August 2005 – Page 12

Media dismayed by military planning

Contributed by: filbert Monday, August 22 2005 @ 08:18 AM CST

Army general says they’ve planned through 2009[*1] .

Schoomaker, who spoke aboard an Army jet on the trip back to Washington from Kansas City, Mo., made no predictions about the pace of political progress in Iraq. But he said he was confident the Army could provide the current number of forces to fight the insurgency for many more years. The 2007-09 rotation he is planning would go beyondPresident Bush’s term in office, which ends in January 2009.

The fairly consistent media spin on this is that the military expects (not “plans,” but “expects”) to be in Iraq in large numbers in 2009. This is, I think, not likely. I think there will be some permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq, but nothing like, say, Germany or Japan.

Akamai to track net news flow

Contributed by: filbert Monday, August 22 2005 @ 08:17 AM CST

I’m not quite sure what this is good for, but web mega-host Akamai has a Net news index[*1] up on their site.

The Boston Globe[*2] reports:

Drawing on data collected from news sites for which Akamai delivers content, from CNN and MSNBC to Reuters and BBC, the new Akamai Net Usage Index for News will track the aggregate number of viewers per minute by geography, identify the times of day when news viewing peaks in different parts of the world, and measure how much above or below the average news viewing is at any given moment.[*1] http://www.akamai.com/en/html/industry/net_usage_index.html
[*2] http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/08/18/akamai_will_track_usage_of_net_news/

Stem cell breakthrough?

Contributed by: filbert Monday, August 22 2005 @ 08:16 AM CST

Harvard scientists turn skin cells into stem cells[*1] :

There is a limited supply of human eggs, which are needed for creating embryos through cloning, and egg donors face a slight health risk. The new cell fusion technique would enable scientists to create vastly greater quantities of embryonic stem cells for research.

That would mean they could do far more experiments aimed at understanding what happens when a regular, adult cell is transformed into an embryonic stem cell, a process known as ”reprogramming.” Researchers are struggling to determine how a cell that is ”adult,” already committed to its role in the body as, for example, a nerve cell or skin cell, regresses back to the proto-state in which, as a stem cell, it could still potentially become any of the hundreds of types of cells in the body.

NFL Preseason Week 2

Contributed by: filbert Monday, August 22 2005 @ 08:16 AM CST

Broncos 26, 49ers 21.[*1] Result overshadowed by death of 49er lineman after the game.

Cardinals 24, Chiefs 17[*2] . Chiefs now have Kansas City’s longest current pro franchise losing streak.

Jets 28, Vikings 21[*3] . Jets win sloppy pre-season game.

49er death still a mystery

Contributed by: filbert Monday, August 22 2005 @ 08:13 AM CST

Thomas Herrion dies after football game[*1] in Denver:

Herrion was on the field Saturday for the 49ers’ final possession. He played left guard on a 14-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a San Francisco touchdown with 2 seconds remaining.

A video review of the drive revealed Herrion did not show visible signs of trouble. He blocked Broncos linebacker Terry Pierce on the final play of the drive, a 23-yard touchdown run by reserve quarterback Cody Pickett.

Royals: 2-0

Contributed by: filbert Monday, August 22 2005 @ 08:05 AM CST

And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth in California[*1] as the A’s drop a series to the Royals:

After playing better than any club in baseball for roughly 2 1/2 months, the A’s have reverted to their May persona. They coughed up a highly winnable game to the woeful Royals, losing 5-4 in 12 innings at McAfee Coliseum.

Royals win streak at 2, need to go 23-17 to avoid 100 losses.