In a new effort to reduce duplication and ensure the U.S. government operates more efficiently, 137 federal data centers have been identified by the Obama Administration as unnecessary overlap and scheduled for shut down this year.
The planned consolidation of these and hundreds of other data centers over the next four and a half years is expected to save more than $3 billion for American taxpayers.
In a new effort to reduce duplication and ensure the U.S. government operates more efficiently, 137 federal data centers have been identified by the Obama Administration as unnecessary overlap and scheduled for shut down this year.
The planned consolidation of these and hundreds of other data centers over the next four and a half years is expected to save more than $3 billion for American taxpayers.
A 15-month-old dog had to overcome fire and smoke — and her breed’s reputation — to become a national hero.
The dog named Diamond is a pit bull—the canine most often cited as vicious in news reports and the most abandoned and euthanized dog in the country. But today, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles presented Diamond with their 29th annual National Hero Dog award.
A 15-month-old dog had to overcome fire and smoke — and her breed’s reputation — to become a national hero.
The dog named Diamond is a pit bull—the canine most often cited as vicious in news reports and the most abandoned and euthanized dog in the country. But today, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles presented Diamond with their 29th annual National Hero Dog award.
At the urging of fans who contacted him on Twitter, Charlie Sheen flew to Alabama’s tornado disaster zone yesterday to see the devastation for himself. Not only did he visit with residents and mayors in their time of recovery, he vowed to raise funds and keep the media’s attention focused on their plight.
Sheen told reporters that he would return “in full force” with a fundraiser that may involve a charitable baseball game or celebrity fundraiser featuring musicians and comedians.
At the urging of fans who contacted him on Twitter, Charlie Sheen flew to Alabama’s tornado disaster zone yesterday to see the devastation for himself. Not only did he visit with residents and mayors in their time of recovery, he vowed to raise funds and keep the media’s attention focused on their plight.
Sheen told reporters that he would return “in full force” with a fundraiser that may involve a charitable baseball game or celebrity fundraiser featuring musicians and comedians.
WATCH part 1 of his ‘torpedoes’ against tornados tour below…
(Also, read a story at Washington Post)
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Wednesday it would be investing $20 million to bring new national education standards into the classroom using game-based learning, social-networking and other approaches to capture the virtual imagination of bored or unmotivated students.
(READ the AP story in MSNBC)
A sweet new video by ChildFund International in honor of Mother’s Day features kids from around the world in Sri Lanka, India, Zambia, Ecuador and other countries saying “I love you, Mom” in their native languages.
Watch the video below from YouTube…
Exactly a month after the first eagle hatched live on webcam in Decorah, Iowa, the three eaglets are almost edging their parents out of the nest.
“They’re almost full grown,” said the Raptor Resource Project, which operates the pair of cameras that have live-streamed the eaglets’ every move, and garnered 70 million hits so far.
They eaglets eat between half a pound and a pound of food a day; mostly fish, muskrats and rodents brought home by the father and weigh between 5 and 7 pounds each now.
(READ the full eagle update at Wired – and check out the Eagle Cam below)
Good news in post-earthquake Japan: All the wind turbines survived the quake and offered stability to the electrical grid during the crisis. Even the offshore turbines in the vicinity of the earthquake epicenter survived.
In some regions of Japan, this has saved the day, as power utilities have been struggling to meet basic energy demand in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear reactor breakdown.
(READ the story at MNN.com)
This bathroom mirror speech by young Jessica inspired all of us.
Now, cadamole has written music and performed the inspiring song and shared it on YouTube.
I successfully found and hired a new freelance IT technician and wanted to report on website improvements we’ve made this month. These are user benefits you will notice:
More improvements are on the way this month, including new RSS options, a new testimonials box, and an OFFLINE payment option for paying by check will be added to subscription process (restoring a feature that was available prior to our recent site upgrade, when it broke).
Your subscription dollars at work!
Please let us know about any improvements you think are necessary, or any bugs you experience going forward.
A National Rhino Census in Nepal released Saturday showed the rhinoceros population increasing 22 percent since 2008.
The animal count, conducted in three national parks, recorded 534 rhinos, an increase of 99 animals over the previous total of 435. The positive numbers reflect the success of conservation efforts for this species, following a decade of civil war, a result of improved anti-poaching measures and management of habitat.
“This is a fine example of working together where all conservation partners and local communities are contributing to the conservation efforts of the Government of Nepal,” says Krishna Prasad Acharya, Director General of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
A National Rhino Census in Nepal released Saturday showed the rhinoceros population increasing 22 percent since 2008.
The animal count, conducted in three national parks, recorded 534 rhinos, an increase of 99 animals over the previous total of 435. The positive numbers reflect the success of conservation efforts for this species, following a decade of civil war, a result of improved anti-poaching measures and management of habitat.
“This is a fine example of working together where all conservation partners and local communities are contributing to the conservation efforts of the Government of Nepal,” says Krishna Prasad Acharya, Director General of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
A deer that stood guard over the eggs of an expectant goose for weeks at a Buffalo cemetery is now admiring the hatched goslings.
One of the most dramatic moments in this animal kingdom saga came the day before the eggs hatched on Wednesday, when the storied stag chased off crows threatening the goose nesting on a large urn at Forest Lawn cemetery.
(READ the Reuters story w/ photos)
The bulk of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon occurs as a result of illegal cattle production.
Now, the world’s largest meat processor, JBS-Friboi, has agreed to stop buying beef from ranches involved in illegal deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest zoned for conservation or indigenous use.
(READ the story in Mongo Bay)
Everybody talks about the deplorable state of air travel, but some airline startups are hoping do something about it.
At 90 years old, Ted Vallas has taken on the challenge, becoming the founder and CEO of California Pacific Airlines, which plans to have “wheels up” by early 2012, providing low-cost, crowd-free service to several southwestern cities.
(READ the story in MSNBC)
Osama bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network that killed 3,000 people in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is dead.
President Obama announced to the nation late Sunday night, that bin Laden was killed in Pakistan this weekend after a firefight during an operation based on U.S. intelligence.
“Justice has been done,” the president declared as crowds formed outside the White House to celebrate, chant and sing.
No U.S. personnel were killed in the action.
(READ the story in MSNBC)
An army of volunteers trooped into storm-stricken communities across west and central Alabama on Saturday, bringing food, water and labor to those trying to pick up the pieces.
“The response is overwhelming,” said Judy McGuirk, a member of storm-damaged Fultondale First Baptist Church.
The hillsides whined with chainsaws and crawled with men and women pulling limbs and branches off houses and helping residents cart out belongings.
(READ the full story in Alabama Live)
Could computer games be the solution for persuading children with cystic fibrosis to complete their physiotherapy?
For such patients, daily breathing exercises are necessary to clear mucus from the lungs, but kids would rather be doing other things, such as playing computer games.
Doctors in the US have now combined the two.
Computer games like “Creep Frontier” rely on a spirometer, which measures how much and how fast air is exhaled, to blow slime off animals.
(READ the story in BBC News)
