On the 8 Spot

All of this worked well enough in mathematical theory and simulations, but Palem couldn’t prove his concept until he built and tested a chip. The first test results came back late last year.

All of this worked well enough in mathematical theory and simulations, but Palem couldn’t prove his concept until he built and tested a chip. The first test results came back late last year.

Rice professor’s discovery may save your iPhone battery | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

Great news! with around 4000 people laid off from intel and amkor, hope TI can take up the slack, and the laid off workers didn’t have non competes

TI prepares to open new facility in Clark

02/10/2009 | 02:34 AM

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI), the world’s largest manufacturer of semiconductors, is expected to operate early June here, belying reports that it will abandon its plant, leaving some 3,000 job applicants in limbo.

Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president and chief executive officer Benigno Ricafort said that TI’s $1.5-billion plant is almost complete. “Equipment and other facilities, which will be used for its operations, have been delivered to its new building.”

“Some 100 of its personnel in Baguio are expected to be here to train the new workers,” he said.

He said that despite the effects of the US economic meltdown, TI would be able to employ some 3,000 workers, but gradually. “I don’t think there has been any change in that (plan),” he added.

GMANews.TV – TI prepares to open new facility in Clark – Business – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News – BETA.

About 15 minute slow drive from my house, hope the dolphins get rescued fast!

100 dolphins stranded off Bataan, 3 reported dead

02/10/2009 | 08:31 AM

Email this | Email the Editor | Print | ShareThis

MANILA, Philippines – At least 100 dolphins were beached off the coastal area of Pilar town in the northern Philippines province of Bataan, Governor Enrique Garcia Jr. said early Tuesday.

In a radio interview, Garcia cited initial reports that at least three of the dolphins may have died, even as local residents tried to push them back into the water.

“Mahigit 100 dolphins ang stranded sa Pilar … Report namin about 30 minutes ago tumawag ako sa SBMA at Ocean Adventure na magpadala ng rescue team dito [More than 100 dolphins were stranded in Pilar town. About 30 minutes ago I called the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and

Ocean Adventure to bring in rescue teams],” Garcia said in an interview on dzBB radio.

“This is a phenomenon, ngayon lang nangyayari ito [It is only now that this happened],” he added.

Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said he is coordinating with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to rescue the dolphins.

“Dinirect namin ang units namin sa Metro Manila [We directed our units in Metro Manila] to help out in this particular undertaking,” he said.

Environment Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. promised to send a team to the area. – GMANews.TV

GMANews.TV – 100 dolphins stranded off Bataan, 3 reported dead – Regions – Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs – Latest Philippine News – BETA.

Didn’y know about this, (stupid me) I’ll try to visit next time I’m home!

The latest come-on among international tourists is bird watching.

The first volume of the book “Bird Watching in the Philippines,” prepared by the DOT and the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, has been promoting St. Paul National Park and Rasa Island in Palawan, Mt. Palay-Palay in Cavite, the coastal lagoon in Parañaque City, Subic Bay in Zambales, Balanga wetlands in Bataan, Candaba in Pampanga, Hundred Islands and Bani wetlands in Pangasinan, Olango Island and Alcoy in Cebu and the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City.

RP tourism up 1.5% – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos.

Excellent Dissection of the Motto: “Small steps toward a much better world”, please read the whole thing,I especially like the last comment of tyler.

James Hudson, a philosopher and a loyal MR reader (it turns out I already know and admire his work), emails me the following observations:

Does anyone share my feeling that your slogan, “Small steps toward a much better world,” is odd?

But now it is long and so it goes under the fold…

First, better than what? I suppose it’s better than the world we have now; but then the “world” of the slogan is not a whole possible world, which would persist throughout time, but rather a temporal segment or slice of a possible world. We don’t now “have” a whole world; what we have is the present time-slice of the world. Or you might say that what we have is the whole past-and-present–the temporal segment of the world from the Beginning to Now; but this would be less suitable for comparison with what you are striving toward, so I will assume that the present time-slice or “state-of-affairs” is the intended standard of comparison.

Marginal Revolution: “Small steps toward a much better world”.

The Catholic church has understood this in other contexts. Official Catholic doctrine, as outlined in the 2004 document Communion and Stewardship, accepts the reality of biological evolution, and that the theory of evolution is compatible with the Bible. It has had to recognise that it would be fruitless to claim that evolution is inconsistent with a belief in God, because evolution did occur and is the source of the diversity of life on Earth. A similar argument earlier led the Catholic church to accept the reality of a heliocentric solar system and the existence of other stars and galaxies.

Why the Catholic church can’t ignore science – science-in-society – 06 February 2009 – New Scientist.