soo is just such an artist. The Seoul-based pastry chef creates amazing cakes adorned with realistic-looking bouquets of flowers made only of buttercream and edible paints. She then takes really stunning, lush-looking, artfully-styled photos of her creations. I'm impressed with the whole process!
And if you find yourself passing through Cheungdam, Seoul, with some time to kill, you can study her methods in one of the baker's cake decorating classes. You can check out this talented food artist's work on her website and on Instagram.
All images property of Atelier Soo.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Reviews (0)
Rojo Pitaya
Rojo Pitaya is a growing micro-business founded by Christophe Carlier and Guadalupe Tafoya who work every day to develop new designs and to generate employment for the people from the community of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Each piece is handmade with a traditional manufacturing process. The production starts with a sketch that is later modeled on clay, then the clay is cooked, painted and varnished. A final touch is given at the assembling workshop, where they mount the pieces. To complement each piece, they use materials like stones, suede or leather. Rojo Pitaya currently has two major collections: The Mexican collection inspired by Mexican folklore themes like "catrinas", hearts, Frida Kahlo, and watermelons. The second collection, is a contemporary collection that is inspired by design and color with a Mexican touch that at the same time is considered universal.


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What are the historical roots of virginity? How do queer people lose their virginity? And in an age where teens claim virginity while having anal and oral sex, what does virginity really mean?
I spent yesterday thinking through these questions, and many more, while at Harvard's Rethinking Virginity conference. Organized in response to statements made by True Love Revolution (Harvard's abstinence group), the conference featured a wide variety of speakers (including myself), all hashing through the thorny issues of sexuality, identity, and the notion of "purity."
After some opening remarks from organizer Lena Chen, the conference kicked into gear with Virginity: A Historical and Cultural Primer, a discussion of how the definition and significance of virginity has shifted over time—and how what it means to be a virgin continues to shift as we travel around the world. Other panels examined the pernicious effects of slut shaming (I moderated this one), examined the many behaviors that may (or may not) be considered sex, discussed the concept of queer virginity (a panel I spoke on), and, as the day drew to a close, took a look at possibility of a sex-positive abstinence message.
Though the discussion was too long—and too nuanced—to sum up in a condensed form, I would like to share some of my favorite points from the day (for a more detailed rehashing, check out what ended up on Twitter).
From the first panel, I learned about the ways that virginity has historically been used to aid in the commodification of women: a woman as a "pure" vessel is a valuable, marriageable commodity; while one who has been tarnished is no longer worthwhile. Similarly, IWHC and Feministing's Lori Adelman offered insight on how seemingly old fashioned ideas about sexual purity affect the lives of women around the globe, with the emphasis on maintaining a woman's chastity until her wedding day leading to an astonishing prevalence of child marriage. (The sooner she's married, the less time she has to go out and bang people, right?)
In the slut shaming panel, we discussed the ways that sex-related shaming is used to silence and discredit women—and, perhaps more troublingly, discussed how slut shaming often comes from unexpected, seemingly enlightened sources. (Remember Tina Fey's SNL rant about Michelle "Bombshell" McGee? Or the way the left foamed at the mouth when homophobic beauty queen Carrie Prejean was revealed to have a sex tape? Yeah, not the most woman-friendly behaviors.)
During the queer virginity panel, we examined how the notion of virginity—traditionally correlated with penis-in-vagina intercourse—transforms when mapped onto a queer identity. Though one panelist felt that the idea of virginity lost its meaning outside of a heterosexual relationship, I still feel that the experience of one's first sexual relationship (however you define that) is significant enough to transcend gender, sexuality, and identity. In fact, in a queer space, loss of virginity can sometimes be more significant, as its that first sexual experience that solidifies an identity that might initially have been considered "questioning" or "curious."
In the last panel, none other than Shelby Knox reminded us that abstinence is nothing more than a method of birth control—not the loaded, value-laden signifier it's come to be seen as. And abortion activist Sarah Morton offered up one of my favorite sentiments of the day: rather than focusing on being "sex-positive," perhaps we should work on simply being positive, a body-friendly mindset that leads us to valuing our sexuality as a part of ourselves.
After all the commentary and discussion, no one walked away with a solid definition of what, exactly, virginity is (Tiger Beatdown's Sady Doyle even tweeted, "I have personally re-considered my virginity like 90 times today. I might still be a virgin! I have no idea anymore!"). But perhaps it's for the best. While the concept of virginity does have practical applications—in the public health sphere, as a personal milestone, or whatever it means to you—sexuality and sexual experience are too personal, and too nuanced, to benefit from any broad, generalized categorization. Rather than asking teenagers—or even ourselves—to uphold some arbitrary standard of "purity" (or, on the opposite end, virility), perhaps we should be teaching them to be true to themselves, their morals, and their desires.
At least, that's what I'd like to see.
Rethinking Virginity [Tumblr]
Relive the Twitter backchannel: #rethinkingvirginity


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The last time Junior dos Santos fought in Las Vegas he got beaten up and booed.
Remember how he looked when it was all over that night? When he stood there with a head that seemed to have doubled in size, trying to force a smile while fans booed him for, what, losing? Getting knocked silly in the first round and still going the distance anyway? Not being Cain Velasquez?
Whatever those boo-birds were thinking then, I hope they were watching on Saturday night. In his victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 160, dos Santos was everything we claim to want from our MMA heroes. He stood and banged, bro. He used the takedown just enough to make it a viable threat, but not so much that he was in any danger of challenging Khabib Nurmagomedov's mark. He took an obvious lead on the scorecards into the final round, yet still had the stones to try a spinning heel kick that he'd never pulled off in a fight before.
He went for the finish, even when he didn't have to. He also knocked out one of the least knockout-able heavyweights in the UFC, and did it with the same pure, childlike enthusiasm that he had for this sport back before Velasquez put what seemed like a potentially career-altering beating on him.
In other words, he's the same JDS he ever was, except maybe better. Hungrier, perhaps. More diverse in his attacks. Not so predictable. It's like he squeezed all the good stuff out of his loss to Velasquez, but without letting any of the bad stick to him. That's not easy to do. Especially so soon after the loss.
And Velasquez? He did what he was supposed to do, what we knew he would do. When you finish a guy off less than two minutes into the main event and it feels mainly like an I-told-you-so moment for the people who bet you up to a nearly 10-to-1 favorite in Vegas, it's a sign that the situation was to blame.
In a rematch of a fight that was nowhere near competitive the first time around, Velasquez stopped Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva again, this time with greater ease and far less blood. While the first fight went on a little too long, this one might have been stopped just a tad too early. In both cases, the outcome was hardly in doubt. It was just a question of whether we'd take the express or the scenic route.
So now that Velasquez met expectations and dos Santos exceeded them it seems as if we're headed for the first UFC heavyweight title trilogy since Tim Sylvia–Andrei Arlovski. The difference is, this one feels like something we really want to do, rather than just the best available option.
Thanks to one another, both Velasquez and dos Santos have gotten to ride the comeback train recently. Both now seem stronger because of it. It's just a question of who's strongest, and how long we'll have to wait to find out.
Elsewhere on the UFC 160 fight card…
Grant continues to be the best-case scenario for a drop in weight
We see a lot of fighters in the UFC attempt to breathe some life back into their careers (or start completely new ones) by going up or down in weight. It usually doesn't work the way they hope it will, probably because the weight is usually not the real issue in the first place. But then you look at T.J. Grant.
Grant was a mediocre welterweight who became a fantastic lightweight, and he did it pretty much immediately. Since dropping to 155 pounds in 2011, he's won five straight. The really amazing part is, as the level of his competition has gone up his performances have only gotten more impressive. Win a decision over Carlo Prater, and the UFC brass will give you a polite little golf clap. Knock Gray Maynard out in the first round, they give you a bonus check and title shot.
Grant's victory over Maynard might be the best thing that could happen to UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson right now. The Canadian brings a full head of steam and a growing reputation for exciting finishes into this title fight, and neither can be said of the champ these days. Grant seems like exactly the type of fighter who might force Henderson to do something different. Whether that something is fall down and go to sleep or actually finish a UFC fight inside the distance, we'll have to wait and see.
Teixeira has the hype, now he needs a challenge
We've been hearing about how good Glover Teixeira is/could become for about a year now, but we still have yet to see him in a fight that helps us see it for ourselves. His quick submission over James Te Huna made that pairing seem like a mismatch, and his win over Quinton "Rampage" Jackson came when Jackson was already on a two-fight skid and eyeing an exit strategy.
Teixeira has a comfortable seat in the top ten, but what he needs in order to get a better one is a fight with someone higher up the food chain. Think of it in terms of rental cars. This is the point where Teixeira has to make it clear that he'll only settle for Phil Davis or better. The young go-getters might have time to sit around and play the 'whoever the UFC puts in front of me' game. But Teixeira? He'll be 34 this fall. Time to get moving.
Do you want to be a f—ing fighter?! Don't answer just yet …
Cruising through our UFC 160 photo gallery this morning, I started to notice a theme. That theme was blood. Human carnage. Man's inhumanity to man, and all that stuff.
Estevan Payan set the tone early when he poured his plasma all over the canvas in the very first fight of the night. At one point, with Jeremy Stephens latched onto his back, the two fighters sat in a growing pool of blood that had even UFC matchmaker Joe Silva wincing from the other side of the fence. If you came around the corner and saw that much blood on the sidewalk, you'd start looking around for a body. In a sport this inured to human suffering, we look around for someone with a mop.
The trend continued throughout the night. K.J. Noons and Donald Cerrone both left the cage looking like they'd been in a plane crash. Mark Hunt and Colton Smith both got up from their defeats on legs so rubbery they'd stand no chance of passing a field sobriety test. Mike Pyle merely had his wits knocked loose, though he regained them in time to look an NSAC official in the eye between rounds, claiming he felt "good" after being flattened by Rick Story. The tone in Pyle's voice at the time? It was almost chipper. Like it was Monday morning and someone he didn't particularly want to talk to had just asked him how his weekend was. "Good," he said, resisting any urge to elaborate.
Only at Pyle's job, the person asking him how he felt was trying to determine just how rattled his brain was at that very moment. Pyle said the thing that would make him go away. He had blood on his face when he said it. The man who asked the question did not see anything about that fact that seemed incongruous with Pyle's answer to the question. That probably tells us something about this sport. Mostly it tells us that it's no place for people who place too much importance on keeping their blood inside their bodies.
Pay-per-view prices, now with more commercial breaks
I understand that the UFC is a business, and that its owners have outside business interests they'd like to promote. Interests like online poker and Las Vegas tourism, just to name a couple. At the same time, if I'm already paying $55 to watch, haven't they squeezed enough out of me for one night? Is it really necessary to take the advertiser integration crowbar and wedge in an interview with a poker player? And does he have to insult my intelligence by telling me how similar his card game of choice is to professional cage fighting?
The UFC has always been aggressive when it comes to sponsor shoutouts and product placement – how else did it get Cain Velasquez to shill way harder for Harley-Davidson than he ever has for Cain Velasquez? – but have some mercy on your paying customers. When I'm watching cable TV, I know there's a trade-off involved. When I'm paying for the privilege, I could stand just a little more respect for my time and patronage.
For full coverage of UFC 160, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.
(Pictured: Junior dos Santos)


text: Emperor Pilaf Saga Bulma's search for six Dragon Balls leads her to a remote valley, and to a boy named Goku. The two strangers begin their new relationship with Goku's naivete getting on Bulma's nerves, but after Goku saves Bulma's life they join forces in search of the remaining Dragon Balls. Episode List 1 . Secret of the Dragon Balls 2 . The Emperor's Quest 3 . The Nimbus Cloud of Roshi 4 . Oolong the Terrible 5 . Yamcha the Desert Bandit 6 . Keep an Eye on the Dragon Balls 7 . The Ox-King on Fire Mountain 8 . The Kamehameha Wave 9 . Boss Rabbit's Magic Touch 10 . The Dragon Balls are Stolen! 11 . The Penalty is Pinball 12 . A Wish to the Eternal Dragon 13 . The Legend of Goku


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Every year the Royal College of Science Union at Imperial College runs an essay competition called the Science Challenge. There are usually four questions to answer and a number of prizes for the essays that answer them best.
I've been shortlisted before, but this year I finally won something — the Physics prize. Check out the photo to the left for a glimpse of my shiny trophy...
The essay question I answered was "Why should the average person care whether we discover the Higgs boson?" I took it as an opportunity to go off on one about why particle physics is important...
From afar it may seem entirely disconnected from the real world, but the Higgs boson is much more integral to life, the universe and, well, everything than you may think.
Have you ever contemplated why you weigh what you do? I am not alluding to the second doughnut you had the other morning, or the ill-advised chips on the way home from the pub, but rather the fundamental reason why the atoms that make up your body, and everything else in the world, have a certain mass. If you haven't, you are not alone — until recently, scientists hadn't thought much about it either.
Before the standard model of particle physics came along, the origin of mass was not even considered a problem; that an object had mass was simply assumed. But when scientists began probing objects at smaller and smaller scales, they discovered that it was not quite as simple as that: according to the standard model, fundamental particles should weigh nothing at all.
The standard model describes the behaviour and interactions of all of the most fundamental particles we have seen — and one other particularly elusive one that, physicists hope, we will see in the near future. The model was developed throughout the 20th century and finalised when the existence of quarks, the particles that make up protons and neutrons, was confirmed in the 1970s. At the time many of the particles predicted by the standard model were yet to be seen. Over the years since then, physicists have ticked these particles off, one by one, like items on a shopping list. Now they are left with just one remaining unfound particle — the Higgs boson.
Peter Higgs, a theoretical physicist at the University of Edinburgh, came up with the idea of the Higgs field and its associated particle — the Higgs boson — in 1964. The field he proposed extends throughout the universe, and interacts with matter particles in such a way as to give them mass. After an interaction the field leaves behind a telltale sign — the Higgs boson. Finding a Higgs boson would prove that the Higgs field exists.
Two experiments that are part of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN are searching for the Higgs boson. Thousands of people from all around the world — including physicists, engineers and even anthropologists — work at CERN. If a Higgs boson is discovered there, there will be more than a few celebratory glasses of champagne — and an inevitable Nobel prize for Peter Higgs.
Elegant though the mathematics is that describes the Higgs mechanism, there is a chance that it does not actually describe nature. In this case, we have to look to slightly less elegant sounding 'Higgsless' models to discover the origin of mass. Some Higgsless models use extra dimensions to fix problems that would remain without the Higgs, while others use different mathematical tools. In fact, some physicists are more excited about the prospect of not discovering the Higgs, as this would leave the door open for other solutions that go beyond the standard model, and solve more problems than just the origin of mass.
So there are a few people at least for whom the discovery — or not — of the Higgs would be a momentous occasion.
But what about the rest of us? Well, there are many practical reasons to care about the search for the Higgs — if not that actual discovery. From conception through to the first collisions and beyond, particle accelerators spark many technological advancements that can be applied to fields as wide ranging as medicine, sustainable energy development and security. These advances would never have been made if we were not searching for as yet undiscovered particles like the Higgs.
However, one suspects that spin-off technologies and their economic benefits are not what the physicists at the LHC have in mind while running experiments and trawling data for signs of the Higgs boson. Peter Higgs told the Guardian why he was drawn to theoretical physics in the first place: "It's about understanding! Understanding the world!" His enthusiasm is not abnormal in the physics community, even if it can sometimes be dampened by long hours spent staring at a computer screen analysing data. As humans we have a natural curiosity about the world around us, and we should not suppress that curiosity simply because the practical benefits of following it are not clear at the outset. Without such a curiosity the modern world as we known it would not exist.
Many people, including Peter Higgs himself, subscribe to the view that science for the sake of understanding the world around us is inherently valuable. If however, you need a more concrete reason to care about the Higgs, allow me to borrow some words from Carl Sagan: everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives on the pale blue dot we know as Earth — and none of it would have ever existed without the Higgs boson.


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category with duals (list of them)
dualizable object (what they have)
ribbon category, a.k.a. tortile category
monoidal dagger-category?
A pivotal category is an autonomous category equipped with a monoidal natural isomorphism . Pivotal categories have also been called "sovereign categories." This is a kind of category with duals.
A right autonomous category with such an isomorphism is automatically left autonomous too, so the right/left distinction does not apply to pivotal categories.
pivotal category
Last revised on May 27, 2011 at 11:20:35. See the history of this page for a list of all contributions to it.


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MSC Cruises, the only privately owned Italian cruise line, has announced a new partnership with Eataly, the rapidly growing Turin-based food emporium and restaurateur, to launch the first two Eataly restaurants at sea.
When the line's newest ship, MSC Preziosa (sister ship to the Fantasia-class luxury ships MSC Divina, MSC Splendida and MSC Fantasia) is christened in Genoa in March, the two specialty restaurants will become magnets for foodies. One of the major proponents of the "slow food" philosophy, Eataly is known for sourcing and producing high-quality Italian foods and wines that are sustainable, traceable and affordable.
The 80-seat Eataly Restaurant will mirror its namesakes' origins, offering an informal venue to eat, buy and learn about the Italian food products in a minimalist but stylish space. Like other Eataly outposts, the walls will be decorated with neatly arranged shelves of products, from olive oils to dried pasta. Open for lunch and dinner, the menu will include pastas, vegetables, seafood, meat, cold cuts and cheese.
The fixed-price menu of the more intimate 24-seat Ristorante Italia (open only evenings) will be created by Eataly chefs, showcasing the best ingredients from small, local producers as well as a variety of paired wines.
Eataly currently has marketplaces in eight cities in Italy (with three more slated to open this spring), four in Japan and one in New York, which opened in 2010 with a great deal of buzz. A second U.S. store is scheduled to open in Chicago in autumn. The partnership is a perfect fit for MSC, whose history, culture and style are decidedly Italian, down to the Venchi chocolates left on your pillow at turndown.
"As a Mediterranean company, the addition of Eataly reflects our true roots and our ongoing emphasis on providing guests with quality dishes and dining options," said Richard Sasso, CEO and president of MSC Cruises USA. "Not only will our guests experience more variety and innovation on MSC, they will experience the Mediterranean flair … so special to our brand."
[This article was published in the Chicago Tribune on Sunday, January 28, 2013.]


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More to explore: configuration options unlocked in Windows Azure Web Sites
When managing a web site in Windows Azure Web Sites (WAWS), many options are configurable using the Azure Portal, and we are adding more options often. However, as you might already know, some of the real power options are available only by directly configuring a site's web.config file. We're sure you'll be happy to hear that recently, we have exposed several new options and made them available in web.config! If you've been managing web sites in IIS for a while, you probably know that IIS has a complex hierarchical system for managing the configuration. This system has configuration files for multiple levels, from the top-level machine.config and applicationHost.config files and all the way down to site-specific and even folder-specific web.config files. With Windows Azure Web Sites, we've tried to focus configuration changes just on web.config files by eliminate the complexity of dealing with the other files in the configuration hierarchy. With a recent update to Azure Web Sites, we now allow developers several new options that have been unlocked for web.config. In the past, these options were locked down at the site level, which means you could not configure them (if you tried, the site would throw an error). For example, a common request from Azure Web Sites customers was to be able to adjust the MIME types for dynamic and static content compression. On a standard default installation of IIS server, the master configuration file applicationHost.config file has the following configuration for the text/*, message/*, application/javascript, application/atom+xml and application/xaml+xml static MIME types only: On an IIS Server, this section would also be locked, so that you could not normally configure other or additional settings in a site-level web.config file. On a standalone IIS Server, you could easily edit your applicationHost.config file and add settings to it, or unlock the httpCompression section and then add configuration options at the site-level. With the changes to Azure Web Sites, we have unlocked that section, as well as several others, and now you can define your own options in your site's web.config file. Due to small changes for the httpCompression section in Azure Web Sites, the syntax has been simplified: As you can see, there's no need to specify the directory or scheme name, and you only need to list the MIME types for either Static types or Dynamic types. For other sections that we have unlocked, the syntax is similar to the one used for regular IIS websites. The full list of sections is below. Each item links to an article on IIS.NET which describes that part of the configuration schema and how to configure it.


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The Kardashiansreleased theirChristmas portraits yesterday. Thankfully, they also tweeted a less, well, polished image so we can play Spot the Difference like Highlights circa 1998! The final's above, click through for an original.
First of all, Lamar Odom's been entirely photoshopped into the portrait. He doesn't appear in any of the other images, and when they inserted him they blurred his face. Secondly, Kris' seafoam green Pamela Roland gown turned a silvery shade of gunmetal. Bruce's hair earned an extra inch on top and Kim's body was twisted in a way we're pretty sure the human body's not meant to move. But maybe worst of all, everyone's smiles were wiped out. Not even little Mason cracked a grin in his custom made Ralph Lauren suit! Guess there's always next year.


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Unfortunately there is currently no content on this site. Sometimes products change so quickly that we cannot display them immediately on our internet site. You may still be able to order these products.
If you have questions about these products or need an individual consultation, we will be happy to advise you under our toll-free number +49 (0) 30-47 37 29 100. You can also send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.com. The bagobag team is available daily for your inquiries.
You can also use our inquiry form. Please fill out the fields as completely as possible. We are also happy to pursue your inquiry if the fields are only partially filled out. Just don't forget to include your contact information.


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AHDRA Gainesville 2008
Racing motorcycle images from the Gainesville, FL Screamin' Eagle Performance Parts Bike Week Nationals season opener on February 29 - March 2, 2008. NOTE: (Updated 3/23/08) I believe all images are there. Thanks for your patience. If you're looking for one of your team, email me with a description (class, plate number, description of bike, color, color of leathers, etc.) and I'll look through the files again. Please leave comments, or EMAIL ME with any questions. Mike SS135Read More


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Social Agenda 49 - Turning vocational education and training into a smart choice
Ahead of the next European Vocational Skills Week (20-24 November), European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen highlights the strategic importance of vocational education, training and skills in addressing today's Europe-wide challenges. In addition to a special feature on skills, a special snapshot presents three options for Europe's social policy in the run up to 2025 that are open to discussion across Europe. There is a focus on new forms of work too, looking at steps that are being considered to help ensure all workers, including people in new forms of employment, have access to social protection and public employment services and that everybody benefits from proper work contracts. A feature on Greece reviews what the European Social Fund is doing to help the country launch a minimum income schemeCatalog N. : KE-AF-17-049-EN-N


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HaysMed Hospice to Hold Volunteer Training on October 18
HAYS, Kan. (September 29, 2016) HaysMed Hospice will be conducting a volunteer training session on Tuesday, October 18 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. There is no cost for the training and no obligation for attending. Lunch and all materials will be provided. Volunteers must complete the entire session to meet the volunteer requirements.
Hospice offers comfort care through supportive services and pain and symptom management. Hospice volunteer duties may include providing companionship, listening, reading, running errands, helping with simple tasks and supporting patients and families.
Volunteers are the heart of hospice work, and without volunteers HaysMed Hospice could not provide the many facets of physical, social, psychological and spiritual care that make hospice so special. The HaysMed Hospice team provides care for those in Ellis, Rooks, Rush and Russell counties.
Registration for training is required and participants need to register by October 12. To register or for more information call 785-623-6200 or 1-800-248-0073 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The NSA Wants America's Most Powerful Corporations to Be Dependent On It
General Keith B. Alexander, its leader, sought unprecedented access to financial-industry computers. He hasn't gotten it yet.
The Washington Post profile of NSA director General Keith B. Alexander concludes with an account of a private meeting that he conducted a few years ago with financial industry officials. Talk turned to computer malware aimed at stealing customer data.
"His proposed solution: Private companies should give the government access to their networks so it could screen out the harmful software," the newspaper reports. "The NSA chief was offering to serve as an all-knowing virus-protection service, but at the cost, industry officials felt, of an unprecedented intrusion into the financial institutions' databases." They were "stunned" the story goes on, "immediately grasping the privacy implications of what Alexander was politely but urgently suggesting." Said one participant, "Folks in the room looked at each other like, 'Wow. That's kind of wild.' "
Alexander's proposal is just the latest example we have of the NSA aggressively reaching out to America's biggest, most powerful corporate actors in ways that ostensibly offer an upside of added protection against attack, but at a terrible cost: the extreme concentration of power in the United States. The federal government, Wall Street, Silicon Valley — all are centers of power. In fact, entities within each sphere are powerful enough, on their own, to warrant constant vigilance. The NSA has constant access to troves of private communications. So does Google. I wouldn't bet that, 10 years from now, Google is going to launch a sophisticated blackmail campaign against America's ruling class. But if they wanted to, they'd have the data!
What ultimately restrains powerful entities is their separateness.
If Google tried to blackmail people, the federal government could arrest, prosecute, and jail the responsible parties. If national-security officials tried to mistreat Google, its management could marshal a substantial fortune, high-powered lawyers, and a far-reaching public platform to fight back. The same goes for Wall Street, Walmart, and the city of Walla Walla, Washington: America has countless repositories of power, some big, some small. And while that doesn't always prevent abuses, even serious ones, it has prevented us from becoming a society where anyone, whether a military dictator or the owner of a company store, has free rein to rule over regular people.
The diffuseness of power in America has long been a strength. But we're rapidly undermining it. I don't just mean that we're increasingly federalizing everything, and concentrating power in the executive branch, though we've done both of those things. What I mean is that, during the last two presidencies, a series of events, including the 9/11 attacks and the global financial crisis, have led to increasingly, uncomfortably close ties between Big Finance, Big Telecom, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. And apparently, Alexander is pushing for even closer ties, in the form of government eyes constantly inside of America's financial infrastructure.
Americans shouldn't trust any of these repositories of power. Government and corporations are both capable of terrible things. To have them colluding with one another in secret, inexorably arranging things so that there's disincentive for disagreement among them, is terrifying. The people can fight Big Government. The people can fight Big Finance. The people can fight Big Tech. Could the people fight them if they're all working together with secret law on their side? Booz Allen Hamilton is paid handsomely to spy on us for the government, then pours campaign contributions back into that same government, protecting their powerful financial incentive to have the surveillance state expand, something that is already a bipartisan cause. Five years hence, are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase going to be similarly invested in the expansion of the national security state? How about Microsoft and Google? AT&T? Under the umbrella of cybersecurity, is there any corporate player the NSA won't court or compel?
Alexander is no fool. He knows it is in his interest to make the NSA useful, even indispensable, to as many powerful corporations as possible — that just as the military-industrial complex consists of public and private entities with a common interest in growing the state every year, so too could his surveillance and cyber-security complex, if he is smart in how he proceeds.
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex," President Eisenhower warned. "The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."
What do you think, my fellow Americans? Has the Obama Administration permitted the input of "an alert and knowledgeable citizenry" on these matters? Or has the swollen weight of the surveillance state been thrust on our chests before we quite understood what had been created?


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Robot Solves Rubik's Cube in 3.253 Seconds
In today's Robot News, "CubeStormer 3" has set a new world record for solving a Rubik's Cube—just 3.253 seconds. This is a field known as "speedcubing," and the human record is just over 5.5 seconds. I, for one, welcome our new robot speedcubing overlords.
CubeStormer 3 breaks the old world record held by—wait for it—CubeStormer 2, which took 5.27 seconds to solve a randomized cube. Here's video; the action starts about nine seconds in, and it goes very quickly, of course.
And here's an overhead look at the process with less hype at the beginning and end:
The CubeStormer systems use LEGO Mindstorms robotics controlled by smartphones to manipulate the cubes. (The phones use cameras to observe the layout of the cube, then figure out the next move, and command the LEGO robot arms to do it.) It's easier to see what's going on by looking at the slightly slower CubeStormer 2, shown here:
And if you've got time, parts, and patience aplenty, here's a time-lapse video showing the creation of a (non-CubeStormer) LEGO speedcubing machine:
We first covered this beautiful madness when the original CubeStormer debuted back in 2010. (We also have a video roundup including some human speedcubers.)
(Via CNN.)


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Sixth annual SportsCenter Fantasy Draft Special airs August 16 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Fantasy Football Now expands to two hours on ESPN2 beginning September 9
New ESPN Primetime Payoff pick 'em game based on events of Monday Night Football
ESPN Fantasy Football presented by GEICO returns for its 18th consecutive season on ESPN.com. To date, page views to Fantasy Football content on ESPN.com are currently up 15 percent compared to last year. In 2011, unique users to ESPN Fantasy Football grew 19 percent compared to the 2010 season.
For the 8th consecutive year, the game will feature the broadest collection of expert analysis, news and statistical information available – all for free. ESPN Fantasy Football players can begin drafting (and mock drafting) on ESPN.com now and will be served by integration across ESPN's many media platforms.
Additionally, ESPN will debut a new pick 'em game titled ESPN Primetime Payoff presented by Best Buy based on the events surrounding Monday Night Football this Fall. Fans will be able to play every Wednesday during the season for a chance to be selected in the grand prize random drawing.
ESPN Fantasy Football presented by GEICO
This year, iPhone, Android and Windows Phone users on the go will have the added benefit of downloading the ESPN Fantasy Football app for free beginning in mid-August. As always, managers will be able to customize their league with a variety of features and options, including the ability create standard and public leagues, set up new rules and scoring, transfer existing keeper league settings, choose auction bidding over waivers for free agent pickups, select from multiple draft options (online auction, live online or automated online) and more. ESPN.com also provides multiple tools for the draft including a Fantasy Football Draft Kit that breaks down every player, a Mock Draft Lobby for players to prepare strategies of picks and the option to trade draft picks in leagues with a fixed draft order.
During the season, managers can follow ESPN FantasyCast for free live scoring in real-time during fantasy football Sundays, access embedded player information cards and have the ability to add/flag players to better manage the waiver wire throughout the season. Each league also features message boards, chats, polls and smack boards. All features are highlighted by ESPN.com's fantasy experts with both weekly player projection totals and position ranks.
ESPN Primetime Payoff presented by Best Buy
New to Fantasy for the upcoming NFL season, ESPN Primetime Payoff on ESPN.com and accessible on mobile and tablet devices is the debut pick 'em game based on the events of Monday Night Football. Every Wednesday during the season, twelve game-related questions will be released for participants to answer for the following week. During halftime, four additional bonus questions – worth two points each – will be released that are directly relevant to what has happened in the game. Participants gather points throughout the season based on correct picks, which will transfer as entries to the overall grand prize random drawing of $1 million. Additionally, the overall highest scoring player in the game will receive a check for $50,000. The game will include social media integrations like message boards and the ability to submit halftime questions via Twitter hashtag #primetimepayoff.
Fans who visit ESPN.com will find the most informative and comprehensive news, analysis and insights in the industry. ESPN has assembled an unmatched roster of writers, analysts and media personalities, including:
- Matthew Berry (a.k.a. "The Talented Mr. Roto"), a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame and Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame, will reveal positional rankings on Wednesdays and release his signature "Love/Hate" columns on Thursdays. He will also appear in a variety of video segments;
- Award-winning analyst Christopher Harris will provide comprehensive rankings and game observation-based analysis through his weekly column and digital original series on ESPN.com; and
- ESPN.com Fantasy Insider Eric Karabell will blog daily and post his popular weekly Flex Rankings every Thursday.
Other contributors include FSWA award-winner Tristan Cockcroft and ESPN Insider K.C. Joyner. Fans will also find insight from ESPN.com's football experts and analysts, including Hall of Famer John Clayton; Mike Sando, Dan Graziano, Kevin Seifert, Bill Williamson, Pat Yasinskas, James Walker and Paul Kuharsky of the NFL Blog Network; and Scouts Inc.'s Matt Williamson.
ESPN Mobile
- ESPN Fantasy Football App – The free app for iPhone, Android and – for the first time – on Windows Phones features team management, FantasyCast live scoring, news, videos and Tweets from ESPN Fantasy experts, league message boards and more;
- Mobile Team Management – Users with access to the ESPN mobile Web site will be able to set rosters, trade and waive players, and check scoring – all from their mobile devices.
- Mobile Scores and Alerts – Users can access their matchup, league scoreboard, and latest news on their mobile devices. ESPN Insiders can opt to receive personalized team alerts with breaking news, scoring, injury and substitution updates.
- Mobile TV – Fantasy football-related video content from ESPN studio shows.
ESPN will once again bring fans fantasy football insights, information and analysis on its television and radio networks, including:
- SportsCenter Fantasy Draft Special: On August 16 at 7 p.m. ET, ESPN will televise its sixth annual "SportsCenter Fantasy Draft Special." The preview special highlighted by analysis and debate from a number of ESPN analysts and experts, including Matthew Berry and Tim Hasselbeck.
- Fantasy Football Now: The Emmy Award-winning live Sunday morning program, incubated on ESPN.com and now available on ESPN2, will expand to two hours this year and will air every Sunday during the season at 11 a.m. beginning September 9. The show returns beginning with four 30-minute preview shows beginning August 5. ESPN's Robert Flores hosts with Berry as lead analyst, football expert Tim Hasselbeck breaking down fantasy, Sara Walsh and a collection of additional contributors each week.
- NFL Live, SportsCenter, Numbers Never Lie, Mike & Mike: ESPN's signature news, information and analysis programs will feature fantasy football content integration, with additional in-depth attention to fantasy football in late August.
ESPN Radio will once again bring fans original podcasts dedicated to fantasy football:
- ESPN Radio: Throughout the season, ESPN Radio will devote attention to fantasy football in popular programs like Mike & Mike in the Morning (simulcast on ESPN2).
- ESPN Fantasy Draft Special presented by Geico – 6 Pre-Season – approx. 30 minutes. Christopher Harris and other special guests will discuss position rankings and strategy leading up to the season.
- ESPN Fantasy Focus Football – Daily – approx. 45 minutes (5 days per week in-season only). Hosted by Berry and Nate Ravitz, and featuring a host of guests and interviews, the podcast will provide player previews, game overviews and strategies. Last year, Fantasy Focus was named in the PodcastAwards.com awards for "Best Sports Podcast" for the second time in the past three years.
- ESPN Football Today – Daily – approx. 30 minutes. All things football with in-depth pre- and post-game analysis, players, coaches and more with hosts Ross Tucker and Matt Williamson.