Sergey Brin Reserves a Five Million Dollar Seat

Ever wonder what billionaires buy? For Sergey Brin, one of the Google guys, it is a ride in space:

“NEW YORK — The company that sends wealthy tourists into space announced plans Wednesday for a private flight in 2011 to the international space station on a Russian-built Soyuz rocket and said Google co-founder Sergey Brin has paid $5 million to reserve a seat on a future flight.”

link: Google co-founder reserves seat to outer space

The Google accountants might be able to write this off as a promotional trip, to explore marketing opportunities. At least it is not boring like buying a yacht or some small country…

Catherine

Sergey Brin Reserves a Five Million Dollar Seat

Ever wonder what billionaires buy? For Sergey Brin, one of the Google guys, it is a ride in space:

“NEW YORK — The company that sends wealthy tourists into space announced plans Wednesday for a private flight in 2011 to the international space station on a Russian-built Soyuz rocket and said Google co-founder Sergey Brin has paid $5 million to reserve a seat on a future flight.”

link: Google co-founder reserves seat to outer space

The Google accountants might be able to write this off as a promotional trip, to explore marketing opportunities. At least it is not boring like buying a yacht or some small country…

Catherine Forsythe

L.A. Lakers: Help Wanted

Game Three of the NBA championship series was characterized by missed shots and disappearing performances. It was a game that raised more questions and provided few answers. The Lakers won: 87 - 81; and perhaps they won in spite of themselves:

• Kobe Bryant missed seven free throws. Usually, for Kobe Bryant, a trip to the free throw line means points. How often does one see Kobe miss two consecutive free throws in a crucial game? The television commentators were speculating that the next ploy would be a ‘hack-a-Kobe’. Ouch! Somewhere Shaquille O’Neal is smiling.
• No starter for the Lakers, with the exception of Kobe Bryant, scored in double figures.
• Ronny Turiaf played nineteen minutes. He had no points, no rebounds, no assists and no steals. His two blocked shots were offset by three personal fouls.
• Luke Walton played eleven minutes. He had no points on three missed shots. Luke Walton just does not look comfortable playing. He is turning down shot opportunities and is being beaten badly on the defensive end. Luke Walton’s confidence seems to have abandoned him.
• Lamar Odom had more fouls (5) than points (4). His playing time is limited by this foul trouble. This is not the Lamar Odom of the regular season. In the first half of Game Three, Lamar Odom did not score. Without a doubt, the Celtics can see that Lamar Odom is struggling and this allows the defense to place more emphasis on Kobe Bryant and whoever is playing well that night. The question is whether this is a temporary slump or whether this is the Lamar Odom on basketball’s brightest stage.

The Lakers were fortunate that Paul Pierce had a poor shooting night. He made two field goals in fourteen attempts. If a few more of those attempts had dropped, the Lakers would be looking at a 3 - 0 deficit in the series. At this point, Kobe Bryant really needs some help. In this championship series, some of the Lakers simply have disappeared. Who would blame Kobe Bryant for not trusting his team mates?

Catherine

L.A. Lakers: Help Wanted

Game Three of the NBA championship series was characterized by missed shots and disappearing performances. It was a game that raised more questions and provided few answers. The Lakers won: 87 - 81; and perhaps they won in spite of themselves:

• Kobe Bryant missed seven free throws. Usually, for Kobe Bryant, a trip to the free throw line means points. How often does one see Kobe miss two consecutive free throws in a crucial game? The television commentators were speculating that the next ploy would be a ‘hack-a-Kobe’. Ouch! Somewhere Shaquille O’Neal is smiling.
• No starter for the Lakers, with the exception of Kobe Bryant, scored in double figures.
• Ronny Turiaf played nineteen minutes. He had no points, no rebounds, no assists and no steals. His two blocked shots were offset by three personal fouls.
• Luke Walton played eleven minutes. He had no points on three missed shots. Luke Walton just does not look comfortable playing. He is turning down shot opportunities and is being beaten badly on the defensive end. Luke Walton’s confidence seems to have abandoned him.
• Lamar Odom had more fouls (5) than points (4). His playing time is limited by this foul trouble. This is not the Lamar Odom of the regular season. In the first half of Game Three, Lamar Odom did not score. Without a doubt, the Celtics can see that Lamar Odom is struggling and this allows the defense to place more emphasis on Kobe Bryant and whoever is playing well that night. The question is whether this is a temporary slump or whether this is the Lamar Odom on basketball’s brightest stage.

The Lakers were fortunate that Paul Pierce had a poor shooting night. He made two field goals in fourteen attempts. If a few more of those attempts had dropped, the Lakers would be looking at a 3 - 0 deficit in the series. At this point, Kobe Bryant really needs some help. In this championship series, some of the Lakers simply have disappeared. Who would blame Kobe Bryant for not trusting his team mates?

Catherine Forsythe

Leaves Block Wi-Fi Signals

Recently, people in Minneapolis have reported slow or fading city Wi-Fi service. The reason seems to be the coming of summer and the emergence of tree leaves:

“…The re-emergence of leaves this spring has caused network delays and slower-than-expected download speeds in parts of the citywide network. But the problem is being fixed with antenna adjustments that should be completed by mid-June, said US Internet, the Minnetonka firm that built and is operating the Wi-Fi network.”

link: Leaves degrade Wi-Fi service for some in Minneapolis

In the age of technology, Mother Nature still has a say. According to local technicians this is also a concern for small networks, like the university campus. The solution there is that the classes are in the fall and the campus population is small during the ‘leaf and shrubbery’ season. Few complaints means no fix.

Catherine