There is no doubt that this is a great photo of a crested black macaque monkey, a small primate found in Indonesia. The photographer can be proud of his considerable skill and patience. But, unfortunately there is no photographer! It is a selfie taken by the monkey and the image is more serendipity than skill.
Here is the back-story: David Slater, a British photographer traveled to Indonesia to take photos of this particular breed of macaque. According to a British newspaper, the Telegraph, this monkey “came up to investigate and hijacked a camera, and took hundreds of selfies”. Most of the photos were of poor quality but this one was spectacular. So, Slater licensed the photo and it began showing up on several sites, including Wikimedia Commons as a public domain photo. But, the photographer advised Wikimedia that he held the copyright to the photo. Wikimedia refused to take it down saying that the monkey took the photo and as an animal, cannot hold a copyright.
And, Wikimedia is probably correct, as in most of the world animals are considered as property or chattel. And, in addition this animal is wild and quite distant from a person to whom a copyright would be allowed. But, even as the photographer paid for the equipment, the trip, and the post-processing, the monkey took the money shot. A good question to ask now is not who has a right to the photo but why the photographer did not take other photos that probably could have been as good as or better than the monkey.
In an ironic twist, the United States Office of Copyright posted and update to the copyright law here on 22 August. “A copyright cannot be held by an animal including a monkey”. Smile and say banana…

Just in case that you really do not have enough distractions in your life, here is another one that is fun and costs nothing but a little time. Have you ever wondered where your money goes after you spend it or deposit it into some vending machine? Well, WheresGeorge can help you find out where it went and where it actually is.
After registering with the site, you can enter the serial numbers from your bills. As money changes hands of different users, they enter their serial numbers in turn, and the money is tracked as it moves around the country. I received the bill in the cover photo with the red ink marking and entered it at the site. Unfortunately, it had only traveled about two hundred miles. But, bills do not need a marking but they do stand a better chance of being entered.
And for most bills, little or nothing ever happens. But, for some bills, a detailed map emerges, one of which is the top-tracked bill with 15 reported sightings. It was released into the wild in Dayton, Ohio, wandered through the South and spent a long time in Texas, ventured into Utah, and was last seen someplace in Michigan’s upper peninsula, not too far from where it was first sighted.
This site is a labor of love and has been around since 1998. That really is a lot longer than most sites! Check it out here. Easy come, easy go…

Soccer, or futbol, as many know the game, is played in many parts of the world and is an almost dominant sport. Except in the United States! We have never seemed to embrace the game as others have. Sure, our children play in school and there are organized teams for both men and women, but the sport has never been at the top of our minds. I believe that is more of a cultural calling that has captured most other countries. It simply is not a part of our DNA.

The only time that soccer seems to gain our respect is when the U.S. is actually playing and that appears to be more important as a concept of respect for our nationalism.  Most people here know it only as the World Cup or FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association). But the world’s excitement with soccer has passed us by. And, it is a difficult game to watch as well. There are 90 minutes of frantic activity with nothing happening! Please don’t get me wrong as these players are great athletes. They cover a large playing field and work hard at scoring but it seldom happens. And, there is drama with players biting each other, broken bones, and a lot of penalties. And, there is very little protective gear!

Of course there are moments of magic! I remember watching the 1999 Women’s World Cup when Brandi Chastain kicked the penalty shot to win against China. And, with the win, she tore off her top! I am not sure if I remember that or the goal! Well, it is only two months before American football. Break out the beer…

The Supreme Court today ruled against Aereo Broadcast with a 6-3 decision favoring the networks suing Aereo. The networks, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and PBS were contending that Aereo was rebroadcasting content without paying the rebroadcast fees that cable and dish networks pay. (Scroll down two posts to see the whole story). So, the networks continue charging for the rebroadcast rights, and Aereo probably goes out of business.
There are several parts of this decision that fail to make sense when we consider what was argued. A substantial component in the case was that the issue was concerned with a private vs. public performance of material. But, what Aereo was providing is already free over-the-air content with a recording and sending to the cloud provision. The service provided consumers with an option to receive free signals in a cleaner and more functional format for a low monthly fee. The Justices maintained that Aereo was exploiting loopholes in the copy write laws. So what? Lawyers have been exploiting loopholes in the tax code and every other law ever written!
There are some considerations to think about with this decision. The copy write laws have not been revised since 1976. We were just entering the digital age and the laws are archaic to say the least. But Congress is too busy with senseless hearings, raising funds, and campaigning for re-election, and failing to address important issues. And, big business wins again! The cable company will continue to charge exorbitant prices for bundles that many people do not want, fail to offer any a la carte choices, and stifle competition. There was a great deal of concern from the networks that a decision for Aereo would upend the status quo. Well, not to worry as it is business as usual…

In October of last year I posted an entry on STEM education, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. And, I still feel exactly the same with regard to our educational system which is abysmal in its ability to meet the needs of an increasingly technology based world. But, I have had to rethink the emphasis on the “hard sciences” and consider the fact that there has to be a fifth element. (No pun intended regarding the movie of the same name).

The missing piece of the STEM education is that of an “A” for the arts. And by the arts, I am including the humanities as well as the fine arts. This, by definition includes the soft sciences, philosophy, psychology, sociology, history, literature, and associated liberal studies. While I did not have a miraculous epiphany, I was thinking about how I used educational tools, and came to the conclusion that there is a lot more than STEM needed to successfully navigate the maze of life.

In the mid-90’s I made a major career change from chemistry and engineering to the area of mental health. This necessitated going back to college for a degree in what we euphemistically call the humanities. It was perhaps the best choice that I have made in changing my own knowledge paradigm. So, where is the value added by adding the humanities? Adding the word human to a structured set of rules and the “ordered universe”! In addition to better understanding human nature, learning better communication and listening skills, and feeling comfortable with discussions of history and politics, I learned how to learn again. In the world of chance, luck, and statistics, the liberal arts can be truly liberating. I guess that the obvious tagline here would be full STEAM ahead…

The Supreme Court recently heard a case of copyright infringement brought by the major network television companies NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, and Fox. The defendant in this case is Aereo, a technology company based in New York and Boston. The case alleges that Aereo is selling television programs without paying the broadcasters the fees required to rebroadcast the protected material. They, the broadcasters receive payment for these same programs from cable and satellite providers. So, they believe that Aereo is stealing the content and selling TV programs. I am not going to rehash the argument here, but I will post a link to the case. However, I want to recap the service that Aereo provides, and discuss some concerns about the Supreme Court and big business as well as the future of the cloud as a repository of all things digital.
The first and perhaps most important fact is that when the FCC dictated that all network broadcasters begin converting to a digital signal, they also said that they would have to continue sending the over-the-air analog signal as well. This was due to the fact that some parts of the country had no cable service, or consumers could not afford cable or satellite service. So, we all can access free TV from network stations if we simply add an antenna. Fine, so what is Aereo doing to circumvent the fees due to the networks.
Aereo has antenna farms in several parts of the country and captures those free analog programs for distribution. But, these antennas are not the usual “rabbit ears” or cell towers. They are very small, the size of a dime, and a pair is dedicated to each Aereo subscriber. One antenna is for direct broadcast and the other is for recording to the cloud. Customers pay between $8 and $12 dollars a month and can watch network TV from any device either directly or from the storage recording from the cloud. To this, the broadcasters cry foul! They maintain that this is not a private performance for each subscriber but is a “public performance” and they should be paid for this rebroadcast. But consider this scenario; I can watch and record a program to a DVD, and watch it again or give it to a friend. I could also record a series and sell it to a friend. Do I then owe the networks money for this “free service”? Remember that the copyright laws are decades old and have not kept up with technology.
But, there are more wrinkles in this case to think about. During the one hour hearing the Justices seemed to be very much against Aereo. And the criticism came from both sides of the ideological court. And, the Obama administration is backing the networks! What? The executive branch is commenting on what the judicial branch is doing?
If you have followed my postings you recognize cynicism when you see it and this is one of the most concerning facts about this case. My sense is that the verdict is already in and will favor big business over a technology upstart. Is there collusion in the court and big business, or is this simply a clear copyright issue? We will have to wait until June for the answer, but meanwhile, the companies using the cloud as a storage device are watching closely as there may be unintended consequences in any decision.  There is an excellent recap of the case in the Boston Globe here. Looks like Napster is back…

Each spring or vernal equinox, we celebrate what has been called the moveable feast. This includes Easter and Passover. The dates for the equinox, (when day and night are equal in the northern hemisphere), have changed over the years beginning with Julius Caesar in 45 BC. He had fixed the date of the equinox at March 25th, but that began to drift as the calendar did not fit the universe. But, that was corrected by Pope Gregory XIII with what we now know as the Gregorian calendar.
But, considering that these are two significant religious events, we have bunnies that lay colored eggs, baskets of candy, and egg rolling contests. It is somewhat like Halloween as winter starts and we settle in for the cold and snow. At least, for some of us! But again, we have the children collect candy and dress up in costumes. And although Halloween is more wrapped up in paganism, the candy is a big part of the day. And how do we celebrate Valentine’s Day? More candy mixed with love! And then during Christmas we have sweets and candy canes with an obese Santa Clause. The simple observation here is that maybe we need a candy holiday where we just celebrate candy and sweets in all of its forms. That should fix the obesity problem…

The cute picture of two mice or rats gardening seems pretty harmless and certainly no threat to human health. But, in real life, mice do not wear clothes and keep neat and orderly surroundings. They scurry around food manufacturing and processors of food facilities and eat food, deposit hairs and excrement, and multiply exponentially. But, we know that we are safe from contamination because we have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) watching our food supply and checking for any problems. (Read, “Not Really"!). So it might surprise you to learn that the FDA has set “threshold limits” of mouse hair, excrement, insect parts, mold, maggots, and general filth in most foods that we consume. The FDA maintains that it is economically  practical to accept that manufacturers cannot maintain a totally clean food supply. They have even prepared a booklet to define those limits of contamination, which they refer to as “an aesthetic problem”. As an example, here is the entry for cornmeal:
Cornmeal
Insects
(AOAC 981.19)
Average of 1 or more whole insects (or equivalent) per 50 grams
Insect filth
(AOAC 981.19)
Average of 25 or more insect fragments per 25 grams
Rodent filth
(AOAC 981.19)
Average of 1 or more rodent hairs per 25 grams
OR
Average of 1 or more rodent excreta fragment per 50 grams
DEFECT SOURCE:  Insects and insect fragments – pre-harvest and/or post harvest and/or processing insect infestation, Rodent hair and excreta fragments - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair or excreta
SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic
And, if you see all kinds of red flags with this reasoning, join the club.  The first concern is in the manufacturer’s plant. How often, and what amount of cornmeal do they test? What is their sample size or AQL? (Acceptance Quality Level). And, do they really test all of their food? Next, how often does the FDA monitor the filth in food? I do not remember any recall of food with maggots, insect parts, or rat excrement unless something has caused illness or death. Perhaps we have to accept some level of “aesthetic” contamination as inevitable, but it is not a comforting thought. You can check the acceptable filth levels of your favorite food in the FDA booklet here. Scroll down in the booklet for the glossary and food listed alphabetically. I wonder if there is an acceptable level of glass. (The image is from our friends at WPClipart).

It must have been a slow news week as most of the national media, print, digital, and TV are applauding the changes under consideration by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Once again, I am underwhelmed by the slow pace of change in food safety. And, while the FDA seems to be proactive, they are not! They are reactive and wait until something bad happens to our food supply or Congress pushes them to do something. The Food Labeling Modernization Act was introduced by three congressional Democrats: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (CT), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT) and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ) more than one year ago. And then now, they, the FDA, “suggests” a change in package labeling.
The changes to the food labeling information found on most consumer food items will receive a “proposed change” as shown in the cover photo. There will be a 90 day comment period and then, if they decide to continue, the implementation will take two years! And that will only occur if the Grocery Manufacturers Association doesn’t lobby them to back down. But, there are some questions to ask as to the value of the possible changes. Will there be any real added information for the consumer to consider and will they read the label? But, even more important is in the list of ingredients that is cloaked in chemical jargon. Do we, as consumers understand what some of these preservatives, dyes, and hidden sugars and salt mean? I understand that manufacturers need to have shelf life, appearance, and taste as selling points but when a simple product has a list of 20 or 30 ingredients, I become concerned. A simple case in point:

The basic product, Campbell's tomato soup, has sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup, and three forms of salt with salt water, natural sea salt, and monopotassium phosphate, a salt of potassium. And, in addition, we have no idea where the raw ingredients come from. China is a prime source of chemicals for the food industry but there is no requirement to tell us what we are ingesting and where it is sourced. The FDA is not doing an adequate job of protection us and we need to let them know. There is a link to the proposed changes and how to comment on the changes here. Perhaps if the bureaucrats at the FDA left their desks once in a while to go into the field and do inspections, they would not have to complain about being understaffed!

On February 22, we will all celebrate the Presidents who have shared the task of being Commander-in Chief by purchasing cars, furniture, and mattresses! It seems as though we are unable to have very many holidays where we actually mark the day set aside for celebration with the intended purpose in favor of merchandising unrelated commercial goods. But, it was not always that way, and in fact, had a fairly rocky start.
In 1789 Congress approved the celebration of George Washington’s birth as February 22. But, there was controversy as to when he was actually born. According to the newer style calendar, the Gregorian, he was born on 22 February 1732. But according to the older style Julian calendar which was used in England until 1752, he was born on 11 February. In the 1790’s, America was split and his birthday was either or. But, there was no advertising used during this time.
After Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, it too was deemed to be worthy of a celebration. But his birthday was on12 February. We failed to accept two days of celebration so close in time. So, Washington’s Day was federally accepted as 22 February, and Lincoln’s on 12 February, was a public day of honor.
In 1968, the 90th Congress sent the whole celebration to hell by creating a uniform holiday system. This moved at least three holidays to a Monday, including Washington’s birth day. And, with the three day “weekend comes the opportunity to sell all kind of items. So now we celebrate Presidents’ Day on the third Monday in February. But to be correct, it is a Sellabration! If you ask most people what they will do on President’s day they will probably not even be able to name at least 20 presidents. But, they will know that it is a good time to buy a car! Here is a thought for a holiday. Lets make Valentine's Day a national holiday and sell lots of GUNS in honor of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre! Just an observation...