MooPig Trend Spotter Department :: "Black Friday"

Black Friday only gets Darker
Jacked articles by Pat Darnell  |  Nov 29, 2013  |  Bryan TX

[Pictured LINK] Pope blesses crowd at Wal-Mart, Vatican City Location, at dawn today after being hoisted up on shoulders of eager store patrons.

Black Friday Horror Stories - Business Insider: "4. Grandmas started dueling over a RadioShack calculator.  "One of the sale items was a $10 calculator marked down to $5. Two sweet, elderly women came in to the store looking for them. When I told them there was only one left in the display, it was on," writes Jsquaw.

"The one grandma who lost the race called the other one horrible names as she was standing in the checkout line, gripping her $5 prize.""

'via Blog this'

We live in a college town. Bryan TX is sister city with College Station TX where Texas A and M is located. There are other colleges around here too, like Blinn, and A and M Consolidated... etc.

I was talking just now with my youngest son, 17, about the news that a Wal-Mart employee was trampled when doors opened at 6AM this morning. This happened in Delaware, or, as reported HERE. I mentioned to my son that we live in a place, Bryan, where that sort of thing won't happen for many years. He said, "I bet there is a death here next year [Black Friday, 2014]."

I chuckled, but then started thinking about it, and thus this post is written. Black Friday is enigmatic, and now dangerous. On most Wal-Mart walls, written in Sharpie on poster board, taped to the blue bricks, is the sign "BLITZ starts HERE" with arrow pointing to entrance.

I then explained to youngest son, "Do you know where the word Blitz comes from?" His eyes glazed over as he prepared himself for one of my miserable anecdotes.

"No, Dad," he replied.

So I gave the talk about how Nazi Germany developed a method of warfare called the Blitzkrieg, and that this word has been co-opt'd to the abbreviation "Blitz" which American football has made it a term describing a type of defensive-turned-offensive maneuver ... and now Wal-Mart uses the word for its Black Friday rush by mobs of shoppers at its stores in early hours on Black Friday.

This hour I found this LINK in my gmail, from ChristianBook.com, along with 66 updates concerning Black Friday Week Deals and sales online. In Christian circles I always thought Black Friday was the day remembered for when Christ was crucified.

CONCLUSION
Why would anyone go to a dangerous Blitz opening at a store, when one could stay at his laptop and shop all the same stuff Online?

MORAL OF THIS STORY
A good Defense is having a good Offense. Or, good news is free advertising: bad news is free advertising.

____________________Reference
http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-horror-stories-2013-11
http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/walmart-still-hasnt-paid-its-fine-from-the-2008-black-friday-trampling-death
http://gizmodo.com/5099819/walmart-worker-trampled-to-death-by-deal+crazed-black-friday-shoppers
http://gizmodo.com/5098946/10-reasons-were-doomed-black-friday-edition

[German : Blitz, lightning (from Middle High German blitze, from bliczen, to flash, from Old High German blekkazzen; seebhel-1 in Indo-European roots) + Krieg, war (from Middle High German kriec, from Old High German krg, stubbornness; see gwer-1 in Indo-European roots).]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

http://www.christianbook.com/page/promotion/black-friday-deals/1382452780?event=Ecast
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1re0rl/retail_employees_of_reddit_what_are_your_black/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-idol-but-francis-i-knows-the-real-battles-are-yet-to-come-8952437.html

NASA Talk :: "Chandra"

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | Dec 31, 2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Spiral Galaxy NGC 3627
The spiral galaxy NGC 3627 is located about 30 million light years from Earth. This composite image includes X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (blue), infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red), and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope (yellow). The inset shows the central region, which contains a bright X-ray source that is likely powered by material falling onto a supermassive black hole.

A search using archival data from previous Chandra observations of a sample of 62 nearby galaxies has shown that 37 of the galaxies, including NGC 3627, contain X-ray sources in their centers. Most of these sources are likely powered by central supermassive black holes. The survey, which also used data from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey, found that seven of the 37 sources are new supermassive black hole candidates.

Confirming previous Chandra results, this study finds the fraction of galaxies found to be hosting supermassive black holes is much higher than found with optical searches. This shows the ability of X-ray observations to find black holes in galaxies where relatively low-level black hole activity has either been hidden by obscuring material or washed out by the bright optical light of the galaxy.

Credits: NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ./C.Grier et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI, ESO/WFI; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Page Last Updated: December 28, 2012
Page Editor: Rebecca Goodman
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar


_________________________Reference
http://www.nasa.gov/mp4/716063main_whatsup20130101-320.mp4
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2418.html

Projects that MooPig has not been asked to Help With :: "Chandra Mission"

[PHOTO LINK]

"Scientists say at least 30 million black holes had formed before the universe was 1 billion years old..."
Retrieved by Pat Darnell   |  June 18, 2011   |  Bryan TX   |   [LINK]

Many of us are just getting around to understanding the mystifying work that has been accomplished by our Space Shuttle Program. Besides all the rendezvous's with International Space Station, Space Shuttles have launched "... NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was ... deployed by Space Shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999, is the most sophisticated X-ray observatory built to date. (The Chandra Mission. April 21, 2009. [HERE]). ... "

In a seemingly never-ending quest by humans to discover what we, and all things, are made of, Chandra's fantastic systems pixel-ates for us the unseen high energy x-rays throughout our universe. Galaxies are studied to determine if the black hole in their centers came before or after the galaxies were formed.

We are surprised to find that "... The Chandra observatory was first proposed to NASA in 1976 and funding began in 1977 when NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center started the definition studies of the telescope."

Therefore MooPig, which was founded in the late 90's, was not included in the development of this project. That does not mean we cannot enjoy the results, eh?

There must be engineers around who have spent their whole work careers just on the Chandra Mission. We would like to interview one of those persons if possible.

" ... Teams of scientists, engineers, technicians and managers who work at numerous government centers, Universities and corporations have been building and assembling Chandra over the past twenty years. Many of these dedicated men and women have been involved in the project from its inception. (LINK) ..."

_______Reference
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/15/black.holes.nasa.chandra/
http://chandra.si.edu/about/axaf_mission.html
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990727.html

[PHOTO LINK]

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MooPig's "See Also: Column"

http://migratingblackholes.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-hawking-radiation-of-new-micro.html

Alternative HAWKING RADIATION of (MICRO) BLACK HOLES
If we accept the Quantum mechanical idea of the vacuum creation of Lepton pairs around a black holes, then only a minimal amount of (anti-)Leptons is supposed to be annihilated in the Comet case.
This is possible if the vacuum Higgs lattice has a chiral structure in combination with an opposite chirality for Leptons and Fermions!
As a result “left handed” chiral Positrons tend to "absorb" easier and more Gluons/Photons than Electrons do inside a “left handed” chiral vacuum.
Positrons seem to be able to form positive Quarks by "click-on" Gluon/Photon absorption. This "click-on" system facilitate Electrons to form negative charged Quarks.
This simple principle solves even the well known Big Bang anti-matter annihilation problem!
As a result, COMETS are spongy icy H2 balls created around micro black holes by the Quark Gluon plasma producing Black Hole horizon.
see also: http://bigbang-entanglement.blogspot.com/

Reminder: Virtual Reality

The Internet is virtual reality.
By Pat Darnell
(vur choo el')

Virtual = ...implicit, essential, fundamental, effective, practical, near... "being something in effect even if not in reality or not conforming to the generally accepted definition of the term... physics used to describe a particle whose existence is suggested to explain observed phenomena but is not proven or directly observable... computing simulated by a computer for reasons of economics, convenience, or performance... computing used to describe a technique of moving data between storage areas or media to create the impression that a computer has a storage capacity greater than it actually has..." (Encarta Dictionary, 2003).

As much as we believe in our own ability to perform a virtual task, is it real? Parable and anecdote can be a task master to the same question, is it real? So, for instance, evidence points to existence of black holes , as well as large volumes of dark matter, in the large scheme of things. It turns out that humans cannot detect those spatial phenoms in real time, with our limited sensors. Yet they virtually exist in modern astrophysics realities.

Are those virtual, theoretical, and positional debates all a part of the whole of reality? Well, it turns out, yes. Yes in terms of empirical data passed down for the entire written history so far from generation to generation.

Is it all pretty? Is it all witty? Is there plenty of room for trial and error? No, no... yes.

So get with it whoever you are, what ever piece of wisdom has been given to you, start paying attention! Work your talent, use the virtual reality tools, get a clear head for your basic tendency. We each have a bit of the eternal in us, it is what makes each of us a personage, a redeemable coupon, accountable, useful, lovable, and least of all part of the greater whole reality.

This is from Enoch's book, as he used all of his eternal spirit to find reality beyond the virtual:
http://reluctant-messenger.com/2enoch01-68.htm
But that bull which was born from him begat a black wild boar and a white 13 sheep; and the former begat many boars, but that sheep begat twelve sheep. And when those twelve sheep had grown, they gave up one of them to the asses, and those asses again gave up that sheep to the wolves, and that sheep grew up among the wolves.

And the Lord brought the eleven sheep to live with it and to pasture with it among the wolves: and they multiplied and became many flocks of sheep. And the wolves began to fear them, and they oppressed them until they destroyed their little ones, and they cast their young into a river of much water: but those sheep began to 16 cry aloud on account of their little ones, and to complain unto their Lord.

And a sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled and escaped to the wild asses; and I saw the sheep how they lamented and cried, and besought their Lord with all their might, till that Lord of the sheep descended at the voice of the sheep from a lofty abode, and came to them and pastured them. And He called that sheep which had escaped the wolves, and spake with it concerning the wolves that it should 18 admonish them not to touch the sheep. And the sheep went to the wolves according to the word of the Lord, and another sheep met it and went with it, and the two went and entered together into the assembly of those wolves, and spake with them and admonished them not to touch the 19 sheep from henceforth.

Building Virtual

"...Scientists are building a seamless, global, astronomical resource: a 'virtual observatory' that will supply data at all wavelengths through a common interface. Vanessa Spedding catches up with European initiatives
The universe is being digitised at an unprecedented rate, a fact that presents opportunities and challenges in seemingly equal measure. Take the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a project which, in the process of mapping and imaging one quarter of the entire sky and determining positions and absolute brightnesses of more than 100 million celestial objects, will ultimately gather dozens of terabytes of data in different formats and at different wavelengths. This is but one of many prolific sources of astronomical data.
Generally speaking, data from these sources remain unconnected. There is widespread recognition that the full potential of these data, as a result, is seriously underexploited. Not only that, the size of individual data sets has also exploded, particularly those delivered by large facilities (such as the ESO's Very Large Telescope). This presents particular concerns for astronomers without access to the computing capabilities necessary to explore such data sets. It seems that astronomy can now contribute its own particular chapter to the data deluge saga.

DATA DELUGE: a flood of a different kind!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.scientific-computing.com/images/virtual1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.scientific-computing.com/feature4b.html&h=354&w=500&sz=68&hl=en&start=10&sig2=6zJpKr_APEkZqN2Rl8IgXQ&um=1&tbnid=ByeDop_AJTE_dM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=130&ei=K1fMRvSpJp2yjAG0_6zVCA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvirtual%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DN

"...There are six partner organisations currently working towards the AVO. These include the European Space Agency (ESA), research centres, consortia and observatories in France and UK, and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Germany, which is leading the project. The AVO consortium has quickly formed a close alliance with the US NVO and both teams have representatives on the other's respective committees.
Both are also in communication with other, similar initiatives brewing elsewhere, specifically in India, Australia, and Japan. The ultimate aim, all parties agree, is a truly global virtual observatory..."

GPS, Golf Carts, Distance to the Hole....and a Whisper

When I was a little boy, my daddy took me to Herman Park where he teed off with three others on a Saturday morning at least once a month. I was his caddy. I pulled the bag cart and tried to keep up, that was my task. I always got to have an Orange Nehi bottled soda at the start of the back nine, at 8:30 in the morning.

Too bad there is no narrative in literature for the years between 1 through 11. That is because all memories from then are in images, and sensations, and pictographs.

Can you relate? Sort of a self-speak, creates fillers when there is little going on upstairs.

So yesterday while I was doing nothing, it popped in my head, "Hey, distances.... to the hole.... which iron? ........GPS!"

"The ProShot Golf Traditional GPS system, in its simplicity, keeps with the traditional mind-set prevalent in the golf industry by keeping the golfer focused on his game. The system steers away from offering the bells and whistles that our competition feels a player needs to play his game, when in fact they only serve to distract a player and ultimately decrease your course?s pace of play.
The ProShot Golf Traditional GPS system is a steering column-mounted unit that is un-intrusive to the player?s line of site. Yardages to lakes, bunkers and other hazards, as well as to the front, center and back of the greens (accurate to within one yard) are readily displayed. In addition, pro tips are also provided to help the golfer make an informed decision of which club to use and what strategy to employ. Golfers can also get their drive distances if they choose. Ultimately, your golfers will leave your course with a more enjoyable overall golfing experience..." (www.proshot.com ).

So I thought I had a brain wave originating faroff away from the distant golf men who whisper to me still through the River Oaks of Houston. Hey I have a new gadget that my golfing friends will want for their plenary golf carts.
I even called Rick, who rebuilds g-carts and asked him if he installs GPS on the carts, "Huh?" he said.

"You know distance to the hole and picking your club?" I said. Then I remembered he doesn't play golf. "Okay, I'll get back to you. I haven't researched it yet."

Who am I kidding?
Well, that was yesterday afternoon. Google came up with about 1,320,000 hits for gps, golf, distances. in (0.12 seconds). So I felt the usual foolish and pound pour idiot with an idea. Can I get a witness?

GIZMODO... more like quasi-gizmodo
The SkyKap Advisor is a GPS-enabled golf cap controlled by voice commands. First you plug it into your PC's USB port and download course maps from SkyKap website. Then you wear the cap out on the links, asking it for information about distance to things such as the pin, water hazards and fairway boundaries, and it whispers the info into your ear.
SkyKap Advisor was just introduced, so there's no information on pricing or availability yet. But if this actually works as advertised, it adds a new layer of simplicity to GPS technology on the golf course. It's like wearing your own satellite-enabled caddy on your head. – Charlie White {Product Page [SkyKap, via GPS Gazette]

says:
SkyKap Advsior -- AKA, brain cancer.
02/08/07 02:09 PM
you-say says:
If you visit their website and click on the news tab, it is all in Latin.
Whiskey, Foxtrot, Tango?
02/08/07 02:42 PM
nickie says:
that's really really weird. The thing will probably explode on you the 1st time you wear it.And then you won't be alive to sue the company.
02/08/07 02:48 PM
1of3Stooges says:
I'm a golfer.This is nuts.
Will it also whisper "you can't reach the green with that 6-iron you orange-and-green-plaid-panted-pansy, better use your 5."
After you dump one in the lake will it whisper "who did you think you were, Tiger Woods?"
02/08/07 05:01 PM
ThongDollarz91 says:
Wanted: a cheaper one that just whispers "Gooo the dissstance..." before each shot like in Field of Dreams.
02/08/07 05:46 PM
Geisrud says:
They better make one with a "PING" logo...
02/12/07 11:47

Top Five Ads for Super Bowls

5. Monster.com “When I Grow Up …” (1999): A group of kids stare at the camera and declare their desire to “have a brown nose,” “be a yes man” and “claw my way up to middle management.”

What worked: Kids are cute, and even cuter when reciting lines such as, “When I grow up … I want to be forced into early retirement.” It was great brand recognition for the new company.

The results: Monster survived the dot-com implosion and despite a stock controversy in 2006 has become a prosperous company that employs close to 5,000 people worldwide.

4. Reebok “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” (2003): To boost productivity, a CEO recruits a linebacker from Reebok to slam into a series of “Office Space”-style cubicle drones.

What worked: A series of brutal hits, punctuated by lines such as, “Break was over 15 minutes ago, Mitch!” made this the best Super Bowl ad of the last five years.

The results: Terry Tate got people talking about Reebok for something other than sweatshop controversies. The company provides shoes for all the major sports and hosts clothing lines for rappers Jay-Z and 50 Cent.

3. E*Trade “Monkey” (2000): Two dim-witted guys and a monkey clap to some cha-cha music in a garage, followed by the punch line: “Well we just wasted 2 million bucks. What are you doing with your money?”

What worked: Easily the cheapest ad of the year to produce, it was an instant classic —remaining self-deprecating about dot-com excess while lampooning the well-publicized cost of Super Bowl ad time.

The results: The marketing Gods have a way of punishing tech companies that blow too much money on flashy ads. (See: Pets.com. Or don’t. They haven’t been around since 2000.) E*Trade lost hundreds of millions of dollars in 2001 and 2002, and the company's shares — once trading at more than $60 — dropped below $3 in 2002. The company has since bounced back to profitability.

2. Coke “Mean Joe Greene” (1979): A kid offers his Coca-Cola to a battle-weary “Mean Joe” Greene — who softens up enough to toss his jersey as a reward.

What worked: A cute kid with a soft drink was the perfect foil for the surly Greene. Grown men still burst into tears when thinking about “Mean Joe” throwing that jersey.

The results: The ad became an instant pop culture classic, boosting Greene’s career. Among the offshoots was the inspiring “The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid” — perhaps the first hourlong TV movie in history to be based on a one-minute commercial.

1. Apple “1984” (1984): A jogger representing Apple throws a sledgehammer into a giant Big Brother image representing IBM — promising a populist shift in the future of personal computers.

What worked: With “Blade Runner” director Ridley Scott in charge, the ad generated more hype — and post-game water cooler talk — than any television commercial in history. Do you even remember who played in the Super Bowl in 1984? (L.A. Raiders and Washington.) You almost certainly remember the biggest Super Bowl ad of the year.

The results: The most storied Super Bowl ad of all time might have boosted sales of George Orwell books, hot red running shorts and sledgehammers. But it didn’t do much for the Macintosh — Apple continues to be the Reform Party of computer manufacturers. Maybe there was a storage locker filled with iPods behind that huge video screen?

Honorable mentions: Pepsi “Apartment 10G” (1987); Pepsi “Diner” (1995); Pepsi “Sucked in” (1995); Mountain Dew “Bad Cheetah” (2000); Budweiser “Magic Fridge” (2006).

Peter Hartlaub covers pop culture for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ethanol

Is this read by anyone ?

There is a black hole absorbing a sun being captured by one of our telescopes. I almost had a cosmic thought yesterday. It was about size and probability, in relation to this planet and all of the other solid parts of the universe, which could be condensed into some small portion of the void of space, leaving much open space.

The same idea as putting all of the inhabitants of this planet in one spot on the rock. We could all fit on the Island of England with twenty square meters each. I think the lot I live on is about that size. There is a lot of open space. As I drive up and down the highways and byways around Houston, I am always intrigued by the open spaces everywhere. Not beautiful to the Olympic committee, but definitely nothing but miles and miles of a Texas that only Texans, native and adopted, can appreciate.

Well, I was concerned that I misplaced this invitation to the blog.

The word out is to use available land to grow poplar trees instead of corn for ethanol. They produce something 2.5 times the raw material. The hybids grow very fast.

I guess I'm out. See you.

d2r2