Bob Jensen's Tidbits

Don't Let Data Theft Happen to You
That said, Mr. Mierzwinski endorsed the preventive measures offered by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (www.privacyrights.org), a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, and by the Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org), also a nonprofit. Besides the standard advice to shred personal documents, following are some tips I found useful . . .
M.P. Dunleavey, "Don't Let Data Theft Happen to You," The New York Times, July 2, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/technology/02instincts.html

Floss like never before
Take Special Care of Your Teeth and Gums to Prevent Diabetes Complications --- http://my.webmd.com/content/article/96/103646.htm?z=4266_107278_2426_in_01

Do your children snore?
Sleep-Disordered Breathing May Contribute to Hyperactivity in Children --- http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/108/108776.htm?z=1727_00000_5024_hv_03

Women in joint Nobel nomination
Eight Palestinian and two Iraqis are just some of the dozens of Arab women among counterparts from 153 countries nominated for this year's prize. The list includes women from war-ravaged countries, including 11 from Afghanistan and 16 from Sudan.
"Women in joint Nobel nomination," Aljazeera, July 1, 2005 ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8F349E7C-CA7A-441E-A147-CBBF3CD91D8E.htm

Time Magazine's choice of the 50 Coolest Websites for 2005 --- http://www.time.com/time/2005/websites/

How do we come up with our 50 best? Short answer: we take your suggestions, probe friends and colleagues about their favorite online haunts and then surf like mad. This year's finalists are a mix of newcomers, new discoveries and veterans that have learned some new tricks

The List: Arts & Entertainment
The List: Blogs
The List: Lifestyle, Health & Hobbies
The List: News & Information
The List: Shopping

Bob Jensen's bookmarks are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob.htm

Top investor blogs
The blogosphere provides a feast of investment Web sites, some of which are tasty treats and others half-baked. Here, we've identified some of the most worthwhile investing blogs. These 10 are worth visiting, whether you're a casual stockpicker or a seasoned pro in search of fresh ideas. Another way to sample the smorgasbord: Visit seekingalpha.com or pfblog.com, both of which aggregate other financial blogs.
"Blogging For Dollars," Business Week, July 11, 2005 --- http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_28/b3942113_mz070.htm?chan=tc

How Quantum Physics Can Teach Biologists About Evolution
Physicists reeled. But physics survived. And once they got over their shock, scientists began testing Planck's ideas with observation and experiment, work that eventually produced computer chips, lasers, CAT scans and a host of other useful technologies - all made possible through our new understanding of the way the world works. Biologists might do well to keep Planck in mind as they confront creationism and "intelligent design" and battle to preserve the teaching of evolution in public schools.
Cornelia Dean, "How Quantum Physics Can Teach Biologists About Evolution," The New York Times, July 5, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/05/science/05essa.html?

Economists See Modest Growth and Many Worries
The economy is nearing its fifth year of expansion on a firm footing, yet a long list of worries still nags at economists. Top among the concerns: When will the Federal Reserve stop raising short-term interest rates? Yesterday, the Fed raised its closely watched federal-funds rate -- which is charged by banks on overnight loans -- a quarter percentage point to 3.25%, the ninth straight increase in a yearlong campaign to head off further increases in inflation. The 56 economists who participate in The Wall Street Journal's semiannual economic survey and submitted their forecasts between June 10 and June 17 say the Fed isn't done yet, though the pace of rate increases could slow. They expect the Fed to raise the rate three more times in the next 12 months, bringing it to 4%.
John E. Hilsenrath and Rafael Grena-Morales, "Economists See Modest Growth and Many Worries: Issues Include Inflation, Oil, China and When Fed Will Stop Rising Rates," The Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2005; Page A1 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112014118051374092,00.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

Poor Writing Costs Americans Millions
States spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars a year on remedial writing instruction for their employees, according to a new report that says the indirect costs of sloppy writing probably hurt taxpayers even more. The National Commission on Writing, in a report to be released Tuesday, says that good writing skills are at least as important in the public sector as in private industry. Poor writing not only befuddles citizens but also slows down the government as bureaucrats struggle with unclear instructions or have to redo poorly written work. "It's impossible to calculate the ultimate cost of lost productivity because people have to read things two and three times," said Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, vice chairman of the National Governors Association, which conducted the survey for the commission. The commission, established by the College Board, drew attention with its first report in 2003. That outlined problems with how writing is taught in American schools and proposed remedies. The group's second report, last year, tried to drum up support for writing education by highlighting the value that business and industry leaders place on writing skills.
Justin Pope, "Poor Writing Costs Americans Millions," Associated Press, July 4, 2004 --- http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GOVERNMENT_BAD_WRITING?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

Qatar to host inter-faith centre
"The real success story of the conference is that I as a Jew am speaking in Qatar to Muslims and Christians," Rabbi Bernard Kanovitch of the Jewish Institution Council in France said. "This is just the beginning of much more things to come," he said.
"Qatar to host inter-faith centre," Aljazeera, July 1, 2005 ---
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/30B16606-A72B-4F3C-BD48-6B14D6EA7B5F.htm

The Facebook: Meeting on campus ain't what it used to be
Constantly updated by its 2.8 million registered users at more than 800 colleges and universities, the Facebook takes the local malt shop social nexus of the 1950s and makes it universal. Started by three Harvard sophomores in February 2004 as an online directory to connect the higher education world through social networks, the Facebook now registers more than 5,800 new users a day. ''It becomes part of your daily routine. It's e-mail, the news, the weather, Facebook,'' said Lucas Garza, a senior from San Antonio studying aerospace engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Users of Facebook, http://www.thefacebook.com , can post a photo and a profile of themselves for free. The profiles include as little or as much information as the user desires, including basic biographies, lists of hobbies and interests, even home address and cell phone number.
"Facebook an Internet Sensation on Campus," The New York Times, July 2, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Facebook-Frenzy.html

New insight into horse evolution
As the Great Ice Age came to an end, some 11,000 years ago, North America was thought to be home to as many as 50 species and subspecies of horse. But studies of ancient DNA tell a rather different story, suggesting the horses belonged to just two species. These are the stilt-legged horses, now extinct, and the caballines. The caballines are thought to be the ancestors of today's domestic horse.
Helen Briggs, "New insight into horse evolution," BBC News, July 2, 2005 --- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4618571.stm

Boobs are not the same as Tupperware
A dangerous underground of "pump parties" has sprung up around the country catering to transgender individuals seeking more feminine features through cheap – sometimes deadly – black-market silicone injections, experts say. Two San Diego transgender women were near death Friday after unlicensed practitioners injected them with liquid silicone at a "pump party" five days earlier, officials said.
Marty Graham, "U.S. experts warn of risky silicone 'pump parties'," Sign on San Diego, July 2, 2005 --- http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050702-0706-life-transgender.html

Green tea unlikely to reduce cancer risk
The evidence that green tea may reduce risk of some cancers is weak and its unlikely to cut cancer risk, U.S. Federal Drug Administration officials said.
"Green tea unlikely to reduce cancer risk," Science Daily, July 1, 2005 --- http://snipurl.com/GreenTeaJuly3

Interest in majoring in economics is exploding
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, economics majors in their first job earn an average of nearly $43,000 a year -- not as much as for computer-science majors and engineering majors, who can earn in excess of $50,000 a year. But those computer and engineering jobs look increasingly threatened by competition from inexpensive, highly skilled workers in places like India and China. "Historically, the trends [in college degrees] are largely connected to perceived job prospects," says Marvin Lazerson, historian of education and a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education in Philadelphia. He cites the recent example of computer science majors, whose ranks swelled in the 1990s and quickly subsided in the early 2000s, soon after the dot-com bubble burst and many companies started outsourcing computer-programming jobs abroad. In contrast, economics and business majors ranked among the five most-desirable majors in a 2004 survey of employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, along with accounting, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. It wasn't just banks and insurance companies that expressed interest in economics majors -- companies in industries such as utilities and retailing did so, too. Like many people whose eyes glaze over at a supply-and-demand curve, Nicholas Rendler, a 19-year-old student at Brown University, in Providence, R.I., says he finds economics boring. But he has gravitated to the topic anyway: He chose a major combining economics, sociology, and anthropology because he thinks economics is crucial to understanding the world.
Jessica E. Vascellaro, "The Hot Major For Undergrads Is Economics," The Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2005; Page A11 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112052978616277054,00.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
Jensen Comment: Interest in undergraduate economics is correlated with hiring of MBAs since many economics majors go on to earn MBA degrees. MBA hiring has increased along with starting salaries. This greatly affects the number of economics undergraduates.

Hardwiring' Brain Is No Longer Stuff of Fiction
Meshing people with computers has been fodder for science fiction for years, such as downloading memories onto computer chips and replacement robotic limbs controlled by brain waves. The fantasy is coming closer to reality as advances in technology mean computers are learning to interact with human characteristics such as voices, touch, even smell. Mr. Gates, whose Redmond, Wash.-based company is spending more than $6 billion on research and development this year to remain a world leader in software development, was asked whether he thought computers would ever be implanted in the human brain.
Associated Press, "Gates Says 'Hardwiring' Brain Is No Longer Stuff of Fiction," The Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2005; Page D4 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112051514447076746,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

Remember that comparing health insurance policies is like comparing oranges with potatoes
Annelena Lobb, "Health-Care Premiums Vary For Young Singles," The Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2005; Page D2 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112051908743076879,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

Those in Long Beach, Calif., pay the lowest prices -- the lowest available monthly premium for a 30-year-old nonsmoker is $54 -- and the costliest insurance is in New York City, where similar coverage costs $334.

Sorting results by gender alters the rankings. Columbus, Ohio, is the most affordable city for men, who pay as little as $52 a month. Long Beach, Calif., with its $54 premium, still ranks first for women. (Long Beach ranks fourth for men and Columbus ninth for women.) Some states, including California and Hawaii, legally mandate equal rates for men and women. Prices vary between them in states that don't; in New Orleans, women paid 35% more than men did.

Complex attitudes toward America
Anne Applebaum, "Who Are the Pro-Americans?" The Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2005 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112051174206776651,00.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

So familiar are the numbers, and so often have we heard them analyzed, that the release of a new poll on international anti-Americanism last week caused barely a ripple. Once again the Pew Global Attitudes Project showed that the majority of Frenchmen have a highly unfavorable view of the United States; that the Spanish prefer China to America; that Canadian opinion of the United States has sunk dramatically. And once again the polls told only half of the story.

After all, even the most damning polls always show that some percentage of even the most anti-American countries remains pro-American. According to the new poll, some 43% of the French, 41% of Germans, 42% of Chinese and 42% of Lebanese say they like Americans. Maybe it's time to ask: Who are they?

In fact, when pro-and anti-American sentiments are broken down by age, income, and education -- I did so recently using polling data from the Program on International Policy Attitudes, supplied by Foreign Policy magazine -- patterns do emerge. It turns out, for example, that in Poland, which is generally pro-American, people between the ages of 30 and 44 are even more likely to support America than their compatriots. This is the group whose lives would have been most directly affected by the experience of the Solidarity movement and martial law -- events that occurred when they were in their teens and twenties -- and who have the clearest memories of American support for the Polish underground.

If male martyrs reputedly get 72 virgins in paradise, what do women suicide bombers get?
Wafa al-Biri, a 21-year-old Palestinian woman with a lovely face and a quiet voice, seems an unlikely candidate for a suicide mission. Yet her greatest wish, she told reporters, was to kill 30 to 50 Jews, including children. The motives of suicide bombers are many, mysterious and murky. And rarely are they as stated by the bombers on camera. Wafa's case sheds some light on what is to many an incomprehensible phenomenon. Why do people become suicide bombers? More specifically, if male martyrs reputedly get 72 virgins in paradise, what do women suicide bombers get?
Martin Fletcher . "From Patient to Suicide Bomber." FrontPage Magazine, July 5, 2005 --- http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18619

A single optimistic adviser can make the difference for hundreds of students
When it comes to convincing kids at low-income high schools that they can find a way to pay for college, a single optimistic adviser can make the difference for hundreds of students, according to Scott L. Thomas, associate professor at the University of Georgia’s Institute of Higher Education. Thomas described his research Monday at the annual meeting of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, in New York City. Thomas is studying the efficacy of policies that seek to make college available in various cultural and socioeconomic settings.
David Epstein, "It Takes a Counselor, Not a Village," Inside Higher Ed, July 5, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/07/05/aid

Were the Good Old Days That Good?
TOM RATH, the protagonist in Sloan Wilson's 1955 novel, "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," certainly had his share of troubles: the stressful conformity, the constant striving for success, the superficial suburban friendships, the war experiences he kept hidden from his wife. It all ate away at him. But Tom, like most Americans in the first three decades after World War II, took a rising standard of living for granted. When he needed more income to make ends meet, he simply landed a better-paying job. Indeed, at parties throughout suburbia, Mr. Wilson wrote, "the public celebration of increases in salary was common." And Tom didn't fret about medical bills, job security or the quality of public schools for his three children.
Louis Uchitelle, "Were the Good Old Days That Good?" The New York Times, July 3, 2005 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/03/business/yourmoney/03standard.html?

Online gambling: At what price?
Online poker is on a winning streak. According to research firm River City Group, Internet poker alone is a $2 billion-a-year industry with a million players monthly. ComScore Media Metrix -- which measures all U.S. Internet users at home, work and college locations -- reports more than 29.1 million unique visitors to online gambling sites in April, out of a total audience of 165 million. Observers agree that the numbers are impressive, but experts at Wharton and elsewhere contend that the mainstreaming of online gambling -- particularly among school-aged males -- raises a host of public policy, legal and e-commerce issues.
"The Odds Are Good That Online Gambling Will Continue to Thrive -- But at What Price?" Knowledge@Wharton, July 2005 --- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1236

A Changing of the Guard at the SEC
During his 28 months as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, William Donaldson turned out to be something of a surprise. A Republican and longtime securities industry insider, Donaldson repeatedly sided with the two Democratic commissioners to push through a series of post-Enron market reforms that irritated Wall Street and corporate America, but were applauded by investors' groups. With Donaldson stepping down June 30, will the regulatory pendulum swing the other way under Christopher Cox, the conservative California Congressman Bush has nominated as the next SEC chairman? And just what kind of legacy is Donaldson leaving?
"A Changing of the Guard at the SEC: Will Corporate America Get a More Sympathetic Ear?" Knowledge@Wharton, July 2005 --- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1233

A rum and Wahaha?
Wahaha, whose main products are milk drinks, bottled water and mixed congee, is the number one beverage company in China, with revenues of 11.4 billion yuan ($1.37 billion) and profits of 1.35 billion yuan ($162.7 million) in 2004. The company was started in 1987 by Zong Qinghou, its 60-year-old chairman and CEO. In an interview with Wharton marketing professor John Zhang, Zong talks about his first entrepreneurial ventures selling beverages and ice cream, the success of his first major product, "Wahaha nutritional liquid," his joint venture with the French giant Danone Group, and his rapid growth over the past eight years through the establishment of 40 subsidiaries in 16 Chinese provinces. In 1998, Wahaha launched its own brand, "Future Cola," to compete against Coke and Pepsi.
"Watch Out, Coke and Pepsi -- Here Comes Wahaha," Knowledge@Wharton, July 2005 --- http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1235

"The Corrosion of Ethics in Higher Education," by Candace de Russy and Mitchell Langbert, Inside Higher Ed, July 5, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/07/05/derussy

Notwithstanding such pronouncements, higher education recently has provided the public with a series of ethical solecisms, most spectacularly the University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill’s recidivistic plagiarism and duplicitous claim of Native American ancestry along with his denunciations of 9/11 victims. While plagiarism and fraud presumably remain exceptional, accusations and complaints of such wrong doing increasingly come to light.

Some examples include Demas v. Levitsky at Cornell, where a doctoral student filed a legal complaint against her adviser’s failure to acknowledge her contribution to a grant proposal; Professor C. William Kauffman’s complaint against the University of Michigan for submitting a grant proposal without acknowledging his authorship; and charges of plagiarism against by Louis W. Roberts, the now-retired classics chair at the State University of New York at Albany. Additional plagiarism complaints have been made against Eugene M. Tobin, former president of Hamilton College, and Richard L. Judd, former president of Central Connecticut State University.

In his book Academic Ethics, Neil Hamilton observes that most doctoral programs fail to educate students about academic ethics so that knowledge of it is eroding. Lack of emphasis on ethics in graduate programs leads to skepticism about the necessity of learning about ethics and about how to teach it. Moreover, nihilist philosophies that have gained currency within the academy itself such as Stanley Fish’s “antifoundationalism” contribute to the neglect of ethics education.
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For these reasons academics generally do not seriously consider how ethics education might be creatively revived. In reaction to the Enron corporate scandal, for instance, some business schools have tacked an ethics course onto an otherwise ethically vacuous M.B.A. program. While a step in the right direction, a single course in a program otherwise uninformed by ethics will do little to change the program’s culture, and may even engender cynicism among students.

How can we make sure that we don’t waste the summer?
“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy, Fish are jumpin’, and the cotton is high….” This song captures a mood that rises within most of us in June. By the end of the semester, we feel like the indentured servants of our students, if not their slaves. Now that the weather’s warm and the days long, our not-so-inner child is screeching: “Summer Break!” We want to go out and play rather than focus on all the tasks we’ve put on hold until the end of the school year. How can we make sure that we don’t waste the summer?
Mary McKinney, "Summertime, and the Livin’ Is...," Inside Higher Ed, July 5, 2005 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/careers/2005/07/05/mckinney

Big Brother will be watching these guys
Illinois will go high tech to track sex offenders. Today, the state will begin the process of hiring 31 parole officers who will participate in a pilot program using satellites and computers to monitor dangerous sex offenders. In doing so, Illinois joins a handful of states employing global positioning system technology as a way to assure sex offenders on parole don't stray into areas where they may strike again. "We think it's going to be a nice tool to help supervise our offenders," said Robert Ley, an Illinois Department of Corrections parole supervisor. The state will identify 200 high-risk sex offenders to be outfitted with an ankle bracelet and a transmitter. The device sends a continuous signal to a parole agent's computer, allowing the officer to track an offender's whereabouts.
Kurt Erickson, "GPS will track sex offenders: State hiring officers to monitor parolees considered dangerous," Pantagraph.com, July 1, 2005 --- http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/070105/new_20050701024.shtml

The Deal: A top source for current financial news ---
http://www.thedeal.com/NASApp/cs/CS?pagename=Home&c=Page&cid=1011714706980

Forwarded by Betty Carper

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Forwarded by Auntie Bev

Magic Fun: Check out Men In Coats Men In Coats

Snapple Facts --- http://www.snapple.com/realfactsgame.asp

Time Waster: http://www.planetdan.net/pics/misc/tetka.html
Hold down your left mouse key to 'assist' if the graphic gets stuck. [You'll see what I mean]. Then release the mouse and see what happens.

Forwarded by Paula

My Kind of Pilot --- http://www.barry.fireflyinternet.co.uk/fun/files/pilot.htm