Message in a Bottle: Auschwitz

The handwritten letter... (this image from bbc news and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum)

Some builders stumbled across a message in a bottle while removing a layer of concrete from a wall in Auschwitz. The letter, dated September 9, 1944, was checked for its authenticity and has been confirmed by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Written in pencil, stuffed into a bottle, and buried in a concrete wall, the message is simply the names of 7 young Europeans trapped in Auschwitz. The wall was apparently created to reinforce school walls, which were actually used as Nazi warehouses. The Nazi's were afraid of air raid damage and had the camp prisoners reinforce the walls. The 7 men, Bronislaw Jankowiak, Stanislaw Dubla, Jan Jasik, Waclaw Sobczak, Karol Czekalski, Waldemar Bialobrzeski and Albert Veissid, were simply trying to leave proof of their existance. A sad but all to common truth of the period. Of the 7, Albert Veissid is the only survivor whos where abouts are known today. Karol Czekalski and Wachaw Sobczak are know to have difinitively survived the camp, but there where abouts are unknown. The other four, are lost to history, perhaps they died in Auschwitz, or were transferred and died else where, no one knows...
That's the Scoop


check out the bbc news article for a few more details.

APPLE is the shizzle.

So there are a lot of rumors going around... Firstly, snow leopard. The next OS from apple, after the successful release of Windows 7 apple has been hard at work on this puppy. I can only imagine what the new OS will be able to do. I briefly saw some mention of monitor recording, meaning a video screenshot. and example I saw in someones blog was, say your tired of showing you grandpa how to clear his fireox cache, well you can record the process and he can watch it whenever he needs too.
There has also been some adium chat referencing a macbookmini, perhaps a cheaper sub $1000 laptop get a piece of the mini market. Not to mention a more affordable mac laptop, even though the current macbook white starts at 999.00 without any extras or applecare... While this is just chatter, the last time something was mentioned was the macbook air... now that is certainly a real thing... So perhaps this isn't wildly off base and false. I am excited to see Snow Leopard, I wonder what they will add?

Also what will the new iphone be like? The rumors of an iphone or iphone lite being released under verizons services have been increasing. The main problem with this is that verizon uses a network that only really operates in the U.S., (CDMA)... Apple (steve jobs) has had the attitude that they are a world phone. They want to have one phone for the whole world, and in producing a phone for Verizon would obviously contradict that notion. However, more recently talk of a phone similar to an ipod touch, but with calling capabilities has surfaced. Meaning a phone that works on wifi... Many are calling a verizon iphone "wishful thinking" but with increasing rumors of Verizon and Apple talking this wishful thinking is sounding pretty good to me... Wishful thinking or not, APPLE's exclusive contract with AT&T is not up until 2010, so we will have to wait a little longer to see.
Thats the Scoop.

Woman fired for checking her facebook ... on a sick day.

Thanks Geek.com for this one...

In recent news a woman lost her job... the players... a Swiss woman in her early 30's, the swiss company Nationale Suisse, a hard-ass for a boss, and Facebook.

The gist of this particular case, is that woman decided to take a sick day. A coworker saw that her status was available on facebook, meaning she had signed in at home during her sick day... Personally I have no problem with this, even if she says she had a migraine... I get migraines and I assure you they hurt, but I can still check my Facebook. Her employer claims if she is well enough to check her facebook and access a computer to do it, she should be at work... She was fired from her job for checking her facebook on a sick day... Now she is angry and claiming she was being stalked illegally and that is the issue now. Where should employers draw the line with Facebook and other social networks... Background checks, and now sick day monitoring??? This case may change the employers ability to check us out on social networks, and I think there has to be some kind of limit as to what they are allowed to do. At what point is it an invasion of privacy and not just a harmless background check? The line is thin... and thats The Scoop.

Jazz Robot?

Since forever a major difference between humans and robots has been the ability to improvise. How about a robot that can play jazz music? That's right the robot known as Shimon, plays the marimba. It doesn't just mimic, it listens, and without any delay analyzes the musical pattern and spits out musical genius. Amazing. Shimon is the brainchild of Guy Hoffman, Gil Weinberg, and Roberto Aimi. heres a video...
shimon playing...

speaking of cool robots anyone familiar with Boston Dynamic's Big Dog? Quite possibly the coolest application of robotics so far. Basically a pack mule for small military squads and what not, it can walk across ice and snow and responds very nicely to external forces and bumpy terrain... Check out the clip around :40 seconds and 2:30 respectively to see exactly what i mean. The ice part is my favorite though. Very impressive robotics

Big Dog

That's the Scoop!

Want to learn Italian?

As a college student I have many resources available to me that many do not... For example Italian classes each semester. I have always wanted to learn how to speak Italian and after my adventure through Italy last summer I can only say my need to learn it is only growing.
There are many free sites and gimmick products out there, but from my experience the only real way to learn is not going to be quick and easy. I have only taking Italian for two semesters now but feel increasingly confident in my abilities to use the language. I find myself practicing more because I am understanding more. I have started to think about things in Italian, and even when i say things in English I think about how I would say them in Italian.
For me this means I am constantly learning new words. Fortunately for me, being on a college campus means wifi everywhere, and with the abilities of my magical ipod touch, I am able to look up words whenever I want. I have found the best way to learn is through practice. I think the text book I am currently using is great. Just by reading through the chapters, taking your time and practicing the vocab I guarantee you will be able to learn enough to survive an Italian conversation with a native. Here's the book info in case you are interested. Here's the Google shopping results...

Parliamo Italiano

As you can see, the price is not al that intimidating, and if your considering buying Rosetta Stone, this may be a MUCH cheaper and way more successful start. My brother recieved Rosetta Stone as a gift, and I tried it... I was having a blast thinking I was learning Italian, but I realized each time i went back to pick up where I started I realized I didnt really remember it and needed to start over which is frustrating, but also maybe I didn't give it a good enough try. However, for me and the way I learn, having a textbook that explains grammar and how things are used, lists of vocab words to study with flashcards and whatnot has been much more successful for me.
The textbook is actually not only about grammar. It is titled Parliamo Italiano a communicative approach. Sure it will teach you rules and grammar, but I think the focus is vocabulary, and getting your point across in conversation. The book provides little sections in each chapter entitled "In oltre parole" which means in other words... here they give you common slang phrases and terms commonly used in Italy. I think this book does a great job and if you have questions you can always find a forum or some website to help you. I also suggest Italian-Verbs.com.... This is a great tool to help you with your verb usage. Also in terms of free translators, i think Google's translator is by far the easiest and best one out there. Its simple and pretty accurate. It also understands some slang stuff, and doesn't just translate each word like many translators do. It organizes the words into proper Italian. a Nice tool... I think i will start posting some free Italian lessons here and even quote the book... But if you are serious about learning Italian I definitely suggest this Parliamo Italiano.
Also, another good thing i have discovered is pen pals. My Italian teacher set us up with some friends of his from Italy, now I am guessing most people don't have friends in Italy, but I am sure if you look around you could find some... For example our pen pals were set up through Facebook, this may be a good outlet to browse and find Native speakers. I would also suggest contacting pretty much any university who offers foreign language, even a high school or middle school who offers Italian. I'm sure teachers and professors would have no problem emailing with you and helping you learn Italian. This has been an invaluable source to me as it has also been a place to ask questions. Which means for those of you not on a school campus it maybe be a big help in answering questions.

Va bene... beh, spero che io sia utile a te e tu puoi imparare Italiano. In bocca di lupo! Means okay, well i hope i am helpful to you, and that you can learn italian. In the mouth of the wolf... Italians use that phrase instead of saying good luck. Its like break a leg. The proper response is Crepi! meaning I hope he (the wolf) dies.