Thanks to Wikicommons.

Battling rising and falling mercury around Mercury. NASA’s Messenger is first probe to orbit the Sun’s innermost planet.

I’m out of here! Libyan Foreign Minister defects to England while pro-Qaddafi diplomats are kicked out of London.

Read my lips; NO NEW OIL! President Obama seeks to cut US oil consumption by one third.

Thanks to Wikicommons.

The upheaval in Libya continues down its unpredictable path. A massacre in Benghazi was avoided a few days ago thanks to the implementation of a No-Fly zone by foreign forces.

Even with foreign air support attacking Qaddafi’s military the rebels haven’t been exactly storming Tripoli.

As they continue to fight blogger Andrew Sullivan fears is looking like a stalemate.

Now what? That’s the question supporters of the rebels like Nato and the US are asking.

They are contemplating providing more support, especially weapons, for anti-Qaddafi militias. President Obama has taken the first step to authorizing covert operations, such as providing arms and training but this doesn’t mean we’ll do any of those things.

IF (and that is a BIG if) we do send guns to Libya will any come with people attached? On Monday, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment that

we would not put ground troops into Libya.

Although US soldiers are off the table getting the rebels their own guns for hire has been offered as a solution.

Whether or not we provide any boots on the ground others are taking steps to do just that. Over at the Daily Beast, Ron Moreau and Sami Yousafzai report that

some of the 200 or so Libyans operating near the Afghan border may be on their way home to steer the anti-Gaddafi revolution in a more Islamist direction.

…Since the anti-Gaddafi revolution began last month, al Qaeda—especially Libyan-born affiliates—have viewed the fighting as an opportunity to spread their radical Islamist ideology.

This makes us wonder that with friends like these who needs enemies. Of course for those on the ground resiting Qaddafi any help is probably welcome.

Which makes us wonder what you think. Have we done enough, to much, or should we still do more?

Some people have criticized President Obama and Nato for a inconsistent approach to the use of force. They question why fighters were sent in to protect innocent citizens in Libya when in other parts of the world citizens are equally at risk, yet the US and others don’t intervene. (see cartoon by KAL above).

President Obama made a a reasonable attempt to address these questions at an address to the nation earlier this week. Some are calling his speech the new “Obama Doctrine”.

When and where do you think international forces should intervene in (read: bomb) foreign countries? Never?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcLZdoKEoZc

Help support those struggling emotionally and physically in Japan! 

This is a great way to reach out, and all it takes is a little bit of your time!  

So get those pens going and pour your heart out to those who need it most!
You have the opportunity to change a life, to put a smile on a stranger's face, don't let it pass you by!
You can also search Words of Hope for Japan on Facebook for more information!

The Social Life of Personal Information

Dr. Manuel A. Perez-Quinones

Associate Professor of Computer Science
Virginia Tech

1:00pm Thursday 14 April 2011, ITE 325b

Personal Information Management (PIM) practices are the set of behaviors that we follow to organize our information. This often includes the management of email messages, documents, bookmarks, digital pictures, music, etc. Research in PIM has identified a core set of set of behaviors: encountering information, deciding to keep the information, filing/archiving, and reusing the information. The plethora of digital information and online transactions has us struggling to manage information effectively. In my research group, we are exploring how we can help address this problem.

In this talk, I briefly present previous work on PIM and highlight some new projects that my research group is exploring at the intersection of PIM and Social Networks. The rise of social networks presents an opportunity for the management of personal information. Emails in a person's inbox, for example, are "shared" between the sender and the receiver. What if we could share the PIM practices within our inner personal circle? Could we leverage the power of our social network to be more organized?

Dr. Manuel A. Pérez-Quiñones is Associate Professor of Computer Science, and a member of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech. Pérez-Quiñones holds a DSc in CS from The George Washington University, Washington, DC. His research interests include human-computer interaction, personal information management, user interface software, digital government, and educational/cultural issues in computing. He is the author of over 80 peer-reviewed journal and conference proceeding publications, as well as co-author of 10 book chapters. He is Chair of the Coalition to Diversify Computing (2010-2011), a committee of the CRA, ACM, and IEEE-CS. Dr. Pérez-Quiñones is Director of the Personal Information Management Research lab. The PIM lab studies how individuals use technology to organize and use their information to satisfy their day to day needs. Lately the group has been studying how we make sense of the multiple devices used to manage our personal information. Outside of HCI, he has collaborated with researchers in the areas of Digital Government, Software Engineering, Computing Education, Digital Libraries, and Data Mining. Dr. Pérez-Quiñones was born and raised in Puerto Rico.

Host: Dr. Marie desJardins, Sorry, you need javascript to view this email address.

Photo from http://www.fruitpizzarecipe.org/

Saturday was my friend’s birthday. I wanted to bake her something sweet in celebration so I looked up recipes for fun birthday cake. I was in shock when I found out that she doesn’t like cake! After asking the Birthday Girl for her preference in dessert, I decided to make a dessert pizza. I did some research and stumbled upon several recipes to my liking. Since she is very health conscientious, I decided to  combine and modify the recipes to make a more nutritious and fun fruit pizza.

• 1 can Pillsbury crescent dough
• 2 oz mozzarella cheese  (or cream cheese)
• 4 cups of  unsweetened apple sauce
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• chopped up fruits

1. Grease a baking pan or pizza pan. Spread the crescent dough on the pan.
2. In a sauce pan, mix the applesauce, sugar, and cinnamon. Heat up the mixture on medium heat.
3. Grate the mozzarella cheese and add to the sauce pan. Stir until cheese is melted.
4. Pour the sauce on top of the dough, spread out with spoon.
5. Lay chopped fruits on top of the sauce.
6. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 5 minutes. Then bake the pizza at 375 for 10 minutes.

This is a fun spin on dessert pizza that is much more health conscientious. It is perfect for a quick, healthy dessert, and a perfect option for a party dish!