Blog archives for September, 2009

Nokia 6500 Classic Unlocked GSM World Phone (Black) is a slim 3G phone which comes in a smooth a stylish casing. The 6500 Classic comes with a unique configuration of dual-band WCDMA support on top of its more conventional quad-band GSM/EDGE support. This candy bar handset supports the normal 2100MHz band used in Europe and much of the rest of the world, as well as one of the two North American UMTS bands: 850MHz.

Nokia 6500 Classic Crafted with an anodized aluminum case, the Nokia 6500 Classic measures just a 9.5 mm thin. Each 6500 Classic is individually polished, ensuring no two phones are exactly alike. Diamond polishing used on the beveled display aperture and cold stamped logo demonstrate the highest levels of craftsmanship.

Featuring dual band 3G technology for fast downloads and browsing and quad-band GSM for worldwide roaming, the 6500 Classic delivers connectivity options for demanding customers. A full 1 GB of internal memory means that the 6500 Classic has capacity for more pictures, videos, contacts, songs, messages and other content than the vast majority of other mid-tier mobile phones. The Nokia Series 40 interface offers access to the powerful feature set, including a 2.0-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and an integrated music player. A unified micro-USB connector simplifies charging, audio and data connectivity by consolidating them into a single compact port. This allows for the 6500 Classic to be easily used as a high-capacity flash drive or to be charged directly from a laptop computer.

Key Features:

Size:

Weight – 94 g

Dimensions – 109.8 x 45 x 9.5 mm

Network:

850/900/1800/1900 mhz GSM Network

- Seamless case of anodized aluminum

- Java MIDP 2.0

- MP3/AAC/AAC+ player

- T9

- Calendar

- Calculator

- Built-in handsfree

- Voice memo

- Bluetooth

- USB

- EDGE

- HSCSD

- 3G WCDMA 2100 mhz

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The UGG Button – Sheepskin Boots in sand For Womens looks equally great worn up or cuffed down, depending on your personal style.

Like the Classic Short, the Bailey Button is a calf-height boot made from genuine twin-face sheepskin. We’ve updated this traditional style with a wooden UGG logo button and elastic band closure.

New Fall 2009 fashion, the UGG Women’s Bailey Button Boot is a calf-height boot made from genuine twin-face sheepskin. A wooden UGG Logo button and elastic band closure add style to this UGG short boot.

UGG Women’s Bailey Button – Sheepskin Boots in sand is available whole sizes only. If between sizes, order 1/2 size down.

Hide and Seek
This week, the U.S. Army announced its “Top Ten Greatest Inventions of 2008.” It’s pretty clear what the Army is most excited about: the ability to see and kill the enemy from where you aren’t.

Guerrillas and terrorists already have this ability, in the form of improvised explosive devices. They also have two other advantages: the element of surprise (through indigenous deployment) and fewer compunctions about collateral fatalities. To counteract these advantages, the Army needs the ability to scout and fire from places where soldiers aren’t vulnerable to attack. That’s what this year’s celebrated innovations deliver.

First on the Army’s list is the XM153 Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station:

Capable of being mounted on a variety of vehicles, this system provides the capability to remotely aim and fire a suite of crew-served weapons from either a stationary platform or while on the move, using the system power of the host vehicle. The system affords increased Soldier protection since the gunner is not exposed. It enhances target acquisition, identification, and engagement capabilities for non-turreted light armored vehicles; and also situational awareness during both day and night conditions using day and thermal cameras.

As you can see from these photos (PDF), the system turns a nonturreted vehicle into a turreted vehicle, except that the gunner doesn’t have to be near the turret. He can “remotely aim and fire” any of its weapons. And he doesn’t need night-vision equipment; the gun’s thermal camera does that for him.

Next on the list:

The Projectile Detection Cueing 4-Corner System is a low cost acoustic gunfire detection system capable of detecting and locating the origin of incoming gunfire events. The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station Lightning is a lightweight common remotely operated weapon station capable of supporting small arms weapons. … The operator can monitor, control, and command both PDCue and CROWS Lightning from a single user interface. The integrated system increases Soldier effectiveness in detecting and locating enemy sniper positions, and provides the Soldier the ability to automatically move remote weapon stations to the detected sniper threat.

This works with the CROWS system above: From wherever you hunker down with the user interface, you can acoustically trace the location (PDF) of anyone firing nearby and send your “remote weapon station” to take him out.

Further down:

The Enhanced Mobile Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment Vehicle system combines multiple intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities onto a single, integrated platform. … The system gives remote operating units the ability to quickly employ the system’s combined capabilities to detect imminent attacks and take the appropriate actions to defeat enemy forces.

An aerostat is a buoyant aircraft. You can get a pretty good idea of the concept from these Raytheon photos (PDF): You float artificial eyes up into the sky, locate the enemy from there, and kill him.

And finally:

The One System Remote Video Terminal A-kit is an innovative modular video and data system that enables Soldiers to remotely receive near-real-time surveillance image and geospatial data directly from tactical unmanned aerial vehicles and manned platforms.

This AAI brochure (PDF) illustrates the basic technology: From wherever you are with your portable screen, you tap into a nearby drone and scout the whole area without poking your head out.

The overall pattern of these innovations is a gradual correction of guerrilla and terrorist advantages. We can’t ambush, fire, and bomb as freely as the enemy can. We’re much more vulnerable, emotionally and politically, to casualties among our fighters. We need the ability to hunt bombers and snipers patiently and precisely, without killing civilians or exposing our soldiers to easy attack. Step by step, technology is making that fantasy real.

How Mean Are Drill Sergeants?
Teresa L. King took command of the Army’s drill sergeant school on Tuesday—the first woman ever to do so. The New York Times article on King notes that she’s “ever vigilant for busted rules”—which seems in keeping with the fear-inspiring, speak-up-you-maggot taskmasters of the popular imagination, such as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, who gently explains to his recruits, “You are pukes. You’re the lowest form of life on earth.” Are drill sergeants really that mean?
Not anymore. Drill sergeants of yesteryear did take a rough, discipline-and-punishment approach to preparing new Army recruits for combat. The disciplinarian tack seemed to make sense up through the Vietnam War, at least, because drafted soldiers were sometimes unwilling to get into line. But the drill sergeants of today are gentler. In the period after 9/11, the Army was losing about 10 percent of its volunteer recruits during boot camp, a number that was way too high, especially given the Army’s trouble meeting recruitment quotas and the growing demand for troops first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq. To help keep people in basic training, drill sergeants reined in the verbal abuse and began providing more mentorship. (This wasn’t a precipitous change. Drill sergeants have been mellowing out for the last 15 years or so.)

That’s not to say that instructors have gone soft. Drill sergeants still shout to enforce discipline, and they may force young soldiers to do push-ups—but they’re not supposed to hurl personal insults. (They’d never call them “pukes,” for example.) If a recruit asks why he has to run through an obstacle course, the drill sergeant isn’t supposed to punish him immediately with an extra run. Instead, the sergeant should explain the Army’s rationale for the exercise. Modern drill sergeants also engage in a good deal of counseling. If a recruit is acting petulant, the drill sergeant may ask him what’s wrong—or ask his friends. He’ll give tips for how to get along with peers in close quarters, how to get by on an Army paycheck, and how to handle homesickness.
Whatever her method, a drill sergeant is charged with getting new recruits into shape. In Army lingo, while “on the trail” (at training camp), a drill sergeant makes sure her soldiers are “squared away” (physically fit with a neat uniform), “on point” (in complete control of themselves and the situation), and “hoppin’ and poppin’ ” (moving quickly and with purpose). More specifically, she teaches them how to march in step, use their M16A2 rifles and throw grenades, speak up, stand at attention, obey orders, and treat fellow soldiers respectfully.

Voice in the Machine

Bob Dylan, one-time voice of a generation, is allegedly mulling offers to become the voice of satellite navigational devices. The default for GPS audio is anonymous and generic, but celebrities like Dennis Hopper and Mr. T have recorded alternative tracks. How do such voice-overs—which contain a seemingly infinite number of specific directions—actually get recorded?
With a simple script. Most popular portable navigational systems work by mixing and matching just 59 sound clips. Some are numerical (“100,” “200,” “400″), others imperative (“Stay in the right lane”), and still others declarative (“You have reached your destination” or “Recalculating”). Navigational systems that are built directly within the dashboard of the car (called “in-dash” systems) tend to be more sophisticated and can incorporate hundreds of additional words—like street and town names. (These rely on text-to-speech technology rather than prerecorded phrases.) Settings vary by manufacturer and model, but the core group of commands remains the same.

The recording process is straightforward and should take no longer than a few hours. Celebrity recordings are usually handled in a studio, with a director-manager guiding the talent through the script, ordering retakes, and identifying appropriate spots for personality or humor. (Mr. T will call you a “fool” if you miss a turn.) Many directions are recorded as complete phrases or clauses. For example, “Go right on the roundabout” is a single clip. But multistep commands such as “At the second right, turn left” are amalgams of two or more clips—in this case, “At the second right” and “turn left.”
Professional voice-over artists, recruited to impersonate celebrities or play characters, often record and edit on home equipment, then e-mail the collection of audio files to a company that integrates them into the system and prepares them for commercial download. Some devices even allow consumers to record their own voice-overs. But most drivers don’t want to listen to their own navigational voices—especially since they can opt for a sultry Kim Cattrall track instead. Celebrities are recruited because their voices are either famously pleasing (Burt Reynolds) or iconic (Hopper). As of yet, no A-lister has recorded a GPS voice-over. Dylan would be the first.

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Awesome new style short sheepskin boot. Button shaft offers a cuffed option. Reinforced heel, raw seams and signature UGG heel label. Flexible, lightweight molded EVA outsole.

We’ve updated this traditional style with a wooden UGG logo button and elastic band closure.

All boots in our Classic Collection feature a soft foam insole covered with Genuine sheepskin sock wicks moisture away and have a molded EVA light and flexible outsole designed for amazing comfort with every step.

Approximate boot shaft height: 7″, Cuffed 5″.

UGG Women’s Bailey Button – Sheepskin Boots in gray is available whole sizes only. If between sizes, order 1/2 size down.

The Nike SB Mens Shoes Dunk High Pro SB (Brown/White/camouflage) shoe features a lightly padded tongue as well as plenty of ankle support for comfort and protection.

Mens Skate Shoes, manufactured by Nike SB and supplied by Konasports. The Dunk High Pro Sport Red is one of many colors that is offered by this brand.

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French Atomic Pique
President Obama wants a unified front against Iran, and to that end he stood together with Nicolas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown in Pittsburgh on Friday morning to reveal the news about Tehran’s secret facility to build bomb-grade fuel. But now we hear that the French and British leaders were quietly seething on stage, annoyed by America’s handling of the announcement.
Both countries wanted to confront Iran a day earlier at the United Nations. Mr. Obama was, after all, chairing a Security Council session devoted to nonproliferation. The latest evidence of Iran’s illegal moves toward acquiring a nuclear weapon was in hand. With the world’s leaders gathered in New York, the timing and venue would be a dramatic way to rally international opinion.
President Sarkozy in particular pushed hard. He had been “frustrated” for months about Mr. Obama’s reluctance to confront Iran, a senior French government official told us, and saw an opportunity to change momentum. But the Administration told the French that it didn’t want to “spoil the image of success” for Mr. Obama’s debut at the U.N. and his homily calling for a world without nuclear weapons, according to the Paris daily Le Monde. So the Iran bombshell was pushed back a day to Pittsburgh, where the G-20 were meeting to discuss economic policy.
Le Monde’s diplomatic correspondent, Natalie Nougayrède, reports that a draft of Mr. Sarkozy’s speech to the Security Council Thursday included a section on Iran’s latest deception. Forced to scrap that bit, the French President let his frustration show with undiplomatic gusto in his formal remarks, laying into what he called the “dream” of disarmament. The address takes on added meaning now that we know the backroom discussions.
“We are right to talk about the future,” Mr. Sarkozy said, referring to the U.S. resolution on strengthening arms control treaties. “But the present comes before the future, and the present includes two major nuclear crises,” i.e., Iran and North Korea. “We live in the real world, not in a virtual one.” No prize for guessing into which world the Frenchman puts Mr. Obama.
“We say that we must reduce,” he went on. “President Obama himself has said that he dreams of a world without nuclear weapons. Before our very eyes, two countries are doing exactly the opposite at this very moment. Since 2005, Iran has violated five Security Council Resolutions . . .
“I support America’s ‘extended hand.’ But what have these proposals for dialogue produced for the international community? Nothing but more enriched uranium and more centrifuges. And last but not least, it has resulted in a statement by Iranian leaders calling for wiping off the map a Member of the United Nations. What are we to do? What conclusions are we to draw? At a certain moment hard facts will force us to make decisions.”
We thought we’d never see the day when the President of France shows more resolve than America’s Commander in Chief for confronting one of the gravest challenges to global security. But here we are.

Obama v. Bush, the Sequel
While campaigning for president, Barack Obama arguably ran as much against George W. Bush as he did against John McCain.

All across America, Candidate Obama hammered home his message. Mr. McCain represented “the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the past eight years.” A vote for Mr. McCain was a vote for a “third Bush term.” And far from being a maverick, Mr. McCain was in actuality a Bush “sidekick.”

Today we’re back to the Obama v. Bush storyline. With one twist. In this election cycle, the Democrat tarring his opponent as a “Bush Republican” is running behind in the polls—while the Republican bashing his opponent as an “Obama Democrat” enjoys a lead.

The two races are for the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia, states that Mr. Obama carried in the last election. In New Jersey, the incumbent Democratic governor, Jon Corzine, is running on the same anti-Bush message that worked so well for Democrats last year. But in Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell has turned the tables by tying his opponent to Barack Obama.

The received wisdom, of course, is that national politics have little to do with the choices voters make at the state and local level. Most press commentary reflects this wisdom, tut-tutting about candidates trying to use presidents to define their opponents. Whether or not the received wisdom is right, the candidates themselves obviously believe otherwise—or they wouldn’t be doing it.