An AppDay mentor helps out a budding coder with her programming skills.
It’s no secret that Washington is falling behind when it comes to educating our future techs. While the state ranks fourth in the nation for tech-related companies, Washington comes in a disappointing 46th for participation in science and engineering graduate programs.
Which makes what happened on Thursday inside the gymnasium of Rainier Beach High School all the more special.
h/t – GW
Every year since 1998, intellectual impresario and Edge editor John Brockman has been posing a single grand question to some of our time’s greatest thinkers across a wide spectrum of disciplines, then collecting the answers in an annual anthology. Last year’s answers to the question “What scientific concept will improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit?” were released in This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking, one of the year’s best psychology and philosophy books.
h/t – Amazon
Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Their technology enables their partners to teach millions of students rather than hundreds.
Classes offered on Coursera are designed to help you master the material. When you take one of their classes, you will watch lectures taught by world-class professors, learn at your own pace, test your knowledge, and reinforce concepts through interactive exercises. When you join one of their classes, you’ll also join a global community of thousands of students learning alongside you. The courses are designed based on sound pedagogical foundations, to help you master new concepts quickly and effectively. Key ideas include mastery learning, to make sure that you have multiple attempts to demonstrate your new knowledge; using interactivity, to ensure student engagement and to assist long-term retention; and providing frequent feedback, so that you can monitor your own progress, and know when you’ve really mastered the material.
h/t – coursera
It’s often said that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. But you can add “rehashing of the O.J. Simpson case” to that list — at least for the last 18 years.
So it should come as no surprise that a new book has been published about the 1994 murders of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
In 1995, a California jury acquitted O.J. Simpson of the killings. A civil lawsuit, later filed by the victims’ families, resulted in a 1997 judgment finding Simpson liable for the deaths and ordering him to pay $33.5 million in damages.
The latest installment in the Simpson library is not another “If I Did It,” in which the former gridiron great speculated on how he might have killed his former wife. Instead, the new book points the finger of guilt away from Simpson and lays the blame on his son, Jason Simpson.
“Everything we have in the book is documented. It is not theory or hypothesis. It is fact,” renowned private investigator William C. Dear told The Huffington Post about his book, “O.J. Is Innocent and I Can Prove It.”
Dear’s 576-page “true account,” according to Amazon.com, hit the shelves today, retailing at $18 for the hardcover edition.
In the investigation into the murders of Brown and Goldman, Jason Simpson was never considered a suspect or a person of interest. The 41-year-old lives in Miami, where he reportedly works as a chef. HuffPost was unable to reach Simpson for comment Monday because his phone had been disconnected.
h/t – huffingtonpost
Areva Martin of the Special Needs Network says “there’s a void” of qualified health care officials to make the diagnosis in communities like South LA.
The study hopes to change that, and aims to recruit at least 600 African-American families who have a child diagnosed with autism
h/t – thegrio
The man made famous for putting down his Big Mac to help free three women held captive for about a decade in a Cleveland house will never have to buy a hamburger in his hometown again.
More than two weeks after Charles Ramsey became an instant folk hero after telling his story to television reporters, Cleveland food blogger Michelle Venorsky said on Thursday that 15 restaurants are offering him a free hamburger, whenever he wants it.
Venorsky floated the idea to her followers after seeing Ramsey’s first interview on TV.
“He was so entertaining…I thought he should never have to pay for another meal in Cleveland again,” Venorsky said in a phone interview.
Since his first interview on local TV, Ramsey, a dishwasher at a Cleveland restaurant, has become an Internet sensation. The restaurant produced a t-shirt with Ramsey’s face and the words “Cleveland Hero” on the front, netting $21,000 for a fund set up for the women, who were held captive for about a decade.
Ramsey was not available for comment on Thursday.
When 17-year-old valedictorian Chelesa Fearce stands before her Georgia high school graduating class today to give her speech, she will talk about overcoming homelessness and fighting to “get the future that you want.”
Fearce, a senior at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, Ga., spent most of her high school career living in shelters, the occasional hotel, short-term rented apartments and sometimes the family car — when the family had one — with her mother and three siblings.
“I would just pray,” Fearce told ABCNews.com. “My mom, whenever we’re in that situation, she always finds a way out of it. So I would just tell myself, tomorrow it will not be like this, so take your time, do what you have to do now so that you get the future that you want tomorrow.”
Regardless of where she was living, Fearce found a way to study. She recalled using a cellphone light in shelters to get her homework done.
“I’m so happy that I got through all of this and that I finally have gotten to this point,” she said. “All the studying I’ve done … you don’t know! It was crazy. I was studying science, math, everything. I’m very proud to come this far.”
h/t – ABCNEWS
President Obama on Thursday defended his administration‘s aggressive use of drone strikes in the war on terror, even as he announced steps that could reduce reliance on the program.
In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, Obama said the U.S. drones program was legal and argued strikes had been effective in fighting extremists who launched the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.
“We are at war with an organization that right now would kill as many Americans as they could if we did not stop them first,” Obama said. “So this is a just war – a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defense.”
But Obama also announced he had approved and declassified a set of guidelines governing the use of drone strikes that would authorize a strike only when there is a “continuing and imminent threat” that other governments cannot address.
And he said the end of the war in Afghanistan and U.S. success in the fight against al Queda was likely to reduce the use of drones.
Sergio, Sergio, Sergio. The high-spirited Spaniard golfer has been very opinionated over the years and most recently, at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida just two weeks ago. During that tournament, Sergio Garcia, who was playing with Tiger Woods, was flustered when he hit an errant shot and then blamed it on Tiger. As Sergio was addressing his shot, Tiger, who had hit a bad shot on the hole, pulled a club out of his bag which produced an eruption from the gallery. Sergio took it as if Tiger purposely did this to disrupt his shot and from that moment on, It’s Been On!
After both players had completed the round, Sergio, instead of talking with Tiger about the issue, took it to the media and complained vehemently that Tiger did this on purpose. He added that Tiger isn’t a nice person on the tour and others felt the same but wouldn’t say anything about it. Tiger, who seemed blind-sided by the Hoopla, made a comment saying, “Sergio is always whining and complaining about something. What Now”? For two solid weeks, the back and forth has been going on, mostly on the part of Sergio.
On Tuesday night, during a European Awards Banquet, Sergio was asked by a Golf Channel writer if he would invite Tiger over for dinner, basically to squash their feud which prompted the following response: “We’ll have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken.” And with that comment, a firestorm has encircled around the embattled golfer.
Sergio is no stranger to controversy nor controversial statements but This one will be his demise. The Golf Channel, since the feud began two weeks ago, has highlighted some of Sergio’s missteps which included him spitting in a hole after having a terrible score. Kelly Tiglhman, Golf Channel host, made mention to how Garcia had skipped interviews and sniped, “Go and interview your boy Tiger”.
So on Wednesday morning, Garcia, in a press conference said, “I want to also apologize to my Ryder Cup teammates who were there last night for taking the shine away from a wonderful event, and finally and foremost, I want to apologize to Tiger to anyone I could have offended. I felt very sick about it and feel really bad, and just hope to settle things down and move on.” Yep, he felt sick about it because we live in a world of Instant Access to News. And the news spread like a wild fire with Sergio holding the matches that started it.
But this time, his whining, complaining and big mouth has caused ‘Race’ to the forefront of what has been deemed to be a Sport For the Rich and Elite.
Tiger has been exposed to and directly targeted in racially motivated language. After firing his long-time caddy, Stevie Williams, the caddy attended a “Caddies Dinner” in his homeland of Australia and was asked a question about his new golfer’s victory, Adam Scott’s with Tiger in the field. His response: “It was my aim to shove it right up that black a——.” Williams, too, apologized afterwards.
And after Tiger won his 1st major, the Master’s Tournament in 1997, fellow golfer Fuzzy Zoeller shocked the T.V. audience after he referenced fried chicken as a potential meal Woods may choose to serve at the Masters Champions’ dinner. Of course, Zoeller issued an apology for his comments but suffered dramatically in sponsorships and on the tour itself.
Tiger was quick to answer the racially insensitive comment by Sergio on Twitter. He said in three tweets,
“The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate…”
“I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made.”
“The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf.”
Sergio has been quick to talk to media showing his disdain for the #1 golfer in the world but now, he has to be even quicker to repair the damage HE caused, not just to Tiger, but to the African Americans who also watch, follow and are participate in one of the greatest individual sports in the world.
Golf is a Global sport which is played by All sorts of people. Black, White, Asian, Latino’s, Men, Women, Boys and Girls participate in this sport. In 2013, the 21st century for Heaven Sake, Race is still an Issue in our lives.
This is the world in which we live. Unfortunately, racial intolerance will Always be a part of our everyday lives. And when we try to get away from it in our sporting outlets, it will creep into our lives there as well. That’s because we will always have “Sergio’s” and “Zoeller’s” to make that possible.
Meet nine-year-old Asean Johnson. He is a third grader at Marcus Garvey Elementary and this won’t be the last time you see him.
Amid the chaos of three days of protests regarding Chicago school closures, a pint-size public speaking star was born in the form of Asean.
The nine-year-old captivated crowds of protestors Monday, when he gave his two cents as to why dozens of Chicago schools should not be shut down.
Check out his powerful speech, as well as an interview with the new internet sensation below.
SOURCE: HuffPo
Your skin is an outer reflection of the foods you put in your body. Some of us are prone to dry skin, and seasonal weather changes can make our skin dryer as well. There are a few things you can eat to enrich and hydrate the skin from the inside out.
A man reported to be a British soldier was killed and two others were shot in London today in an attack that is being treated as an act of terrorism, NBC News reports.
Video from ITV News shows one of two alleged attackers, with blood-stained hands and holding a machete, explaining the motivation for the crime. In it, he says, “We swear by Almighty Allah, we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone. The only reasons we killed this man is because Muslims are dying daily. This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We apologize that woman had to see this today, but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don’t care about you.”
