BIG TEN IS BACK!

POLITICS!

Only a couple of entries. I've got primary burn-out.

Lots of speculation about Howard Dean's future. It was Dean that really energized Democrats. He made them believe that they can win the big one. Dean can still raise cash. As to what he'll do, I haven't a clue. I've talked to Howard Dean on a couple of ocassions, and he's a pretty impressive guy as politicos go...living in NH, I have access to everyone. Except Bush..Gee.

Johnny Asscroft gets sued..heh I am so mature.

Suit against Ashcroft claims department has bungled war on terror I'll give you a tease..then go and read!!!!

WASHINGTON - The federal prosecutor who won convictions in the government's first and only terrorism trial after the Sept. 11 attacks has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General John Ashcroft accusing the Justice Department of "gross mismanagement" in the war on terrorism.

The highly unusual complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington by Richard Convertino, the lead prosecutor in the conviction of three members of an alleged terrorism sleeper cell in Detroit.

Convertino is facing an internal Justice Department investigation for failing to turn over a document to the defense until long after the trial had ended.

Convertino claims the Justice Department is retaliating against him because he has attacked its efforts in the war on terrorism and cooperated with the Senate Finance Committee, led by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a vocal critic of the department.

In his lawsuit, Convertino said the Justice Department has exaggerated its success in fighting terrorism. He said heavy-handed officials at Justice Department headquarters in Washington have hindered prosecutors in the field.

In the case he handled in Detroit, which Ashcroft has frequently praised as a success in the war on terrorism, Convertino said the government failed to provide the needed federal law enforcement manpower to help review documents, interview witnesses and prepare for trial.

Convertino claims he worked the case for months with the help of only one FBI special agent.

Convertino said he repeatedly asked for additional help.

In the suit, Convertino alleges there was a "lack of support and cooperation, lack of effective assistance, lack of resources and intradepartmental infighting" in terrorism cases.

"These concerns directly related to the ability of the United States to effectively utilize the criminal justice system as a component in the `war on terrorism,' " the lawsuit said.

There is much more at link. This is most unusual. My SO is an attorney, and she says it's nearly unprecedented. She is also very pleased with this. I share her joy.

Knight Ridder is on lots of this stuff before anybody else gets it. Bookmark it.

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SCIENCE!

Go check out the latest exploits from the newest Martians Opportunity and Spirit. On a somber note, the fight to save the Hubble goes on. At this stage, it looks like without a real grass roots push to send a shuttle back up for maintenance, it's over. Get Involved Anything you can do will help.

Need a reason to get involved? I'll give you two of them

Most Distant Galaxy Hints at Dark Ages The obligatory tease:

Astronomers seeking to glimpse the very beginnings of the universe announced this weekend they may have spotted the most distant galaxy yet, one that could shed light on the end of the so-called Dark Ages of cosmology that preceded the well-lit universe we know today.

Nearby galaxy cluster Abell 2218 acts as a powerful lens, magnifying galaxies beyond it. The lensed galaxies are all stretched along the cluster's center and some of them are multiply imaged. The new apparent record-setter shows up as a faint red pair of images, encircled in the larger version of this image.

The scientists are unsure of the exact distance to the galaxy but know it is near the limit of what can be found with current telescopes. It is estimated to be 13 billion light-years away, seen at a time when the universe was just 700 million to 750 million years old.

Now if that's not seriously cool, maybe Cindy Crawford covere....Oh, sorry. Maybe you'll think this is:

Astronomers Find a Huge Diamond in Space Your tease:

The newly discovered cosmic diamond is a chunk of crystallized carbon 50 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Centaurus. (A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, or about 6 trillion miles.) It is 2,500 miles across and weighs 5 million trillion trillion pounds, which translates to approximately 10 billion trillion trillion carats, or a one followed by 34 zeros.

"It's the mother of all diamonds!" says Metcalfe. "Some people refer to it as 'Lucy' in a tribute to the Beatles song 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.'"

The diamond star completely outclasses the largest diamond on Earth, the 530-carat Star of Africa which resides in the Crown Jewels of England. The Star of Africa was cut from the largest diamond ever found on Earth, a 3,100-carat gem.

The huge cosmic gem (technically known as BPM 37093) is actually a crystallized white dwarf. A white dwarf is the hot core of a star, left over after the star uses up its nuclear fuel and dies. It is made mostly of carbon and is coated by a thin layer of hydrogen and helium gases.

For more than four decades, astronomers have thought that the interiors of white dwarfs crystallized, but obtaining direct evidence became possible only recently.

Sorry about the use of bright yellow. But I hope it got your attention! Help save the Hubble!

That Bitch! New Scientist reports:

Women judge the attractiveness other women more harshly when at their most fertile, suggests a new study. The phenomenon could be a strategy to devalue potential rivals, says the psychologist behind the work - being bitchy about others could help a woman win the attention of a desirable man.

Theories of sexual selection in most species usually concentrate on how males compete for females. But recent theories for humans suggest there is intrasexual competition among females as well, as males can vary markedly in their abilities as providers and protectors.

Much more female bare knuckled competition at link.

See, I had a reason to use that lead-in :)

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INTERNET!

Google wants 6..billion pages ondexed that is.

Google Inc. on Tuesday upped the ante in the increasingly competitive search-engine market, announcing that it has increased its venerable Web index to 6 billion Web pages, images and other documents.

In its core search area, Web sites, Google said that it had increased the number of Web pages in its index to 4.28 billion, up from about 3 billion previously. Google's index of images has doubled in size to about 880 million images, said Peter Norvig, Google's director of search quality.

Google's image search is currently pretty lame compared to Overture/AllTheWeb/AltaVista(all one Co.) I'm sure in no time Google will surpass its competitors.

As you know, or maybe you don't, I'm a semicon engineer. I don'r blog for a living :) This next piece goes way beyond my chiphead status, and right into your living room. This could prove to be hugely disruptive technology.

Intel Preps for WiMax Chips It's a newly established standard IEEE 802.16a. You needn't know that, but this other bit shows the potential:

Chip making giant Intel Wednesday said it would begin shipping silicon with the standard, known as 802.16a, or WiMAX by the second half of this year.

In a room full of eager broadband and networking professionals at the Wireless Communications Association (WCA) annual symposium in San Jose, the company said it expects service providers to deploy the standard 2005. So the announcement signals to product designers that they should sit down at their CAD stations and begin thinking about products to roll out next year.

Intel executive vice president and general manager of the Intel Communications Group Sean Maloney said the company's vision includes a three-stage deployment of WiMAX that would begin with fixed outdoor antenna installations to bring wireless to emerging markets and speed the installation of broadband services without the need to lay wire or cable.

"The technology will then rapidly progress to indoor antenna installations, broadening its appeal to carriers seeking simplified installation at user sites," Maloney said. "Finally, in the third phase, WiMAX-Certified hardware will be available in portable solutions for users who want to roam within or between service areas."

Of course the big thing here is no wires, no cable. 70mbps. Read the story. I can provide a lot more color on this, as it's my turf, but I'll refrain...for now. :)

That makes eight!

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POT POURRI!

Yeah, you know. Like Jeopardy. Without Alex Trebek. And prizes. And questions. And stuff.

Wanna keep your grey from greying? Move it!

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Being physically fit may be good for the aging brain, researchers report.

In a new study of older adults, higher levels of physical fitness were associated with improved mental abilities.

The results highlight the importance of staying in shape, according to one of the study authors.

"Fitness training can enhance brain and mental function," Dr. Arthur F. Kramer, of the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told Reuters Health.

Even moderate physical activity may keep the brain in tip-top shape, according to Kramer.

"By increased fitness we are not talking about going from a sedentary lifestyle to running a marathon but instead to walking a couple of miles a few times a week," he said.

"Older adults can maintain and indeed enhance cognitive and brain function with modest amounts of aerobic exercise," Kramer said.

I'd love to be more physically active. I tried lifting weights. Man, those things are heavy! Fuggedaboutit.

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I'm done.