hree Mile Island accident

Three Mile Island accident was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 (a pressurized water reactor manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg in 1979. The plant was owned and operated by General Public Utilities and the Metropolitan Edison Co. The Three Mile Island accident began about 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, when the plant experienced a failure in the secondary, non nuclear section of the plant.

Daylight Savings Time to Start Sunday March 13

Sunday should start out partly cloudy but conditions will grow to mostly cloudy in the afternoon, with a high temperature around 70 degrees. Winds will be out of the southwest at 5 to 10 mph. There is a 20 percent chance of rain showers overnight, with a low in the 50s. Southwest winds around 5 mph in the evening then becoming light.

Don’t forget to reset your clocks Sunday night to “spring forward” an hour. When it goes into effect each spring, clocks are moved forward by one hour at 2 a.m. standard time, and the time becomes 3 a.m. daylight savings time.


Monday is expected to be cloudy with scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs should be around 70. Chance of rain 50 percent. It will remain mostly cloudy Monday night with a 30 percent chance of rain showers. Lows will be in the mid 40s.

This male house finch [carpodacus mexicanus ] is ready for some spring weather too. This is a test of the new Sigma 150-500mm telephoto zoom lens. Daylight Savings Time starts this weekend. I may hit the road this weekend to do some more testing of the new lens.

The Central Alabama weather forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies with a high temperature in the lower 70s and winds out of the southwest at 10 to 15 mph. It is expected to remain clear overnight with a low in the upper 40s.

Daylight Savings Time 2011: Longer Days, Later Bedtimes Posted by Maulana sakti lubis

For some, daylight savings time proves to be more hazardous. There are more reports of increased traffic and workplace accidents. Some say heart attacks rise during this time. Generally speaking, the biggest obstacle is a lack of sleep in our already sleep deprived culture.

For our family, it’s not so much the hour that’s the problem as it is adjusting to it being daylight longer each day. Somehow the change doesn’t faze me quite as much as it did back when my kids were babies and toddlers.

This Sunday, we’ll spring forward ahead, but lose an hour in the process, so while I am thrilled that after this cold and snowy winter to finally be entering the spring season, we’ll also lose and hour.

Kemba Walker Produces Like Jonny Flynn Did; Should NBA Teams Be Wary?

Flynn's final season with the Orange was his sophomore year; he was 19 years old. Walker is 20. So Walker should be a bit more advanced than Flynn was in 2008-09. As it turns out, Walker produces at a higher level than did Flynn, at least in terms of raw production. Walker is averaging 23 points per game; Flynn finished his sophomore year around 17. Both soaked up a ton of their team's offense; Kenpom.com's stats show a usage rate of 25 percent for Flynn and 30 percent for Walker. So again, Kemba is doing more.

But Flynn shot more efficiently -- a .567 True Shooting percentage vs. Walker's middling .537 rate -- and distributed more assists (6.7 per game vs. 4.3). Flynn was more of a natural point guard, which, when you're barely 6-foot (in shoes), matters. Walker's 6-1, and 6-1 two-guards don't have a wonderful history of success in the NBA. You at least need a strong passing streak; Evans has arguably failed as an NBA point guard, and his assist rate in college was 30 percent. Walker's is 26.7. If Tyreke is a two-guard, there's no reason to believe Walker will be a point.

So there's that -- Walker is far less a point guard than Flynn was, but scores more, but does so less efficiently. If there's a saving grace in Walker's NBA fate beyond vast personal improvement or some heretofore unseen UConn effect that is preventing Kemba from being as point-guardly as he could be, it's that Walker rarely turns over the ball despite his massive usage rate.

Walker averages two turnovers a game for a turnover rate of 10.4. Flynn's turnover rate was nearly double that ... and that's been a big problem at the NBA level. Evans has arguably suffered from the same issue; he can pass just fine, but when he does, it too often results in a turnover, which leads to Evans passing less frequently to avoid such. Walker doesn't turn the ball over. That reality could -- could -- allow him to be enough of a passing factor to make up for his size issues, which will serve to harm his ability to finish in the lane, get clean looks against NBA defenders and defend longer guards.

Kemba Walker made a magnificent shot to seal a UConn Big East Tournament game win on Thursday, drawing oohs from not just college ball fans, but from observers who hope Walker will do the same next season for their favorite NBA team. Walker is considered a fairly sure bet as a lottery pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, figuring to fall anywhere between about No. 4 and No. 12.

Star-divide

Oddly enough, that was Jonny Flynn's range back in 2009 after the small point guard led Syracuse through the Big East and to the Big Dance on a parade of exclamatory finishes. Flynn ended up going No. 6 to the Timberwolves, just behind the bigger Tyreke Evans (the eventual Rookie of the Year) and the more wispy Ricky Rubio (still in Spain). Flynn has been, for a number of reasons, pretty close to an unmitigated failure in Minnesota. Coaching and injury have helped, but the Wolves would like a re-do on that pick, no question.

That's where things with Walker get a bit tricky, because in their core metrics, Kemba and Jonny are really, really alike. But there's one stat where they differ enough to give Walker fans in NBA circles some comfort.

0 like Will The Khan Academy Revolutionize the Classroom?

Last fall, the Khan Academy began their pilot program for math in a few 5th and 7th grade classes in Los Altos, California – a journey that has been captured by a documentary crew from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Their quest is to ensure that “students can truly work at their own pace on their own time.,“ and that “students actually master concepts before they move on.” They also want to provide educators with “real-time data.” Their hope is that this will allow teacher to “ make much better use of classroom time, with more peer tutoring, project-based learning, and one-on-one coaching. Most importantly, we are making learning fun.”

Sounds pretty good to me. But your child needn’t be in the pilot program in Silicone Valley to experience the Khan Academy’s approach. They want to educate everyone, anyone, anywhere, and everywhere. Their website features over two-thousand videos as well as about a hundred “self-paced exercises” on topics such as “arithmetic to physics, finance, and history.”And all for free. You can check out the Khan Academy and maybe learn something yourself right here.

Technology continues to become of more and more importance in the classroom. But is it being used properly and to the best of its’ ability? Many would argue the answer is no. And one man is on a mission to change that – Salman Khan. Khan, along with his fellow brainiacs at the Khan Academy (and with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as well as Google), want to revolutionize the way technology is utilized, making the use of computers and videos to have a more positive and powerful impact. How?

Shantanu Sinha, the president of Khan Academy, stated in a piece for the Huffington Post that, “for the most part, we didn’t teach kids with the computer, we taught them how to use the computer. Most kids need no help and could probably teach their parents.” He added that, “in the end, computer labs were a side show, expensive investments largely squandered due to a lack of good content or purpose.”

The schools, they apparently have the computers. But the Khan Academy are on a quest to bring the content and “building the software and tools we think teachers and students really need.”

Suit challenges discretion in issuing gun permits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The nationwide debate over liberalizing gun laws spilled into a federal courtroom in Sacramento on Thursday as gun-rights groups challenged how much discretion California's law enforcement officials have in issuing concealed weapons permits.

Gun-rights advocates argued that county sheriffs, who handle most such permits, must issue them to anyone who completes a training course and has no mental health problems or criminal background.

They are challenging a policy by Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto, who says applicants in his county northwest of Sacramento must prove they have a reason to carry a concealed weapon, such as a threat to their safety.

That gives Prieto arbitrary discretion over a fundamental right to bear arms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution, said Alan Gura, an attorney from Alexandria, Va. Gura is representing gun rights groups in California and groups that have filed similar lawsuits in Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.

Prieto's attorney countered that California law allows the sheriff to set standards and he did so to avoid an arbitrary decision-making process.

The lawsuits come as many states are considering an expansion of concealed weapons permits, including allowing them on college campuses.

Prieto's policy goes beyond those set by most California sheriffs by requiring, for instance, that applicants have "good moral character" and submit three letters of reference.

His seven-page policy limits permits to people who have been victims of a violent crime, those who can document threats of violence, and business owners who carry large amounts of cash. He will not give permits to people who cannot prove they face a credible threat of violence.

Yolo County includes the liberal enclave of Davis, home to a University of California campus. But it also is dotted with conservative farm communities.

"These are arbitrary standards," Gura told U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England Jr.

In most counties, if a person asserts an interest in self-defense, they get a permit, "and everyone's happy," Gura said.

The Second Amendment Foundation, Calguns Foundation and three individuals sued Prieto in 2009, alleging his policy violates not only the Second Amendment, but First Amendment free speech rights and Fourteenth Amendment equal protection guarantees.

Sacramento attorney Serena Mercedes Sanders, representing Yolo County and Prieto, disagrees.

"Guns are not the same as speech," she said. "Shooting off one's mouth and shooting guns have very different consequences."

The recent spate of lawsuits filed in California and other states was triggered when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that citizens have a right to own guns in their homes. Sanders and England said no court has ruled that the same right extends to carrying weapons outside the home, and England expressed skepticism that the same freedom should apply.

"Like most rights, the Second Amendment is not unlimited," the judge said.

"The words `keep' and `bear' are separate words," countered Gura. "'Keep' is what you do at home. 'Bear' is what you do in public."

England fit the Sacramento case into the national debate that arose after U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and six others were killed in Arizona during a political event in January.

"Had there been five concealed weapons there and everyone started pointing and everyone started shooting ... wouldn't that have created a more dangerous situation?" the judge asked rhetorically during the 30-minute hearing.

A federal judge in the Southern District of California in December ruled against gun-rights organizations in a San Diego County case. That lawsuit was brought by a different attorney who used different legal arguments.

Gura said there have been no decisions in the lawsuits he filed in other states, nor in a similar suit filed by another attorney in New Jersey.

England said he will consider Thursday's arguments before issuing a written ruling. The judge also disclosed that he has had a concealed weapons permit himself, issued by Sacramento County's sheriff about 10 years ago.

That will have no bearing on his ruling, England said: "This case will turn on the Constitution."

Wyoming Adopts “Constitutional Carry” of Firearms

The right to carry a concealed firearm without a special license issued by the state is often referred to as “constitutional carry.” Wyoming is now the fourth state in the Union that recognizes constitutional carry, joining Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont. Prior to Wyoming’s action, Arizona was the most recent state to adopt constitutional carry; Governor Jan Brewer signed the legislation in April of last year, and it went into effect a few months later, on July 29.

It appears that the trend toward “constitutional carry” is likely to continue, with several states weighing adoption of measures similar to that which became law today in Wyoming. An article from the Associate Press declares that “Similar bills are pending in states including Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Utah. A bill has been introduced in Kentucky but hasn’t advanced while another was introduced for discussion in Idaho.”

In the aftermath of the Tucson tragedy, organizations opposed to Second Amendment-defined rights attempted to exploit the deaths and injuries that occurred when Jared Loughner allegedly attempted to murder Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) However, the fumbling efforts of Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik to politicize the tragedy appears to have backfired on the gun control lobby: rather than scaring the populace into surrendering more of their rights for the illusion of security, January 2011 gun sales surged 9.7 percent over the same month the previous year—an increase which builds on a trend in gun purchases since November 2008.

Undoubtedly, there are several factors are behind the movement at this time to restore more of the constitutionally recognized right to keep and bear arms to the people of the United States. Economics and a greater perceived need to be responsible for one’s own defense are among those factors. In the words of the AP article:

The push to expand permit-free carry of concealed guns is coming from people demanding the freedom to protect themselves in tough economic times without the requirement to pay for state permits, National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said.
“It’s an organic movement,” Arulanandam said. “I think certainly we are leading the charge — I’m not hiding behind it. A lot of this is organic in the sense that it comes from people realizing that when something bad happens, it’s up to them to defend themselves and their loved ones. And when something bad happens, instant responders are better than ‘first responders.’”

Another factor in the push to expand the right of self-defense in the direction of the liberty enumerated in the Bill of Rights is the sense that many Americans have that their liberties have been steadily eroded for many years. The same concerns that animated Tea Party activists and other constitutional conservatives are active in the movement for constitutional carry. People who neglect the exercise of their constitutional rights may soon find those rights have been usurped by the State. First in Arizona and now in Wyoming, the people are pushing back.

An important step was taken yesterday in Wyoming toward restoring the constitutionally protected right of Americans to keep and bear arms, as that state became the second in less than a year to enact legislation affirming the right of its citizens to carry a concealed firearm without a special government-issued license. Following adoption in the state Senate, the vote of the House in the Wyoming legislature approved the bill by a vote of 48–8 several weeks ago, and Gov. Matt Mead signed it into law on March 3.