A new book, "What Americans Really Believe", reviewed in the WSJ, says that traditional Christian religion decreases belief in such things as palm reading and astrology. The irreligious, on the other hand, tend to be more likely to believe in the paranormal and pseudoscience.
Beats me, but the "conspiracy" shows are running amok in Hollywood (Fringe, Lost, X-Files) suggesting that we all need to believe in something out of the ordinary!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Do private house rental sites work?
My family has been hit-and-miss with VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner), a site which has bought us both gems and scams.
This is not uncommmon, says Michelle Higgins in a story in today's The New York Times. She says the professionally managed rentals, like zonder.com, forGetaway.com, and PickPackGO.com, offer a certain quality control since management companies run the facilities and the sites accept credit cards.
The owner-rented sites, such as Homeaway.com and VRBO offer you cost-savings, but beg for more interaction with owner for verification of quality. A new site, call FlipKey.com, will allow past renters to offer reviews.
This is not uncommmon, says Michelle Higgins in a story in today's The New York Times. She says the professionally managed rentals, like zonder.com, forGetaway.com, and PickPackGO.com, offer a certain quality control since management companies run the facilities and the sites accept credit cards.
The owner-rented sites, such as Homeaway.com and VRBO offer you cost-savings, but beg for more interaction with owner for verification of quality. A new site, call FlipKey.com, will allow past renters to offer reviews.
CrossLoop gets techie help to friends
CrossLoop allows the tech-savvy (you, or an expert) to help out the non-savvy (you or friend and often older family member) via direct control of their computers.
To use, both you and the person you are helping must go to www.crossloop.com and download the software. The sessions require both parties to be in attendance (to avoid renegade remote control of a computer).
This seems like an intriguing way to connect the 1-in-100 techie with the other 99.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Parents can fix education
This wsj article offered findings that, instead of bad teachers and budget cuts, that "parent expectations" is number one determinant of student success.
The 2007 Michigan Dept of Education findings:
"The most consistent predictor of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with their child's education at school. Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children's eduational activities."
The article says that
"All you have to do is start insisting that your children fully appply themselves to their studies -- and commit yourself to doing your part. That means making sure they do all of their work as their abilities allow. It also means making sure everything at home stands behind these principles and supports the idea of learning."
The 2007 Michigan Dept of Education findings:
"The most consistent predictor of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with their child's education at school. Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children's eduational activities."
The article says that
"All you have to do is start insisting that your children fully appply themselves to their studies -- and commit yourself to doing your part. That means making sure they do all of their work as their abilities allow. It also means making sure everything at home stands behind these principles and supports the idea of learning."
People believe in bigfoot!
And they will believe in most anything!
The "Bigfoot" publicity stunt worked its way through Palo Alto and world media recently , confirming again that, sometimes, people just want to believe.
New York Times writer adds in 3/30/08 article that:
- Americans are as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution (about 30-40%)
The "Bigfoot" publicity stunt worked its way through Palo Alto and world media recently , confirming again that, sometimes, people just want to believe.
New York Times writer adds in 3/30/08 article that:
- Americans are as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution (about 30-40%)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
2 billion people to speak English?
Micheal Erard in Wired magazine states:
By 2020, native English speakers will make up only 15 percent of the estimated 2 billion people who will be using or learning the language.
and that
Already, most conversations in English are between non-native speakers who use it as common bridge
Free online photo services
There are no less than seven premiere on-line photo services:
Adobe Photoshop Express (recent entry, in beta mode)
Flickr
Photobucket
Kodak Gallery
Picasa (just added face recognition and tagging)
Shutterfly
Snapfish
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