text:
VA Cites Progress on Backlog; Congress Disagrees
Associated Press | By Matthew Daly
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs says it has made "tremendous progress" in reducing a disability claims backlog that reached above 600,000 early last year. Members of Congress and the department's assistant inspector general don't believe it.
Allison Hickey, the VA's undersecretary for benefits, told Congress that at the insistence of officials from President Barack Obama on down, the benefits backlog has been whittled down to about 275,000 — a 55 percent decrease from the peak.
Hickey's claims were met with disbelief by some. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, told her flatly that he thinks the VA's numbers are inaccurate.
"I don't believe anybody at the table is telling the truth from the VA," Miller said at a contentious hearing that lasted more than five hours Monday night. "I believe you are hiding numbers."
Asked if she trusted numbers produced by VA, the agency's assistant inspector general, Linda Halliday, said no.
"I don't want to say I trust them," Halliday said.
In a report issued earlier Monday, Halliday said that in its rush to reduce the backlog of disability claims, the VA has made benefits payments of more than $85 million to veterans who lacked adequate medical evidence that they deserve them. Without improvements, the VA could make unsupported payments to veterans totaling about $371 million over the next five years for claims of 100 percent disability alone, Halliday said.
The IG's office also found widespread problems at VA regional offices in Philadelphia and Baltimore, including mail bins full of disability claims and associated evidence that had not been electronically scanned for three years.
"Improved financial stewardship at the agency is needed," Halliday told the House veterans panel. "More attention is critical to minimize the financial risk of making inaccurate benefit payments."
Special initiatives designed to remove older claims and speed processing of new claims are worthwhile, Halliday said, but in some cases they "have had an adverse impact on other workload areas" such as managing appeals filed by veterans and reducing overpayments to veterans.
Hickey defended her agency, saying the department has spent the past four years redesigning and streamlining the way it delivers benefits and services to veterans.
Last year, the Veterans Benefits Administration, which she oversees, completed a record 1.2 million disability rating claims, Hickey said. The agency is on track to complete more than 1.3 million rating claims this year and pay a total of $67 billion in benefits — about half the VA's budget, Hickey said. More than 90 percent of the claims are being processed electronically, she said.
The VA has long struggled to cope with disability claims. The backlog intensified in recent years as more solders returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, and as the VA made it easier for Vietnam-era veterans to get disability compensation stemming from exposure to Agent Orange.
The VA has set a goal to process all claims within 125 days at 98 percent accuracy in 2015, but so far has fallen far short. The agency now processes most claims within 154 days — or more than five months — at a 90 percent accuracy rate, compared with an accuracy rate of 86 percent three years ago, Hickey said. At one point, veterans were forced to wait an average nine to 10 months for their disability claims to be processed.
"It has never been acceptable to VA ... that our veterans are experiencing long delays in receiving the benefits they have earned and deserve," Hickey said, adding that she was "saddened and offended" by related problems that have plagued VA health centers in recent months. Investigators have found long waits for appointments at VA hospitals and clinics, and falsified records to cover up the delays.
Halliday, in her report, said she found similar problems with the benefits agency, including faulty claims processing that "increases the risk of improper payments to veterans and their families."
Inspectors surveying Philadelphia's VA benefits center in June found mail bins brimming with claims and associated evidence dating to 2011 that had not been electronically scanned, she said.
Inspectors also found evidence that staffers at the Philadelphia regional office were manipulating dates to make old claims appear newer. The findings are similar to problems in which investigators have found long waits for appointments at VA hospitals and clinics, and falsified records to cover up the delays.
In Baltimore, investigators discovered that an employee had inappropriately stored in his office thousands of documents, including some that contained Social Security data, "for an extensive period of time." About 8,000 documents, including 80 claims folders, unprocessed mail and Social Security information of dead or incarcerated veterans, were stored in the employee's office, Halliday said.
Kristen Ruell, an employee at the VA's Pension Management Center in Philadelphia, told the committee that mail routinely "sat in boxes untouched for years" at the pension office. Once, after becoming concerned that unopened mail was being shredded, Ruell opened the boxes and took photos. Instead of addressing the problem, she said, VA supervisors enacted a policy prohibiting taking photos.
After VA officials in Washington issued a directive last year ordering that a backlog of claims older than 125 days be reduced, the Philadelphia office "took this to mean that they could change the dates of every claim older than six weeks," Ruell said. While pension center managers later told the IG's office that the mislabeling was based on a misunderstanding of the directive, Ruell said, "these behaviors are intentional."
"The VA's problems are a result of morally bankrupt managers that through time and (government service) grade have moved up into powerful positions where they have the power to and continue to ruin people's lives," Ruell said.
Department of Veterans Affairs - VA Congress
US Marine Corps Asks Duncan Hunter to Stop Using Marine Symbols for Campaign
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Lawmaker Orders Investigation into 'Pink Tax' on Women's Military Uniforms
A bill in Congress would order a GAO report on whether there really are gender disparities in uniform prices.
Bill Would Require DoD to Share Water Contamination Data with Local Communities
House version of the NDAA requires the Pentagon to share data on possible contamination from PFAS.
Esper Refuses to Recuse Himself on Raytheon Matters in SecDef Confirmation Hearing
In heated exchanges, Warren demanded to know whether Esper would recuse himself on DoD decisions involving Raytheon.
Auto-Loader May Be a Challenge for Army's New Self-Propelled Cannon
The U.S. Army is poised to see its dream of fielding an auto-loading, self-propelled howitzer become a reality.
Colorado Town Honors Green Beret Killed in Afghanistan
Friends of Sgt. Maj. James G. "Ryan" Sartor say he was a leader and an example of what a man's supposed to be like.
Robotic Mules Could Deploy with Army Advisers to Afghanistan
The service hopes to start fielding the SMET after successful testing with the 10th Mountain and 101st Airborne divisions.
Navy Mother Arrested, Accused of 'Horrific' Abuse of her Newborn Twins
The investigation began after the woman brought her babies to the hospital because one of them had a swollen right leg.
USS Kearsarge, USS Arlington Return Home After Deployment
The USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington returned to Norfolk Thursday following a seven-month deployment.
Today is a great day for the US Navy and for the United States of America: We've got the first trailer for "Top Gun: Maverick...
Some Don't Like It Hot: Shorts on the Way for Maintainers at Nellis Air Force Base
The high-stress, high-heat environment prompted officials to get utility shorts for its maintenance crew, officials said.
Air Force JTAC Awarded Silver Star for Calling Airstrikes Under Fire
Tech. Sgt. Michael Perolio received the third-highest award for valor in combat during a ceremony Thursday.
Air Force Fighter Pilot Units Will Get Personal Therapists to Fight Chronic Pain
A personal masseuse, trainer or conditioning coach could be coming to a fighter pilot base near you.
Married Marine Colonels to Take on Separate Commands on the Same Day
During two separate Marine Corps change-of-command ceremonies Friday in North Carolina, Col. Ebitz will take the reins.
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The Marine Corps' Light Marine Air Defense Integrated System, known as LMADIS, jammed an Iranian drone.
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Dave Coble, catcher for the Phillies, attempted and succeeded at a very difficult feat on this date in 1939, catching a ball thrown from the top of Philadelphia's City Hall. The rookie catcher handled the 521-foot dropped ball cleanly, but likened it to the experience of a man jumping into his arms. It must have taken some hard work and preparation for Coble to complete the feat.
Today's Scripture lesson instructs us to be about action instead of talk when we talk about hard work. We can have the greatest intentions in the world to get better in the game whether we play or coach, but unless we put in the time and work hard, getting better will not happen. All of us want to improve to play at the next level, but to do so we must be willing to do the hard work it takes. Talk just does not get it done. The same is true in our walk with God. We can have great intentions and talk a great spiritual game, but unless we put in the time and work hard on our relationship with God daily, we will not grow spiritually. We need to realize that our relationship with God must be the most important thing in our lives, and we need to work hard at growing in our daily walk with Him.
How much time this week have we put into our relationship with God?
How hard have we worked to get better in the game and the game of life?
What can we do to work on our relationship with God?
We can't get ahead in the game of baseball without a lot of hard work. We also can't grow in our Christian walk without a lot of hard work with God. Let's work hard today!!
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Military units praised for effectively combating COVID-19
PANO – General Ngo Xuan Lich, Minister of National Defense, sent a letter praising efforts and outstanding achievements of troops and defense workers throughout the military in combating COVID-19 on March 18.
Border guard troops actively prevent COVID-19 disease
Military combines strength to fight COVID-19 epidemic
In realizing the instructions of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, the Prime Minister, and the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense and military units' Party Committees, troops and defense workers have effectively worked with ministries, local leadership, and people to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.
Particularly, many military units have reserved parts of their barracks and facilities for quarantining citizens coming and returning from COVID-19-hit areas while mobilizing their personnel to prepare food for quarantined people.
In the letter, General Lich also praised military medical personnel for wholeheartedly taking care of tens of thousands of people in quarantined areas and coordinating with other forces to produce a test kit for early detecting COVID-19.
Meanwhile, border guard units sent their troops to conduct patrols along borderlines and guard around the clock at border gates to prevent illegal immigration, smuggling, and illegal transport of goods across the border, contributing to preventing COVID-19 from entering the country.
The whole military has taken different measures to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 in the military. They have promoted information dissemination and encouraged local people to apply preventive measures.
The deeds performed by units in the whole military have helped raise the image of Uncle Ho's soldiers in the current period and been highly appreciated by the Party, State, people, and international friends.
In the context that COVID-19 is developing complicatedly, the Central Military Commission and Ministry of National Defense asked troops and defense workers in the whole military to promote the beautiful virtues of Uncle Ho's soldiers and traditions of the nation and strictly exercise quarantine procedures, contributing to effectively combating the disease.
Translated by Tran Hoai
Tag(s): COVID-19 military units
Division 320 receives third-class Fatherland Protection Order - (17/01/2021 19:51)
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Military youth team wins "Youths with traffic culture" contest - (16/01/2021 20:08)
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Fire prevention work of military unit checked - (16/01/2021 20:08)
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MND and MST review collaboration - (15/01/2021 19:24)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Facilitators: Josh Martin and Lisa Gelley, Co-Artistic Directors, Company 605.
12 Minutes Max seeks to foster experimentation and the development of a choreographic idea or work-in-progress, from the initial stages through to the first public encounter. Artists have access to support and feedback from the facilitators, the opportunity to share the work with their peers in the program, and participate in community dialogues with audiences at public showings.
The deadlines for the 2018-2019 season have now passed: application dates for 2019-2020 will be announced in the summer.
• There will be three research and development modules this season for which artists can submit ideas and works-in-progress.
• The facilitators will select up to four artists per module.
• Selected artists will receive 16 hours of fully-subsidized studio space at Scotiabank Dance Centre to develop their works, with input from the facilitators. Artists may book additional rehearsal hours at regular rates if desired.
• At the end of each research and development module all the artists will share their work first with each other and the facilitators, and then in an informal studio showing open to the public. Artists are expected to have 7-12 minutes of material to show.
• At the end of the season, the facilitators will identify a selection of the works for further development and the introduction of production elements, leading to a ticketed performance at Scotiabank Dance Centre.
• Applicants must be Full Artist or Company members of The Dance Centre.
• The applicant must be the author and primary creator of the work/idea.
• Proposed works must be in the early stages of development: finished works are not eligible.
• This program is geared towards emerging artists, but is open to any artists who are experimenting with new directions in their practice.
• All dance forms and choreographic styles are welcome.
• Emerging artists must have completed a recognized professional dance training program, or the equivalent.
• A SHORT description (500 words max) of the research/idea you are interested in working on during 12 Minutes Max.
History - The original 12 Minutes Max concept was pioneered by On the Boards in Seattle where it has been running since 1979. In 1994 The Dance Centre launched a Vancouver edition which for over fifteen years provided an opportunity for artists to show eclectic and innovative new works that ran under twelve minutes. The program was relaunched in its current format in 2014.
Artists: Jenn Edwards, Molly McDermott, Liliane Moussa, Monica Shah, Marissa Wong.
Season curators: Kathryn Ricketts, DD Kugler.
Artists: Naomi Brand, Kara Nolte, Jane Osborne and Daisy Thompson.
Curatorial team: Kat Single-Dain, Corey Philley, George Sipos.
Artists: Michael Kong, Caitlin Griffin, Su Lin Tseng, and Jamee Valin.
Curatorial team: Kathryn Ricketts, Jenifer Papararo, Claire French.


Promotional value expires 120 days after purchase. Amount paid never expires. Must use all treatments on same area. Appointment required. Consultation required; non-candidates and other refund requests will be honored before service provided. Botox may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening, including problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing. Read all safety considerations for Botox [here](https://www.botoxcosmetic.com/home). Merchant's standard cancellation policy applies (any fees not to exceed voucher price). Limit 1 per person, may buy 2 additional as gift(s). May be repurchased every 90 days. Valid only for option purchased. All goods or services must be used by the same person. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.
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Jones, C. M., Spor, A., Brennan, F. P., Breuil, M.-C., Bru, D., Lemanceau, P., Griffiths, B., Hallin, S. and Philippot, L. 2014. Recently identified microbial guild mediates soil N2O sink capacity. Nature Climate Change, 4:801-805.
Jones, C.M., Graf, D., Bru, D., Philippot, L. and Hallin, S. 2013. The unaccounted yet abundant nitrous oxide reducing microbial community – a potential nitrous oxide sink. The ISME J, 7:417-426.
Wessén. E, Söderström, M., Stenberg, M., Bru, D., Hellman, M., Welsh, A., Thomson, F., Klemedtsson, L., Philippot, L. and Hallin, S. 2011. Spatial distribution of ammonia oxidizing bacteria and archaea across a 44-hectare farm related to ecosystem functioning. The ISME J, 5:1213-1225.
Philippot,L., Andersson, S.G.E., Battin,T.J., Prosser, J.I., Schimel, J.P., Whitman, W.B. and Hallin, S. 2010. The ecological coherence of higher bacterial taxonomic ranks. Nature Reviews Microbiology 8:523-529.
Jones, C. M. and Hallin, S. 2010. Ecological and evolutionary factors underlying global and local assembly of denitrifier communities. The ISME Journal 4: 633-641.
Hallin S., Jones, C.M., Schloter, M. and Philippot, L. 2009. Relationship between N-cycling communities and ecosystem functioning in a 50-year-old fertilization experiment. The ISME Journal, 3: 597-605.
Linking directional changes in vegetation induced by climate warming to microbial communities across the arctic tundra – implications for nitrogen cycling and carbon balance. The Swedish Research Council Formas. 2014-2016. Prolonged to 2017.
The unaccounted nitrous oxide-reducing microbial community: a nitrous oxide sink in agricultural soils.The Swedish Research Council Formas. 2014-2016. Prolonged to 2021.


text:
By Universe Today (Reporter)
Divers Have Found a Piece of the Space Shuttle Challenger Off the Coast of Florida
Thursday, November 10, 2022 22:25
Nearly 37 years ago the world watched in stunned horror as an explosion destroyed the space shuttle Challenger. The accident occurred 73 seconds after liftoff and killed seven astronauts. Memories of shuttle pieces falling into the sea remain with everyone who witnessed the catastrophe.
In the aftermath, NASA searched for pieces of the shuttle. The agency recovered a great deal of wreckage in the years right after the event. Recently a film crew working on a show for the History Channel discovered a 20-foot-long piece of Challenger on the ocean floor. It was a stunning find and totally unexpected.
Divers working on a documentary uncovered a section of the space shuttle Challenger. Courtesy The HISTORY Channel.
The team's actual goal was to find remnants of ships lost in the Bermuda Triangle. That region actually lies well southeast of the Space Coast. It's the first major find of wreckage from the disaster in more than 25 years. Underwater explorer and marine biologist Mike Barnette, who led the team, said the crew recognized they had something unique very quickly.
"The significance of this large section of Challenger's structure was readily apparent," he said. "We recognized the necessity of bringing this find to the immediate attention of NASA. The site, which is outside of the Bermuda Triangle off the Florida coast, marks the loss of seven brave astronauts—fellow explorers—and the Challenger disaster was a tragic setback for America's space program. But from this horrific event, important lessons were learned that have ultimately led to remarkable advances in space exploration."
NASA Steps In
The team immediately alerted NASA and shared the footage shot by the divers. Agency leaders viewed it and readily agreed that the debris looks very much like a piece of Challenger. NASA administrator Bill Nelson confirmed the find in a public statement.
"While it has been nearly 37 years since seven daring and brave explorers lost their lives aboard Challenger, this tragedy will forever be seared in the collective memory of our country. For millions around the globe, myself included, January 28, 1986, still feels like yesterday," he said. "This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us. At NASA, the core value of safety is – and must forever remain – our top priority, especially as our missions explore more of the cosmos than ever before."
Space shuttle artifacts such as this one are the property of the U.S. government. The rest of the shuttle is memorialized and ensiloed at Launch Complex 31 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. One piece is on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex nearby and lost crews are memorialized there. NASA will work with the families of the astronauts as it decides how to handle the newly found artifact.
The HISTORY Channel and Challenger
The video of the team's discovery will be part of a program called "The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters." It will air on November 22 as part of a narrative about wreck sites off the coast of Florida.
"The historic and emotional discovery of this Challenger artifact by our incredible team reinforces the HISTORY Channel's mission to preserve important sites and stories from our national heritage," said Eli Lehrer, the network's executive vice president and head of programming. "While the remarkable discovery of wreckage from Challenger was not part of our diving team's initial mission exploring the Bermuda Triangle, the find's historical significance cannot be understated."
NASA Views Images, Confirms Discovery of Shuttle Challenger Artifact
HISTORY Channel Discovers Segment of Space Shuttle Challenger
The post Divers Have Found a Piece of the Space Shuttle Challenger Off the Coast of Florida appeared first on Universe Today.
Source: https://www.universetoday.com/158597/divers-have-found-a-piece-of-the-space-shuttle-challenger-off-the-coast-of-florida/
Total 1 comment
So, a heavily tracked space shuttle, along with its crew of 7, crashes into the shallow ocean near the launch site in Florida. Then, 37 years later a film crew making a documentary for the History channel accidentally discovers its location? That sounds unbelievably fishy to me.
Nov 11, 2022, 1:16 pm 0 Reply
God's Word - Revelation Chapter 8
A WEF-FIE Girl in the Davos World, Pfizer's Drunken Admission and Hamlin's Probably Dead - Dollar_Vigilante
Kate Shemirani on COVID Shot Transmission & Sugar in the Blood (Video)
Breaking News… Egg farm on fire…One large coop destroyed…Damage continues to our food supply
Project Veritas Pfizer Video: Dr. Peter McCullough & Steve Kirsch (Video)


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text:
Кня́жество Болга́рия () — официальное название Болгарии с момента принятия Тырновской конституции в 1879 году до провозглашения независимости в 1908 году. Представляло собой конституционную монархию с однопалатным парламентом (Народное собрание).

Глава государства — князь. Титул монарха — «князь болгар». Правящие династии: в 1879—1886 годах — Баттенбергская, с 1887 — Саксен-Кобург-Готская. Предусматривалось коллективное регентство в случае недееспособности князя.

История
Истоки современной болгарской государственности зародились в период Временного русского управления в Болгарии, когда русская администрация управляла территорией Болгарии, занятой русской армией после Русско-турецкой войны 1877—1878 годов. Основными целями Временного русского управления были налаживание мирной жизни и подготовка к возрождению болгарского государства.

Границы нового государства были определены Берлинским конгрессом 1878 года, сильно урезавшим освобождённую Болгарию в пользу Османской империи и других соседних государств. В 1879 году в средневековой болгарской столице Тырнове была принята Учредительным собранием конституция, установившая в молодом государстве конституционную монархию. После абдикации князя Александра I Баттенберга в 1886 году и периодa регентства в 1887 году на престол вступил пронемецкий правитель Фердинанд I Саксен-Кобург-Готский.

Присоединение 6 сентября 1885 года Княжеством Болгария автономной в составе Османской империи области Восточная Румелия сталa причиной начала 14 ноября того же года Сербско-болгарской войны, завершившейся победой Княжества Болгария. Бухарестский мирный договор 19 февраля 1886 года констатировал международное признание акта воссоединения Княжества с Восточной Румелией.

Во время очередного ослабления Османской империи и аннексии Австро-Венгрией Боснии и Герцеговины, болгарский князь Фердинанд I, воспользовавшись моментом и по предварительному тайному соглашению с Веной, провозгласил 22 сентября 1908 года независимость Княжества и преобразование его в Царство. Принятие титула царя выражало фактический статус полной юридической независимости и полного суверенитета над Восточной Румелией. Необходимые поправки в конституцию были внесены V Великим Народным собранием в 1911 году.

Примечания

Государства в истории Болгарии
Исторические государства Балкан

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
''Pan y circo es el cuarto disco solista del músico argentino Larry Zavala, publicado en el año 2014. Cuenta con una canción re grabada de su segundo disco como solista (Donde dobla el viento) y con dos covers de Nepal (banda), su antigua banda, como bonus tracks: "Aquellos bastardos" y "Realidades".''

Lista de canciones

 Pan y circo - 01:09
 Nación - 03:08
 Caída - 04:13
 Hogar - 03:29
 Mutilado - 03:24
 Sin Dios - 02:03
 Legado - 03:53
 Sacrificio - 03:22
 Donde dobla el viento - 03:00
 Algo más lejos - 02:43
 Resecas - 04:39
 Aquellos bastardos (Nepal cover, bonus track) - 05:08*
 Realidades (Nepal cover, bonus track) - 04:09*

Miembros

Larry Zavala – bajo y voz
 Omar Melink - guitarra
 Walter Collazo - batería

Referencias

Álbumes de 2014
Álbumes en español
Álbumes de heavy metal


"It's easy to call Facebook the social network of the past. It's harder to build the social network of the future.
To hear Bradley Horowitz tell it, though, Google is well on its way. Google+, he says, lets people share with others in a more natural way than its competitors. Easy privacy controls, an environment free from obtrusive advertising, and highly polished mobile apps combine on Google+ to deliver a next-generation social network, as Horowitz tells it."
In 2012, AWS will launch 158 new services and features, up from 81 in 2011.
And AWS in 2012 now adds enough server capacity to power a $5 billion global enterprise daily."
"Some people are trying the new Internet Explorer and actually liking it. Not that they would say that out loud. Curious? It's a new browser."
"Working this time with Samsung, the Nexus 10 is a good alternative to the iPad. I've been using it for the past week, and I love the gorgeous display and design. The latest Android software also brings some nice extras, such as enhanced voice search and support for multiple users. Plus, it's $100 less than the latest iPad, at $399 for the 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi model and $499 for the 32GB Wi-Fi version."
"Would you like to programmatically publish some web content? Or let your users do so in the context of your Drive app?
"Autonomy was audited by the British arm of Deloitte. H.P., which is audited by Ernst & Young, hired KPMG to perform due diligence in connection with the acquisition — due diligence that presumably found no big problems with the books.
That covered three of the four big firms, so it should be no surprise that the final one, PricewaterhouseCoopers, was brought in to conduct a forensic investigation after an unnamed whistle-blower told H.P. that the books were not kosher. H.P. says the PWC investigation found "serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentation and disclosure failures.""
"It's also a perfect computer for the technophobic. It's very hard to get lost in an operating system that basically has no features.
It's been a long, patient slot for Google to get here, but with year after year of careful tweaks and improvements — and a jaw-dropping $250 price — the Chromebook is finally ready for prime time."
"It's not exactly news that Facebook continues its epic reign among social media sites - but it's still surprising just how much it dominates. According to data cobbled together in a new infographic from San Francisco law firm Morrison & Foerster's Socially Aware Blog, each month, visitors spend an average of 6.75 hours on Facebook. At first gloss, that may not sound like much, but that's almost double the amount of time users spend with Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ - combined. "
"The fact that Jassy's presentation says that the Redshift service also uses PostgreSQL drives to link to third party BI tools would seem to indicate that Amazon has parallelized the open source PostgreSQL database, much as EMC's Greenplum and IBM's Netezza have done for their data warehousing appliances.
While the base open source PostgreSQL database does not support columnar storage, Yahoo! whipped up a columnar variant of PostgreSQL and out it into production more than five years ago, and if Yahoo! can do it, Amazon can, too."
"Things got even worse when many Windows 8 reviews said the learning curve was "steep." And when Windows boss Steven Sinofsky stepped down from his post, some wondered if the wheels were falling off Microsoft's OS train.
And yet, the actual raw figures seem to indicate things are actually going pretty well.
So, why is there such a discrepancy in the earlier reports and Microsoft's own data?
Perhaps Windows 8 reviews really didn't matter as much as the pundits expected. And despite several fan sites on the Web touting Windows 8's virtues, there appears to be a growing contingent of people that like to believe that Microsoft, the once-dominant giant, is crumbling."
"Much of this will be a relic within a few years, according to Mr. Hawkins. "Hadoop won't go away, but it will manage a lot less stuff," he said in an interview at Numenta's headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. "Querying databases won't matter as much, as people worry instead about millions of streams of real-time data." In a sensor-rich world of data feeds, he is saying, we will model ourselves more closely on the constant change that is the real world.
Mr. Hawkins thinks that the human neocortex, that part of the brain that includes the perception and reasoning functions, itself works as a kind of pattern-seeking and predictive system. Brain cells, starting at some of their most elemental components, work together to build expectations, initially about things like light and dark, or near and far, that they gather from sensory organs."
"HP does have pretty ample cash reserves, and Moody's even says as much in its announcement: $11.3 billion in cash and equivalents as of the end of the most recent quarter, and it said it expects that level to remain north of $8 billion for the forseeable future. Add to that an expected $4 billion in free cash flow in 2013, and it makes it unlikely that HP will need to borrow anytime soon."
"In its current form, Hewlett-Packard is a wasting asset, whose value to customers, employees and shareholders is steadily declining. It is time for the board to move quickly to restore its former status as a company everyone can admire, one that can compete successfully in two very different global markets.
If it does so, Hewlett-Packard's beleaguered shareholders will finally benefit from a substantial jump in the combined market valuation of the separate companies."
"Today, we are excited to announce the limited preview of Amazon Redshift, a fast and powerful, fully managed, petabyte-scale data warehouse service in the cloud. Amazon Redshift enables customers to obtain dramatically increased query performance when analyzing datasets ranging in size from hundreds of gigabytes to a petabyte or more, using the same SQL-based business intelligence tools they use today. Customers have been asking us for a data warehouse service for some time now and we're excited to be able to deliver this to them."
"Users don't have to do anything to take advantage of this new feature. When you attach a file, Gmail will double-check that your recipients have permission to view the files in Google Drive.
ReadWrite says that if the person you're sending a file to doesn't have permission to view the file, then Gmail willprompt you to change the sharing settings without having to leave your email."
"New metrics released today by research outfit Kantar Worldpanel ComTech show that for the 12 weeks ended Oct. 28, iOS accounted for 48.1 percent of U.S. smartphone sales, surpassing Android, which accounted for 46.7 percent. The engine of Apple's resurgence? The new iPhone 5, which helped the company more than double its share of the U.S. smartphone market year over year, and put it within reach of its all-time high."
"Those efforts seem to have brought some relief to Wall Street. Analysts issued more bullish projections for the company in recent days, and the stock was up 49 percent from its lowest point, closing Tuesday at $26.15, although that is still well below the initial offering price of $38. The share price has been buoyed in part by the fact that a wave of insider lockup periods expired without a flood of shares hitting the market."
"Perhaps a bigger issue is that OpenText suffers from many of the same underlying diseases as Autonomy. To be sure, OpenText has not been run by a megalomaniac, and I've never heard any hint of financial or stock manipulation at the Canadian ECM vendor. Nonetheless, like Autonomy, OpenText is fundamentally a roll-up company, focused more on buying smaller vendors than developing and integrating those systems into a more coherent whole. This can bring short-term returns, but I believe is a highly suspect long-term strategy for customers. "
"Realistically, deep learning is only part of the larger challenge of building intelligent machines. Such techniques lack ways of representing causal relationships (such as between diseases and their symptoms), and are likely to face challenges in acquiring abstract ideas like "sibling" or "identical to." They have no obvious ways of performing logical inferences, and they are also still a long way from integrating abstract knowledge, such as information about what objects are, what they are for, and how they are typically used. The most powerful A.I. systems, like Watson, the machine that beat humans in "Jeopardy," use techniques like deep learning as just one element in a very complicated ensemble of techniques, ranging from the statistical technique of Bayesian inference to deductive reasoning."
"You are what you link to.
Several news organizations earlier today repeated information from a phony press release that circulated after 10 a.m., claiming Google was acquiring a tiny Rhode Island firm, ICOA, that installs public Wi-Fi nodes. The release first circulated on PRWeb, a free service operated by a public relations company called Vocus."
"Contextual information provided by mobile devices—via GPS chips and other sensors—can provide clues about a person and his situation, allowing Google to guess what that person wants. "We've often said the perfect search engine will provide you with exactly what you need to know at exactly the right moment, potentially without you having to ask for it," says Wiley.
Google is already taking the first steps in this direction. Google Now offers unsolicited directions, weather forecasts, flight updates, and other information when it thinks you need them (see "Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead"). Google Glass—eyeglass frames with an integrated display (see "You Will Want Google's Goggles")—could also provide an opportunity to preëmptively answer questions or provide useful information. "It's the pinnacle of this hands-free experience, an entirely new class of device," Wiley says of Google Glass, and he expects his research to help shape this experience."
"There's been a lot of discussion over the past few days about the recent changes to Facebook's privacy and governance policies — including the revelation that (gasp!) Facebook is not actually a democracy — but one element of the new rules has gotten less attention than it probably should: namely, the fact that the giant social network is going to use the data it has about your likes and dislikes to show you ads outside of Facebook. This is the first real confirmation that the company is going to roll out an advertising network that extends beyond just its own walled garden, and it could turn out to be one of the biggest factors in the success or failure of Facebook's revenue-growth strategy."
"ICOA provides wireless and wired networks in high-traffic public locations in the US, adding WiFi hotspot zones to airports, restaurants, universities, travel plazas, and many other public venues. As part of the deal, Google is set to pick up 1,500 of ICOA's broadband access installations across 45 US states."
"Only days after a report anticipating a surge in tablet shipments, it's official: Tablet display shipments topped laptops in October, said NPD DisplaySearch today.
"In a milestone for the global industry, in October tablet PC panel shipments exceeded those of notebook PC panels," NPD DisplaySearch said today in a research note.
Because display panel shipments are always the leading indicator for device shipments, "it can be seen that tablet PCs are threatening to overtake notebooks," DisplaySearch said."
"The technology, called deep learning, has already been put to use in services like Apple's Siri virtual personal assistant, which is based on Nuance Communications' speech recognition service, and in Google's Street View, which uses machine vision to identify specific addresses.
But what is new in recent months is the growing speed and accuracy of deep-learning programs, often called artificial neural networks or just "neural nets" for their resemblance to the neural connections in the brain."
"Unfortunately, as a Microsoft product manager told me understatedly, "We have an awareness problem." Translation: Nobody is buying Windows phones. And since nobody's buying them, nobody's writing apps for them. And since nobody's writing apps — well, you can see where this is going.
Still, Microsoft isn't giving up. This month, Windows Phone 8 arrives aboard two fascinating new phones: the Nokia Lumia 920 ($100 with a new AT&T contract) and the HTC Windows Phone 8X ($200 from AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile)."
"The short version of my argument is this: I believe Autonomy's impressive financial results (at least those reported) served to conceal key warning signs about its aging flagship search technology, doped-up sales strategies, warped internal culture, and growing disdain for its own customers.
"It's the latest in a string of failed high-profile acquisitions by a mismanaged company, but it's more than that. Autonomy was also supposed to be HP's big shot at moving into the high-margin software business that's kept its two biggest competitors — IBM and Oracle — chugging along. But it shouldn't be a big surprise that the acquisition has proved to be a colossal failure. If HP has proved anything over the past decade, it's that it doesn't do software, at least not the sort of enterprise software that big companies pay lots of money for so they can manage their data and corporate assets."
"The goodwill figure is especially telling. Goodwill is the bookkeeping entry that a company records when it pays a premium to buy another company. More precisely, it's the difference between the purchase price and the fair market value of the acquired company's net assets. Goodwill can't be sold by itself. The goodwill in this instance tells you that HP paid $6.9 billion more than it believed Autonomy's net assets were worth.
Now HP is writing down some of that goodwill and blaming it on supposed financial-reporting improprieties by Autonomy. This also doesn't make sense. HP didn't record the goodwill because it was lied to by Autonomy. HP recorded the goodwill because it knew Autonomy's identifiable assets were worth much less than it paid."
"The week-long trial in a Seattle federal court examined how much of a royalty Microsoft Corp should pay Google Inc for a license to some of Motorola's patents. Google bought Motorola earlier this year for $12.5 billion, partly for its library of communications patents.
Motorola had sought up to $4 billion a year for its wireless and video patents, while Microsoft argues its rival deserves just over $1 million a year."
Is your mind blown yet? If not, read that list a couple of times and think to yourself, "How much do I spend on gas a month? A year? A decade and in a lifetime?" "
... and also think about the ecological implications, while you're at it.
"After Nokia's Here app was released on Monday, it quickly climbed to the No. 4 spot on Apple's list of most downloaded apps. By Tuesday afternoon, the app already had 378 reviews in iTunes with an average rating of 2.5 stars. The majority of users rated it one star.
Some of the complaints were similar to those that greeted Apple's map service: some locations are mislabeled, and some information, like street maps for Japan, is missing. Others complained that the maps were ugly and sluggish to load. People who rated the app five stars said the location data was more accurate than Apple's."
"The geocoder is powered by 100% public domain data. We are using Natural Earth for countries and provinces, Flickr Shapefiles for cities, and U.S. Census TIGER for zip codes. We combined these sources into a database of nearly 200,000 places that the MapBox geocoder uses to quickly return accurate results.
"If Microsoft wants to be taken seriously by consumers and app developers, it will have to make serious strides with its Windows Phone Store, which for now includes just a fraction of the apps available for Android and iOS. But Microsoft is an old hand when it comes to wooing developers, and Windows 8—its operating system for desktops and tablets—is designed to make it easier for developers to create software components that work on both mobile and conventional computers. So I'm going to bet they can do it, even if it may take some time."
"Hewlett-Packard said on Tuesday that it had taken an $8.8 billion accounting charge, after discovering "serious accounting improprieties" and "outright misrepresentations" at Autonomy, a British software maker that it bought for $11.7 billion last year."
"Powerbook Medic has torn the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 apart for the world to peer inside. It seems Samsung has done well out of the tablet, as it's supplying—at the very least—the display, RAM, and flash memory. The processor is courtesy of Texas Instruments, though."
Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Teardown: A Samsung Tablet By Another Name?
"Now, Microsoft is following this up with a new set of challenges under the "Meet Your Match" moniker. According to Microsoft, this is a different take on the "Smoked" challenges. The focus now isn't just on how Windows Phone 8 on devices like the Lumia 920 allows user to finish tasks faster than on other operating systems, but also on "why it's better, easier, more useful, and more fun. The soul of Smoked – a side-by-side comparison of us vs. the other guys – hasn't changed, but now it's about why our phones and features are a better match for you, no matter who you are or what you're into.""
"In general we're quite fond of 7-inch tablets and so, of these two, we'd still take the more portable 7-inch Kindle Fire HD. However, those who need just a bit more workspace, or who can't stand to ever be offline from any location, might want to consider the 8.9. Meanwhile, if you're a more serious tablet user who wants access to the full power of the Android operating system, the decision is still simple: go with something else."
"Google took a page from Apple's playbook when it rolled out its own AirPlay-like remote control feature for YouTube on Google TV last week. The company has since launched a dedicated micro-site to promote the feature, showing how serious it is taking second screen control. But it is not stopping there. Drayson told me that Google is "actively working with other companies" to turn this into an open standard, which could be used on other platforms and for other apps as well.
And it's not just about remote control functionality and beaming a video from your mobile phone to the TV we are talking about. The new protocol makes it possible for data to flow in both directions, Drayson explained, which would enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what's happening on live TV as well. Also on the roadmap: beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen."
"The App Economy isn't merely delightful, it's also an economic juggernaut that's created more than 400,000 jobs and a multi-billion-dollar business where there was, very recently, nothing. That's the good news. The bad news is that in the App Economy, as in every hit-making business, there is the top 1% and there is everybody else. For a taste of the App Economy's inequality: Of the $6.5 billion that Apple has paid to app developers, only 25% made more than $30,000 and 4% made more than $1 million. "
"IBM says it has now accomplished this milestone with its new "TrueNorth" system running on the world's fastest operating supercomputer, the Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LBNL) Blue Gene/Q Sequoia, using 96 racks (1,572,864 processor cores, 1.5 PB memory, 98,304 MPI processes, and 6,291,456 threads).
IBM and LBNL achieved an unprecedented scale of 2.084 billion neurosynaptic cores* containing 53×1010 (530 billion) neurons and 1.37×1014 (100 trillion) synapses running only 1542 times slower than real time."
"I have great hopes for Windows 9 on mobile and tablets. Just as Windows 7 was "Vista Done Right," it's quite likely that the touchscreen version of Windows 9 will be "Windows 8 Done Right."
The situation is much worse on regular PCs, particularly for knowledge workers doing productivity tasks in the office. This used to be Microsoft's core audience, and it has now thrown the old customer base under the bus by designing an operating system that removes a powerful PC's benefits in order to work better on smaller devices.
The underlying problem is the idea of recycling a single software UI for two very different classes of hardware devices. It would have been much better to have two different designs: one for mobile and tablets, and one for the PC.
on deploying SAP solutions on AWS, visit http://aws.amazon.com/sap"
"Could the pair do more in terms of sharing among its users? Sure! Could they more tightly integrate services? Yep! Could they do something jointly related to advertising? Why not! But will they build a search engine together? Not likely.
Indeed, I am not even sure what such a thing means, since it would now be nearly impossible to execute, given Yahoo has outsourced its core search technology long ago to Microsoft and has been largely focused on improving search experience since then."
I suspect the Q4 2012/Q1 2013 numbers will suggest that, for most people not primarily interested in an e-reader tablet (i.e., Kindle or Nook), the tablet decision is coming down to 1) Apple iPad or Google Nexus and 2) ~7" or ~10"
"By keeping its tablet prices so high, he said, Apple could lose its place as the biggest tablet seller, just as it did with smartphones when it lost the first-place position to Samsung, which makes less expensive phones using Google's Android software. The iPad still dominates the market with a 50 percent share, according to third-quarter figures from the research firm IDC, but that is down from 60 percent a year ago. Samsung is in second place with an 18 percent share, Amazon is third with 9 percent, and Asus, which makes Google's Nexus 7 tablet, is in fourth with 8.6 percent of the market."
""This is quite a historic moment, the end of an era for an iconic 20th century brand," said Tony Baer, an analyst at Ovum. "IBM's been laying the groundwork for retiring the Lotus name for several years. But don't forget that in its lifetime, Lotus was already reinvented when it went from spreadsheets to 'groupware,' the first real collaborative application—if you're not counting email. Today, collaboration is no longer an app, but a capability that is baked into applications, devices, messaging systems and social networks. Maybe it's not obvious from today's perspective, but Lotus became a victim of its own success.""
"One way to find and experiment with data while avoiding politics and addressing resource availability is to create and participate in a big data Petri dish. A case in point is the recently-opened Hack/Reduce, a non-profit in Cambridge, Massachusetts, offering space and computing resources to individuals and organizations interested in developing big data applications.
About 100 big data enthusiasts were expected today at the Hack/Reduce kickoff hackathon. Participants were encouraged to BYOD or bring their own data, co-founder Frederic Lalonde told Xconomy's Gregory T. Huang. "If they work for a company or organization that has a public dataset," said Lalonde, "the best thing they can do is come in and make that available to the community.""
"The book, which has a planned publication date of December 4, is packed with powerful portraits of how life is changing in a world filled by a never-ending stream of data -- from constant Facebook updates to signals from our smartphones to new data-driven ways to predict heart-attacks in real time. There's an ongoing data-collecting component of the project as well. Smolan released accompanying mobile apps in September and, with permission, has been recording data of people's lives from around the world that he'll publish in a couple of weeks."
"Despite the rumors of hordes of hip programmers starting million-dollar businesses from their kitchen tables, only a small minority of developers actually make a living by creating their own apps, according to surveys and experts. The Grimeses began their venture with high hopes, but their apps, most of them for toddlers, did not come quickly enough or sell fast enough.
And programming is not a skill that just anyone can learn. While people already employed in tech jobs have added app writing to their résumés, the profession offers few options to most unemployed, underemployed and discouraged workers."
"In this always on, always-connected world, it's increasingly difficult to give up mobile broadband while traveling, even when overseas. The beauty of GSM networks and the SIM card has always been the relative universality of the networks, and the interchangeable nature of SIM cards. Granted, some regions don't use GSM; and to enjoy this flexibility, one needs to have a phone or tablet that's "unlocked"—meaning, not tied to a carrier. Until now, all of the tablets shipped with mobile data in the U.S. were tied to a carrier. The Google Nexus 7 with WiFi + Mobile Data breaks free of that paradigm, and in so doing literally opens up the world for those on-the-go."
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"When the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) this week began taking military action in the Gaza strip against Hamas (as the IDF announced on Twitter), Anonymous declared its own war as part of #OpIsrael. Among the casualties are thousands of email addresses and passwords, hundreds of Israeli Web sites, government-owned as well as privately owned pages, as well as databases belonging to Bank Jerusalem and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
"The net effect of all this stuff, I think, contributes to a wait-and-see approach with Windows 8. And that is exactly the opposite of what Microsoft and even the broader industry should want at this time. In this way, the Windows 8 launch is much like that of Vista, where a nagging (and in that case, tech blogger-led) cabal of disappointed voices dominated the discussion at launch and torpedoed the product before it had a chance. Windows 8 is no Vista, in many ways. Until it is.
All of this was avoidable."
With all due respect to Paul Thurrott, I'm not sure it was all avoidable, if PC market saturation, contentment with Windows 7 PCs, and a widespread shift to tablets and smartphones together represent the ultimate Windows 8 challenge.
Another potential "culprit" combination: PC market saturation, with most people reasonably satisfied with their current and good-enough Windows 7 (or Mac) PCs, and planning to invest in tablets and/or smartphones as their next computing/communication purchase. A quote from Paul Allen's Idea Man: "Here's what the death knell for the personal computer will sound like: Mainly I use my phone/pad, but I still use my PC to write long e-mails and documents. Most people aren't there yet, but that's where we're headed. If Microsoft fails to catch up in mobile, in other words, it's in for a long, slow slide."
""Sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below Microsoft's internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing," Paul Thurrott wrote on his Supersite For Windows today, citing a source inside Microsoft.
The culprit? "Lackluster PC maker designs and availability," according to Thurrott."
"If you want to know just how broken the patent system is, just look at patent D670,713, filed by Apple and approved this week by the United States Patent Office.
This design patent, titled, "Display screen or portion thereof with animated graphical user interface," gives Apple the exclusive rights to the page turn in an e-reader application."
Early in 2012, IBM announced rebranding of our service, from LotusLive to IBM SmartCloud for Social Business. This quarter, we are announcing the next phase of the rebranding — changing the service domain itself. From: *.lotuslive.com To: *.collabserv.com"
The wind farm is located in Rippey, a small town in Greene County, about an hour outside of Des Moines, according to a Google blog post. The project was developed by RPM access and is expected to provide power to more than 15,000 homes in the area via the Central Iowa Power Cooperative, a utility. Google operates a data center in Iowa and entered a long-term contract to purchase wind energy from NextEra Energy Resources' Story County II wind farm in 2010."
"The drop in the third quarter is most likely due to the fourth-quarter launch of Windows Phone 8. Windows Phone 7 devices are not upgradeable to Windows Phone 8.
The big leap from a year ago comes from Android, which now holds about 72 to 75 percent of the market, up from 53 to 58 percent a year ago, according to the two research firms.
"The company has modified its legal agreement with developers working on Android apps to specifically prohibit them from any action that could contribute to further fragmentation of the mobile platform. The anti-fragmentation clause was recently added to the Android SDK licensing terms and conditions, which developers must accept in order to build Android apps."
"Speaking in an interview published yesterday with IDG Enterprise, HP PC business chief Todd Bradley said that his company could "hardly call Surface competition," adding that the Microsoft-branded tablet is quite flawed.
"One, very limited distribution," Bradley said, listing what he feels are the Surface's greatest flaws. "It tends to be slow and a little kludgey as you use it....It's expensive. Holistically, the press has made a bigger deal out of Surface than what the world has chosen to believe.""
"After Israel killed a top military commander of Hamas on Wednesday, Anonymous, the loose affiliation of hackers, retaliated with a series of attacks on Israeli Web sites.
In a coordinated action that began at 3 a.m. New York time Thursday, hackers attacked Web sites belonging to the Israel Defense Forces, the prime minister's office, Israeli banks, airlines and security companies by flooding them with Web traffic, in a campaign they called #OpIsrael."
"Bardin's Waze and other companies are at the forefront of a new trend called data bartering, where companies exchange databases like baseball cards, with no money changing hands. App makers are pursuing all manner of targeted consumer data—from restaurant ratings to store hours—but it's often expensive to acquire. Data swapping can be a win-win if both sides have complementary proprietary research. "We live in an age where the ability to capture data has never been greater," says J.P. Rangaswami, the chief scientist for Salesforce.com (CRM). "It's a commodity now.""
"What's the wackiest thing you can imagine Google launching? How about a game to fight for control of the minds of everyone on earth?
Or maybe that's not so wacky.
Meet Ingress, a new free mobile app and alternate reality game made by Google launching today (on Android first, available as soon as it makes it through the Google Play release process)."
"Launched Wednesday, the new Social Jobs application is a partnership among Facebook, the Department of Labor and several career websites, including Monster.com and the Facebook utility BranchOut.
The new app is part of Facebook's Social Jobs Partnership (SJP), launched last year, in which the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and Facebook joined forces to create a social platform to connect job candidates with jobs."
"Advanced search operators are query words or symbols that perform special actions in Gmail search. These operators allow you to find what you're looking for quickly and accurately. They can also be used to set up filters so you can organize your inbox automatically. Some of the most useful operators are listed below.
You can also refine your search by clicking the arrow in the search box."
"The Israeli Defense Force, the official military arm of the state of Israel, has launched a full-scale combat campaign against Hamas, the Islamist party that governs the Gaza Strip area of the Middle East. But instead of holding an official press conference, as is protocol for events as major as these, the IDF took a different tack.
It announced its campaign via Twitter."
"This beta also signals the point where Notes and Domino will join IBM's other software products in sporting only the IBM name, which the company feels is a stronger brand than Lotus, according to Brill.
The Lotus brand became part of IBM when the company acquired Lotus Development Corporation in 1995."
"No, it's not the Kindle Phone. Not quite.
Instead, Verizon will be preloading something called the Amazon App Suite for Android on the HTC DROID DNA, an Android handset that will ship soon. A Verizon leak from September suggested that the wireless carrier would be adding this suite to "all newly launched Android devices." And while some bloggers misreported this as bloatware—I'd love a Kindle Phone, Amazon, if you're listening—I think this is a potentially fantastic idea."
"But now Sinofsky is suddenly gone. And while I bet his departure will make Microsoft a nicer place to work, I'm not sure that harmony is what the company needs now. Under Ballmer, Microsoft has long operated like it doesn't care about the future, missing the rise of the iPod, touchscreen smartphones, and modern tablets. Now, thanks to Sinofsky, it's finally got a chance to break with that sorry past. So he was a jerk. So what? With Sinofsky's departure, Microsoft is rudderless at a time of intense competition. He was the firm's most thoughtful executive, certainly more perceptive about technology than Ballmer. Sinofsky had a firm vision about where the PC industry should go. Ballmer does not. As Michael Pusateri quipped on Twitter, "The wrong Steve is leaving Microsoft.""
"Verizon Wireless recently announced availability of its first Windows Phone 8 devices, the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 822, both of which are shipping before the Thanksgiving holiday this year. The 8X and the 822 are priced at $199 and $99, respectively, but Verizon is apparently looking to fill the "free on contract" price point with another Windows Phone 8 device by the end of 2012. Concerning the carrier's Windows Phone 8 lineup, Verizon Wireless CMO Tami Erwin told The Verge that "there will be a $99 and a $199 [option] and ultimately before the end of the year we will have a device that comes in at the free [price] point.""
"Android 4.2 offers several benefits over its 4.1 predecessor.
People who share a single device among themselves can log in with their own separate accounts. The latest version supports multiple users, so each person can have a unique home screen, background image, and apps."
"The company said on Tuesday that in the coming weeks it would release a maps app called Here in Apple's App Store. It will be a free download for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch owners. Nokia also said it would release a toolkit for programmers to make Nokia-powered mapping apps for Android phones. And it is forming a partnership with Mozilla, the browser company, to develop location features for its new operating system, called Firefox OS."
"The new strategy will put Dropbox in direct conflict with Box, its similarly named competitor that has gone after businesses before pursuing consumers. Dropbox also faces plenty of competition from the various online storage products offered by Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.com. Microsoft, in particular, has just launched its file-syncing offensive via Windows 8, which rather vigorously encourages people on PCs, tablets, and smartphones to store their files in SkyDrive.
Ah, the Switzerland Gambit. Well played, Houston. Well played."
"Barnes & Noble's Nook HD makes up for its ho-hum physical build with a remarkably good screen, and it does a nice job of helping users discover more content. But to play in prime time, it needs more apps that matter and fewer quirks."
"I also found some significant downsides to the Yoga. Despite its hefty price, it has limited storage, only fair battery life and lacks a backlit keyboard. In tablet and stand modes, the exposed keyboard is on the bottom, raising the possibility that it could attract moisture or dirt when on a sticky, dusty or wet surface. The keyboard is recessed slightly to mitigate this risk, and it is disabled in these modes. But I still worried about a naked keyboard being the bottom surface of a computer."
"The app joins the identical one Google released for Windows 8 in October. And, like that app Google Search for Windows RT offers a bit more than what its name suggests. With the app installed, users are taps away from a variety of Google products, including Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Maps. The app is a veritable Google Trojan horse."
Never put anything in an email message, to anyone, that would cause you serious problems if it fell into the wrong hands.
That's the plan™. All of it. Never do this. Ever."
"They wrote their "intimate messages" as draft e-mails in a shared Gmail account, according to the AP, allowing them to see one anothers' messages while leaving a much fainter data trail. When messages are sent and received, both accounts record the transmission as well as such metadata as the IP addresses on either end, something the two seemed to be seeking to avoid.
The trick has achieved notoriety as a tactic of terrorists who are rightly wary of espionage."
"Yammer has historically offered four different options. Microsoft has reduced them to two: a free version called Yammer Basic and a paid version called Yammer Enterprise. Yammer Enterprise, which will be offered with Office 365 Enterprise, will drop from $15 per person per month to $3 per month.
Like Salesforce.com and others, Microsoft is talking about unified identity. That's a fancy way of saying Microsoft will make Yammer, Sharepoint and other tools accessible through a single identity. We heard a bit about this at Build. The idea is to make it possible to log in, use Yammer as an activity stream, Skype for calls, and Office365 to manage documents."
"Critically, Sinofsky was not ousted because of any issues with the launch of Windows 8 or the Surface, sources tell us; in fact, it's possible that his departure was already planned, but his ability to execute on Windows 8's retail release was seen as an asset worth keeping him around long enough to see it through. But his attitude (and skill set) as an aggressive, tightly-siloed Windows boss — not a holistic Microsoft boss — may have done him in. Given that the future of Microsoft's ecosystem would require tight collaboration between disparate divisions, Sinofsky's future path as an executive at Microsoft was essentially at an end."
"Unfortunately, since then, Google's Gmail has became the most popular email service in the world, passing Microsoft's Hotmail (which is now called Outlook.com after a recent rejiggering), according to recent stats from comScore. That has added up to Gmail's 287.9 million monthly unique visitors worldwide, 286.2 million for Microsoft's email product and 281.7 million for Yahoo Mail.
Still, in the U.S. at least, Yahoo is holding onto its longtime — though dwindling — lead, with 76.7 million using Google's email product and 35.5 million using Microsoft's."
"In a surprise announcement late Monday, Microsoft said that Mr. Sinofsky, the president of its Windows division, would leave the company immediately after a 23-year career there. His departure was a mutual decision by Mr. Sinofsky and Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, according to a person briefed on the situation who was not authorized to speak on the matter."
"In the first six months of 2012, Google raked in more ad revenue than U.S. print newspapers and magazines combined.
"Though that's a small dip, the change is noteworthy because for several years, text messaging had been steadily growing in the United States. Mr. Sharma said it was too early to tell whether the decline here would continue, but he noted that Internet-based messaging services, like Facebook messaging and Apple's iMessage, had been chomping away at SMS usage. He said the decline would become more pronounced as more people buy smartphones. A bit more than 50 percent of cellphone owners here have smartphones."
"Perhaps it won't be long before Google, not Gallup, is the most trusted name in polling."
"Yes, at the end of the day (and at the end of the column), only an iPad is an iPad. An Android compact tablet will have completely defined its role in your life after about a month. An iPad, even a small one, continues to find new roles beyond its immediate and obvious functions. That's what makes it worth the extra cash.
The iPad Mini is a smaller iPad . . . but by no means is it a lesser iPad. That's what makes it such an exciting product."
"The relationship might have concluded as so many others do -- temporarily clandestine, permanently concealed -- were it not for the technology that helped to ignite it in the first place. The FBI, the Wall Street Journal reports, began to suspect that Petraeus's personal Gmail account had been hacked -- so it launched an inquiry to determine whether someone else had been accessing his email messages. In the process, the agency discovered what Google's servers had known all along: that the head of the CIA, the keeper of the country's secrets, had been keeping a secret of his own."
"Apple may also be playing a bit of "the enemy of the enemy is my friend" here. Though Apple and HTC have hardly been chummy, the company's biggest strategic battles are against Samsung and Google (which now owns Motorola). By making peace with a struggling HTC, Apple could boost the Taiwanese phone maker in its battle with those two larger rivals."
"No longer the province of security services and science-fiction films, biometric technology is on the march. Facebook uses facial-recognition software so its members can automatically put name tags on friends when they upload their photos. Apple uses voice recognition to power Siri. Some theme parks take digital fingerprints to help recognize season pass holders. Now some hospitals and school districts are using palm vein pattern recognition to identify and efficiently manage their patients or students — in effect, turning your palm into an E-ZPass.
But consumer advocates say that enterprises are increasingly employing biometric data to improve convenience — and that members of the public are paying for that convenience with their privacy."
"The statistician and author of the new book The Signal and the Noise, who has now predicted two presidential elections with astounding accuracy, on the principles he abides by on his blog."
"Orca was up against a tough and more seasoned competitor in the Obama campaign's technology and data analysis system. [Romney campaign communications director Gail] Gitcho said that Orca was selected as the name for Romney's data-mining and micro-targeting operation because of the name of Obama campaign's similar operation -- Narwhal, after the whale with a long, straight tusk. "Orca is the only known predator to that," she told NPR.
As Election Day played out, it was clear that Obama's Narwhal outsmarted Romney's Orca. "
"If you don't have time to attend the soon-to-be-planned Nate Silver's Datapalooza, you can still have a crack at becoming the big data star around the office. That's because the data fiends in Silicon Valley have been hard at work creating software that lets mere mortals run complex information analysis jobs. Some of the best examples of this type of technology can be seen at the Alteryx Analytics Gallery, where you can find ready-made apps for poring over data ranging from census figures to how a merger between two companies may play out."
"Mitt Romney's online voter-turnout operation suffered a meltdown on Election Day, resulting in a crucial 90-minute "buckling" of the system in Boston and the inability of some campaign workers across the country to use a vital smartphone program, according to campaign officials and volunteers."
"First up is more storage. Google has increased the available storage on Cloud SQL from 10GB to 100GB. Reads are now faster since the maximum size of instances has been increased to 16GB RAM, quadrupling the amount of data you can cache. Writes are also now faster, as Google has added asynchronous replication (Google's way of putting it: "the write performance of a non-replicated database, but the availability of a replicated one")."
"A handful of U.S. Navy SEALS have been reprimanded for leaking military secrets to video-game maker Electronic Arts while working as paid consultants on the game Medal of Honor: Warfighters, according to a report.
Seven of the SEALs have been disciplined, including one who was involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and four others are being investigated, according to CBS News."
"Another truly important change was in the technology itself. "Cloud computing barely existed in 2008," Mr. Slaby said.
This time, the Obama campaign's data center was mainly Amazon Web Services, the leading supplier of cloud services. The campaign's engineers built about 200 different programs that ran on the Amazon service including Dashboard, the remote calling tool, the campaign Web site, donation processing and data analytics applications.
Using mainly open-source software and the Amazon service, the Obama campaign could inexpensively write and tailor its own programs instead of using off-the-shelf commercial software."
"Livescribe says the 2GB model offers about 200 hours of audio recording, while the 4GB and 8GB versions offer 400 hours and 800 hours, respectively. The pen's battery life is estimated at up to five hours with Wi-Fi on, and up to 12 hours with intermittent Wi-Fi use. I've been using the pen for the past week with occasional Wi-Fi usage, and have not had to recharge yet.
The Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen is pricey, but for students and business users who take a lot of notes and want to be thorough, it's a worthy investment."
"But software built for Intel-compatible systems can't be run on ARM-based systems. How are you fixing that problem?
You have to apply the pragmatism filter and say there is all sorts of legacy software out there that's never going to be ported to a new architecture. Nobody's going to rewrite Lotus Notes to run on ARM. We don't believe there's going to be a massive switch to ARM-based PCs overnight. It's more of a gradual process as legacy applications become replaced by newer applications that are more up to date. Microsoft's RT is a good example of that. Successive generations of Windows have been variations on a theme for the last 15-20 years, around the point-and-click-with-a-mouse form factor. They had to do a fundamental redesign if they wanted to be part of tablets. That was an opportunity for people to write new applications that are done in a different way."


text:
Q: IBM Waston - Retrieve and Rank I'm following the retrieve and rank tutorial and everything is good until the train.py script - I get an error message below:
Generating training data...
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./train.py", line 83, in <module>
    process = subprocess.Popen(shlex.split(curl_cmd), stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
  File "C:\Python27\lib\subprocess.py", line 710, in __init__
    errread, errwrite)
  File "C:\Python27\lib\subprocess.py", line 958, in _execute_child
    startupinfo)
WindowsError: [Error 2] The system cannot find the file specified

Any ideas?

A: @peter-wood answered the question in the comments.
In this case, the unfriendly error message:
WindowsError: [Error 2] The system cannot find the file specified

was caused by curl not being on the PATH. train.py expects the curl command to be available and on the PATH.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ireland becomes the first country ever to pass a law boycotting goods from illegal Israel settlements in Palestine!
The Irish senate has voted in favor of a bill banning the importation of products from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, paving the way for the country to become the first EU nation to enforce a boycott of Israeli settlement goods.
The bill, which passed on Wednesday in the upper house of the Irish parliament, the Seanad, will need to make its way through more Seanad votes and then the lower house before becoming law.
The bill passed with 25 lawmakers voting in its favor, 20 against it and 14 abstaining.
Palestinian officials and activists supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement hailed the move as courageous.
While the bill calls only for the boycott of the importation of goods produced in Israeli settlements, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it "gives a tailwind to those who seek to boycott Israel and is utterly contrary to the principles of free trade and justice". The bill does not ban all Israeli products.
According to the Irish Times, the EU has estimated that settlement goods make up about one percent of the €50 million annual imports from Israel to the country, at €500,000.
The Irish government, however, estimated in 2012 that the figure stood closer to €1.5 million.
The Irish Times highlighted that many fruits and vegetables imported from Israel come from the settlements, specifically Medjool dates. The dates are farmed by settlers in Jericho, famous in Palestine for its dates, on occupied Palestinian land.
According to the newspaper, if enacted into law, regulating settlement goods may prove difficult for the country, given reports of Israeli settlement companies bypassing EU labeling regulations by bringing products from settlement farms to processing facilities inside Israel proper, from where they are labeled and shipped out.
"By using such tactics, exporters can present their goods as 'made in Israel', thereby enjoying preferential access to the EU's markets," the Irish Times reported.
The Israeli government, which slammed the bill as "populist, dangerous and extremist," has increased its measures to combat the BDS movement, as it has expanded to include companies, universities, and religious institutions around the world divesting from organizations complicit in Israel's violation of Palestinian rights.
Despite previous pressure from Israel on Ireland to kill the legislation, the Irish lawmaker behind the bill, Frances Black, said in a statement prior to the vote that "trade in settlement goods sustains injustice".
thank you, Ireland, for being the beacon for humanity!
We've added Trader Joe's and Infowars to the BDS list.
Americans get Agenda 21 rules that preclude Americans from growing their own to save money and to keep healthy yet Israelis can steal land from Palestine and peddle their food in America? lol. No thanks!
Infowars openly supports Israel now. Infowars is on BDS list too.


ALTAIR TO ACQUIRE EPIC MINING CORP.
Altair Resources Inc. has signed a binding letter of intent with an arm's-length company to acquire 100 per cent of Epic Mining Corp., which in turn owns 99 per cent of Panamericana SAC. Panamericana SAC owns a resource property in Peru covering approximately 900 hectares.
Through the acquisition, Altair will hold 100% of the rights, title and interest in the 900 Ha Lejin property. 700 Ha of the Leijin property is surrounded on three sides by HudBay Minerals Inc.'s holdings adjacent to their Constancia Mine in the Province of Chumbivilcas in southern Peru. HudBay invested $1.7 billion in the construction of the Constancia Mine and achieved commercial production in April 2015. The Constancia Mine is an open pit operation with a 22 year life primarily extracting copper with additional molybdenum and silver credits. Limited sampling conducted on the Lejin property has detected traces of alteration suggesting the potential for copper mineralization. On closing of the acquisition the Company will consider an exploration program to test targets on the properties.
The terms for the acquisition are that the Company will, on closing, issue 500,000 common shares and pay $60,125. A portion of the common shares issued will be subject to a voluntary trading restriction in addition to the statutory hold period of four months from closing. A total of 300,000 shares will be subject to voluntary trading restrictions as follows: 100,000 restricted from trading for six months; 100,000 restricted from trading for nine months; and 100,000 restricted from trading for twelve months. On closing the Company will pay a finder's fee of 54,905 common shares of the company. Closing of the transaction is subject to acceptance of filings with the TSX Venture Exchange. Mr. C. Ulansky, P. Geo., a Qualified Person, has reviewed and verified the technical contents of this release.


A pinched nerve, otherwise called entrapment neuropathy or nerve compression syndrome, is a common term used to describe the injury to a nerve or set of nerves. While it can occur in any part of the spine, it is most common in the neck and lower back. It is a common problem for the upper extremities, partly because to their high mobility, accounting for over 80% of all cases of the pinched nerve.
A pinched nerve usually occurs near joints as the nerve passes through fibrous tunnels in its course through the body. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy in humans and is due to compression of the median nerve in the wrist.
A pinched nerve can lead to loss of function, and if a chronic condition is present then this loss may be irreversible. Early treatment is, therefore crucial to prevent further damage. This condition may be caused by inflammation or pressure being applied on the nerve root. Some nerves are at increased risk of injury due to their anatomical location. Injury to the nerves is common in collision sports such as football, hockey, and wrestling. In football, incidence rate can be as high as 49%.
Nerve located close to the surface of the body.
Injury to the nerve should be considered for patients that experience pain, weakness, tingling or prickling that is not related to the bone, the soft tissues such as muscles, or the vascular system such as blood vessels. The area where the symptoms occur, the type of symptoms and how they affect activity should be taken into consideration. The intensity of the symptoms may be gradual or acute.
The physical examination of a pinched nerve must first make sure that there is no obvious damage to the vascular system that travels alongside the nerves. This is done by checking the radial pulse, which is typically done at the wrist, and also checking for sensation and movements in the fingers. Once this is confirmed, and based on the patient's history, the rest of the physical examination should involve inspection, palpation, range of motion of the joints, muscle strength testing, neurologic and sensory examination.
Plain radiology can be used for differential diagnosis, to eliminate other possible pathologies that would present similar symptoms to a pinched nerve. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may only be useful for certain nerve injuries and a normal MRI should not be used to rule out a nerve injury. Nerve conduction tests, which assess the integrity of motor and sensory nerves, can be helpful in confirming a nerve injury diagnosis. Electromyography (EMG), which measures the electrical activity of a muscle, can also be used to detect denervation or nerve damage.
Typically, first line treatment for a pinched nerve is non-invasive, with rest and protection of the injured area being top priority. Associated joints should be kept mobile, and strengthening exercises for supporting muscles should be encouraged. If the cause is known, then it should be removed, for example, a bangle, watch or bracelet if the pinched nerve is in the forearm/wrist. While anti-inflammatory medications are usually added to the treatment regime, their effect in the healing of a pinched nerve is unknown.
There may be short-term benefits from the administration of corticosteroidal injections or oral corticosteroids. Local injection has not been shown to relieve symptoms for more than one month, however, and a second injection is not known to be effective. Ultrasound, splinting and yoga may have short-term benefits for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Literature has indicated that vitamin B6, diuretics, ergonomic keyboards and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are not beneficial in treating CTS.
For patients who are unresponsive to conservative treatment, and experience symptoms for at least ten months, especially if they are over 50 years old, may be considered for surgical treatment. While surgical treatment has better outcomes than splinting, it is not known if it leads to better recovery when compared to corticosteroidal injections.
 Illes, J. D., and Johnson, T. L., Jr. (2013) Chiropractic management of a patient with ulnar nerve compression symptoms: a case report, J Chiropr Med 12, 66-73.
 Kuzma, S. A., Doberstein, S. T., and Rushlow, D. R. (2013) Postfixed brachial plexus radiculopathy due to thoracic disc herniation in a collegiate wrestler: a case report, J Athl Train 48, 710-715.
 Neal, S., and Fields, K. B. (2010) Peripheral nerve entrapment and injury in the upper extremity, Am Fam Physician 81, 147-155.
 NIH. (2014) Peripheral Neuropathy Fact Sheet.
 Thatte, M. R., and Mansukhani, K. A. (2011) Compressive neuropathy in the upper limb, Indian J Plast Surg 44, 283-297.


Published: Feb 19 at 6 a.m.
Updated: Feb 21 at 10:48 a.m.
It may not be the best example, but it is the most jarring: internet sales powerhouse Amazon.com made US$11.2 billion in profits last year, but won't be paying federal income tax in the United States. Instead, it's actually getting a $129 million tax credit.
The year before, the company made $5.6 billion in profits — and also paid no federal tax.
The company isn't doing anything wrong: it's simply taking advantage of federal tax breaks, credit for past losses, and a 14 per cent decrease in the U.S. corporate tax rate brought in last year by President Donald Trump's government.
Some experts argue that's as it should be, that Amazon had big losses as a start-up, and should be allowed to offset those losses against present-day profits. As well, they argue, the company should be allowed to write off its healthy investment in technology, and the list goes on.
The argument? That, down the road, the company will pay much higher taxes.
But one of the prices of living in a country is paying taxes — because it's not only individuals who receive steady benefits from governments.
Companies benefit from Western democracies and the workforces that those democracies support; they obtain an educated workforce at no cost to them, and, in countries like Canada, those employees receive medical care as well — meaning companies don't have to carry the same medical insurance. Not only that, but proper medical care means that companies benefit from having skilled workers return to work after illness or injury and don't have to pay to train new workers from scratch.
Companies benefit from stable government, from protection of their property by federal and municipal police services, and by protection from capricious seizure of company assets by rogue governments. Operating in politically stable countries increases shareholder value, because corporate risk is lowered. Streets and sidewalks are paved, roads are built, and a major company like Amazon has its products travel on a taxpayer-supported infrastructure base that includes everything from air to road to rail. On top of all of that is the particular government financial breaks, loans and grants that companies often avail of.
Yet, companies argue regularly for cheaper taxes, and find ways to get those lowered tax rates.
For a period of time, customers buying from Amazon in the United Kingdom actually made their purchases from a division in Luxembourg, allowing the company to take advantage of a much lower tax rate.
It's popular to argue that corporate taxes have to be competitive so that companies themselves can be competitive. But what corporate taxes actually have to be is commensurate with the benefits that companies gain.
An endless battle for the bottom in corporate taxes only benefits corporate bottom lines.


Are You Out of Touch with How Caregiving Is Affecting You?
Caregiver Arlington TN – Are You Out of Touch with How Caregiving Is Affecting You?
Caregiving has a much bigger impact on you than you might believe, especially if you've been operating on autopilot for a while now. Here are some of the ways you can start to see the effect being a caregiver is having.
If you've put off doing anything for yourself because caregiving takes first place, always, you may experience guilt during those rare times when you have to handle your stuff first. Life has a funny way of reminding you that you have to take care of certain situations and ignoring them just won't work, even if you feel guilty about it.
Many caregivers find themselves without hobbies, friends, or outside interests that have nothing to do with caregiving. This can happen because caregiving can be so all encompassing, but you still have to have other interests. Explore hobbies that you used to enjoy and find ways to develop your own life again.
When you're neglecting yourself and you're putting yourself on hold, that can't last too long. Even if you think that you're okay with that decision, your subconscious may have another message for you. This often results in frayed emotions that leave you always feeling on the edge of crying, screaming, or some other emotional outburst.
It's no secret that your emotional and mental health can have a tremendous impact on your physical health. You may find that you're feeling more run down than usual these days and you're catching every bug that crosses your path. In order to take care of your senior and her health issues, you need to be as healthy as you can be.
Being a caregiver means that you're the one usually handling the tough decisions and that may not always go over well with everyone around you. You may feel as if everyone, including your aging adult, is against you sometimes. That's not a fun way to go through life.
The first step is to acknowledge where you are. From there, you can get help from elderly care providers, other family members, and friends to start meeting some of your needs, too.


text:
Q: h3.polyfill misses indices for Antarctica geojson Could you please help me understand the issue with H3 geospatial indexing?
import h3
geo_antarctic = {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-170.63764683701507,-85.05113000000047],[-170.63764683701507,-77.89462449499929],[-63.82520589349025,-66.39564184408599],[-49.69216225292467,-77.30460454007437],[-35.16653406678777,-77.89462449499929],[-9.255954059083527,-70.29658532122083],[40.994867774038596,-68.50197979740217],[89.56411960844528,-64.94027568501143],[163.48124599227498,-67.77106116580279],[172.90327508598565,-72.42721956336818],[165.83675326570284,-77.7288586062699],[178.18462781512582,-77.47601087207454],[178.57721236069702,-85.0171471646522],[-178.63764683701507,-85.05113000000047]]]}

idx = h3.polyfill(geo_antarctic, 3)

I'm expecting to get indices like these ones, which are located inside of the geojson polygon above:

*

*83ef9efffffffff

*83eea4fffffffff

*83f125fffffffff

*83f2a4fffffffff

But instead, h3.polyfill returns indices  that are "flipped" by 90 degrees like these:

*

*836682fffffffff

*830e59fffffffff

*83b294fffffffff

*836733fffffffff

*838f0bfffffffff

*830372fffffffff

All works fine for other geojsons that don't span Antarctica..
I'm using Python 3.10.7 and H3 3.7.4.
I would appreciate any hints.
Upd.
I used geo_json_conformant=True parameter and it flipped indices back. But it seems not all resolution 3 indices were generated and my expected indices are not in the list. On the image  generated indices are in blue and expected are in red.
Upd 2
Following the suggestion from @nrabinowitz, I triangulated the original polygon from Pole and then polyfilled resulting "slices". Works perfectly fine, all missing indices are in place.
result
    import h3
    import geojson

    geoj = {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-178.34111242523068,-85.0207089708011],[-178.69267492523034,-77.91567194747755],[-162.52079992523068,-78.4905544838336],[-140.02079992523,-73.8248242864237],[-126.66142492523065,-73.12494935304983],[-103.10673742523004,-74.59011176731619],[-103.45829992523063,-71.07406105104535],[-83.06767492523001,-73.52840349816283],[-61.97392492523001,-64.32087770911836],[-57.052049925230655,-62.43108077917767],[-59.86454992522999,-74.77584672076205],[-39.12236242523063,-77.8418507294947],[-12.052049925230301,-70.61261893331015],[35.05732507477002,-68.52824009786191],[53.33857507476973,-65.51296841598038],[76.54170007476968,-68.39918525054024],[93.06513757477003,-64.77413134111099],[143.69013757477003,-66.08937000336596],[173.22138757477006,-70.72898413027124],[167.94795007477003,-76.26869800825351],[177.79170007476975,-77.23507678015689],[178.60169170931843,-84.94715491814792],[-178.34111242523068,-85.0207089708011]]]}

    polygon_coords = geoj["coordinates"][0]
    pole_coord = (0.0, -89.999)

    all_indexes = set()

    for i in range(len(polygon_coords)-1):
        polygon = geojson.Polygon([[pole_coord, tuple(polygon_coords[i]), tuple(polygon_coords[i+1])]])
        idxes = h3.polyfill(dict(polygon), 5, geo_json_conformant=True)
        all_indexes.update(idxes)

    with open(f"./absent_polr.csv", "w") as out:
        out.write("h3_idx\r\n")
        out.write("\r\n".join(all_indexes))

A: H3 uses a Cartesian model for polygons used in polyfill, not a spherical model, so poles are slightly challenging. The other issue is that we assume the smaller polygon when some of the arcs are greater than 180 degrees, which is frequently the case very near the poles.
See the suggested workaround in this related issue:

I think the best workaround here is to slice up polygons that contain a pole. I think the simplest version of this, which ought to work, is to make triangles, one for each pair of vertexes, with the third vertex being the pole itself.

The other participant in that discussion glossed this as "slicing the polygon up like a pizza," which I thought was very descriptive.
There's a demo of this approach in this Observable notebook.