On September 23 the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of unlicensed airwaves in what it hopes will be a new market for high-speed Internet connections for smartphones, tablets and computers. The order, approved unanimously by the five-member commission, is a win for high-tech giants Dell, Microsoft and Google, which have lobbied for the use of the airwaves known as "white spaces." Those are parts of the broadcast spectrum that sit between television channels, and are valued as a potential home for amped-up versions of WiFi networks with longer ranges and stronger connections that can penetrate walls. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/23/AR2010092306236.html

Louise Patten, whose grandfather was the only surviving officer on the Titanic, reveals the truth about how it sank. 'Titanic was launched at a time when the world was moving from sailing ships to steam ships. My grandfather, like the other senior officers on Titanic, had started out on sailing ships. And on sailing ships, they steered by what is known as “Tiller Orders” which means that if you want to go one way, you push the tiller the other way. [So if you want to go left, you push right.] It sounds counter-intuitive now, but that is what Tiller Orders were. Whereas with “Rudder Orders’ which is what steam ships used, it is like driving a car. You steer the way you want to go. It gets more confusing because, even though Titanic was a steam ship, at that time on the North Atlantic they were still using Tiller Orders. Therefore Murdoch gave the command in Tiller Orders but Hitchins, in a panic, reverted to the Rudder Orders he had been trained in. They only had four minutes to change course and by the time Murdoch spotted Hitchins’ mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late.’ 'If Titanic had stood still,’ she demonstrates, 'she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died, but when they drove her 'Slow Ahead’, the pressure of the sea coming through her damaged hull forced the water over the bulkheads and flooded sequentially one watertight compartment after another – and that was why she sank so fast.’ Read more at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8016751/The-truth-about-the-sinking-of-the-Titanic.html

What is net neutrality? It’s the idea that all Internet traffic should be treated equally. In theory, companies that handle Internet traffic, including Comcast and AT&T, would have to transmit Google Inc.’s YouTube videos at the same speed as movies from Netflix Inc. AT&T couldn’t give priority service to YouTube in exchange for payments at the expense of the video service’s rivals. Why do supporters say the government should impose net- neutrality rules? Advocates say that without rules, Internet-service providers may manage their networks to favor their own content or that of business partners, while blocking or slowing competing offerings.
That would undermine the Web’s premise of openness and opportunity, locking out new ventures and restricting the choices of users, the supporters say. See other questions and answers at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-23/net-neutrality-dispute-on-internet-access-questions-and-answers.html

What are the names of the Seven Dwarfs?
Keeping track of all seven dwarfs is actually quite simple once you have mastered this simple mnemonic device: two S’s, two D’s, and three emotions. Two S’s: Sleepy and Sneezy; two D’s: Dopey and Doc; and three emotions: Happy, Bashful, and Grumpy.
http://www.essortment.com/all/sevendwarfsnam_rygj.htm

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full color, the first to be produced by Walt Disney, and the first in the Walt Disney Animated Classics canon. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937, and the film was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 4, 1938. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was one of only two animated films to rank in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films of all time in 1997 (the other being Disney's Fantasia), ranking number 49. It achieved a higher ranking (#34) in the list's 2007 update, this time being the only traditionally animated film on the list. The following year AFI would name the film as the greatest American animated film of all time and the best ever Walt Disney Animated Classics movie. In 1989, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film)

What are the Seven Virtues?
The canon of principal Christian virtues in the Middle Ages was made up of the three 'theological virtues' faith, hope and charity, and the four 'cardinal virtues', justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance. The cycle of seven virtues, sometimes paired with appropriate vices (not necessarily the seven Deadly Sins) was widely represented in medieval sculpture and fresco, often associated with the Last Judgment, like in the Scrovegni Chapel. See images at:
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/giotto/padova/decorati/7_virtue/

What are the Seven Virtues of the Bushido Warrior?
gi, yuuki, jin, rei, makoto, meiyo and chuugi See English descriptions and images at: http://www.gdma.com.au/New%20Web/7_Virtues.htm

Pan grilling chicken under a weight is probably done elsewhere, but it's most associated with Italy and, if you believe the PR, specifically with Tuscany. The genius is in that weight — it has to be heavy so the chicken is pressed and practically flattened onto the hot, sizzling pan bottom. Crisp as a potato chip, the skin is a feast in itself. Greens bed down the bird nicely, but crushed potatoes, polenta or a garlic and olive oil-rubbed piece of thickly cut chewy bread also soak up every drop of that flavorful pan juice. If using bricks as weights, wrap them in a couple of layers of heavy-duty foil. They can be used again and again. If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, any heavy skillet will work, but don't use one with a nonstick surface. You want the good browned bits that form on the bottom of the pan to flavor the sauce.
As long as you use nonstick cookware with care, it is safe. Here is what you need to know: First and foremost is that the pan is no better than the metal to which the nonstick coating is applied. Look for pans with a base of thick aluminum, which is a good heat conductor. Use medium-high to low heat only; never use high heat because overheating breaks down the coating. This means a nonstick pan is not the one to use when you need a high-heat sear or quick sauté.
The Splendid Table September 22, 2010