toto is a git-powered, minimalist blog engine for the hackers of Oz. The engine weighs around ~230 sloc at its worst. There is no toto client, at least for now; everything goes through git. via cloudhead.io
But where did all these experts get the data from? Well, NASA’s assertion that Himalayan glaciers “may disappear altogether” by 2030 rests on one footnote, citing the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report from 2007. In fact, the Fourth Assessment Report suggests 2035 as the likely arrival of Armageddon, but what’s half a decade between scaremongers? They rate the likelihood of the glaciers disappearing as “very high”—i.e., more than 90 per cent.
For several months people have wondered, “Where can I download a video that features a developer stumbling through an upgrade of a Rails 2 app to Rails 3?” I’m proud to say that an answer is now available! via blog.peepcode.com
To support his attack, Williams referred to a briefing note containing quotes from Harper's writings before he became prime minister, including one on health care. "What we clearly need is experimentation - with market reforms and private delivery options within the public system," Williams attributed to a Harper speech made in Charlottetown. via thewesternstar.com That quote makes me smile. He uses the words "private delivery options" as a political smear during elections and then runs out and makes use of them when his own life is at risk.
If Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams urgently needed heart surgery that could not be performed in Canada, all he has to do is say so and the controversy over his decision to seek medical care in the U.S. will end. Even if Williams, a millionaire who donates his salary as premier to charity, paid for it himself, it's hard to criticize anyone for using their own resources to seek the best medical care available.
The main criticism dogging Williams, of course, is while buying health care is fine for a rich person, what about those Canadians who can't afford to leave medicare coverage behind, and jet off to the U.S. on a wing and a prayer and an Amex card with no limit? The short answer is by going to the U.S., Williams is actually saving Canadian taxpayers money, while taking himself out of the lineup for treatment covered by medicare.
Visiting North Korea some years ago, I was lucky to have a fairly genial "minder" whom I'll call Mr. Chae. He guided me patiently around the ruined and starving country, explaining things away by means of a sort of denial mechanism and never seeming to lose interest in the gargantuan monuments to the world's most hysterical and operatic leader-cult. One evening, as we tried to dine on some gristly bits of duck, he mentioned yet another reason why the day should not long be postponed when the whole peninsula was united under the beaming rule of the Dear Leader.
Thankfully, Mr. Williams has enough money that he can fly off to wherever the best care exists. I wouldn't resent him using the money he has earned to buy better care or faster care. I wish him a full and speedy recovery. But why don't the rest of us have the option of escaping socialized medicine, too? What I resent is the way premiers and prime ministers won't free you or me to buy insurance that would enable us to procure first-class care in times of need.
Rack::Payment lets you add 5 lines of code to your Rails (or any Rack-based) application and you can start accepting single payments! via remi.org
Retired teacher Jo Danielson is living on the edge with an abdominal aneurysm, a dangerous bulge in her aorta, the largest single artery in the body. But because Danielson, 73, also has heart disease and diabetes, doctors have told her she wouldn't withstand the major abdominal surgery needed to expose the aorta and fix it. Instead, doctors have recommended for a less invasive, endovascular aneurysm repair, in which a device called a "