gossamer troublemaker: May 2012

Friday, May 18, 2012

Video: Ariz. Sec. of State voices doubt over Obama?s citizenship

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Bird-like robo-plane avoids obstacles in an urban jungle

14 hrs.

John Roach

A robotic plane with the moves and speed of birds, and relies on its own senses to?deftly dart between a city's?skyscrapers, street lights and power lines, has taken a big step closer to reality.

The plane, technically called a micro air vehicle, was revealed Wednesday at a robotics conference. It?flies without the assistance of external GPS or motion tracking?? crutches employed by previous systems designed to tackle the problem of autonomous flying through urban environments.

Instead, the system, led by Adam Bry in MIT's Robust Robotics Group,?uses an onboard inertial measurement unit???a system of gyros and accelerometers that determine things such as velocity and orientation ? as well as a laser range finder and a pre-existing 3-D map of its environment to accomplish the feat.

The result is demonstrated in the video above, which Bry played during his paper?presentation at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

While setting a flying robot free in an underground parking garage is certainly an impressive feat, the?IEEE Automation blog notes that the requirement for a pre-existing map programmed into the robot?s system prevents this thing from being set free in terra incognita.

Still, though, flying robots are approaching the skill of flying birds, which might bode well for military planners interested in sending robotic off to battle in the next big urban war.

??Via IEEE

John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website and follow him on Twitter. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

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With cookies and conversations, Romney tries charm

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Mitt Romney is on a charm offensive.

He took reporters' questions after Thursday's campaign rally instead of keeping them at bay. He brought them warm chocolate chip cookies for the flight from Jacksonville to Palm Beach, Fla. After he got off the plane, he walked over to show reporters a picture of his 5-year-old grandson, Parker.

It was "wild hair day" at school and the grandfather of 18 had to share what had just come into his iPad.

"You know how he did that? With Elmers Glue and egg whites. I kid you not," said Romney, whose campaign just a day earlier engaged in a standoff with reporters over access to the candidate. "Isn't that something else?"

He chuckled about the hair standing straight up.

"I never did my hair like that. But I'm thinking about it," Romney said before heading to a private fundraiser. "People wonder how I keep my hair like it is. It's like, a little Elmers Glue and egg white would go a long way. Is that too much?"

Then the candidate with matinee idol good looks grew quiet.

"I miss him."

Romney, whom critics brand as standoffish and cold, seems to be trying to win over the reporters who will travel with him through Election Day ? and their audiences. On Wednesday, relations had soured to the point of a Romney aide grabbing a reporter's arm while others blocked reporters from the candidate. The campaign issued a statement declaring the incident a mistake.

On Thursday, Romney tried to ease the friction.

Romney welcomed reporters aboard his plane early in the day, coming to the rear of the cabin to chat. He did not, however, want to comment on a report that a super PAC was contemplating a $10 million campaign to drag President Barack Obama's former pastor into the mix.

By afternoon ? and after that proposal was jettisoned under heavy criticism from both parties ? Romney was ready to answer reporters' questions about it. And anything else, too.

Romney seldom engages with the reporters. His aides try to keep him away from an unscheduled moment, such as the one in which he declared he didn't much follow NASCAR but he knew some of the team owners.

Romney's aides are trying to keep the candidate on script and away from the traveling reporters who chronicle his campaign and know his record best. Romney prefers conservative radio hosts and local television affiliates but recognizes the value in positive relationships with the journalists who document as many of his moves as the campaign will allow.

Campaign aides say Romney regularly meets with voters privately; the campaign refused to allow reporters to observe his meeting in Jacksonville on Thursday.

But with the clash a day before, Romney made himself available to reporters. And if Thursday is an indication, he is looking to soften his image somewhat.

"Warm and gooey. Get the rest," he urged a reporter as he passed out the freshly baked cookies while the plane made the hourlong flight. "Come on. Two-hander."

But asked about his weekend plans, he said he was heading to his home in Wolfeboro, N.H., on Lake Winnipesaukee to open it up for the season. The six-bedroom, 5,400-square-foot home sits on 11 acres at the end of a private drive. The Clark Point property also features a boat house and a stable and is estimated to be worth $10 million.

"I'm going to do that this Saturday," Romney said, noting the rest of his family would be elsewhere. "It will be me alone. Put the boat in the water. Get out the picnic tables. By myself."

Asked if he was serious when he told the crowd in Jacksonville that he and his wife were considering a move to Florida, he replied: "We love California. ... But there are attractions to Florida. It has the right tax rates, among others."

Florida residents do not pay state income tax.

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'Idol' reveals its 2 finalists after shocking cut

By Craig Berman, TODAY.com contributor

Michael Becker / FOX

Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez are the finalists of season 11 of "American Idol"

The judges are going to have to find themselves a new favorite to promote in the ?American Idol? finale.

Joshua Ledet, who set the unofficial record for Most Standing Ovations From the Judges with his consistently big performances this season, was voted off the show on Thursday. He finished in third place, while Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez move on to compete for the title next week.

If he likes, Joshua can blame mentor Jimmy Iovine, who said that in hindsight, he wished he?d picked something that offered more of a melody than Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" for the teenager to perform Wednesday. He also regretted his pick for Jessica, thus shattering the ?Idol? record of self-critical comments in one night. (He?ll need a remedial course of ?Idol 201: The Art of Never Admitting Mistakes? if he wants to come back next season.) And they were more than empty words -- Jimmy seemed genuinely upset with himself when the results were announced, perhaps wondering if a better pick on his part would have been a game-changer.

Joshua could also blame a backlash or overconfidence stemming from the judges? fervent support of him over the past month, though that sure hadn?t hurt him over the previous few weeks. But really, he can probably blame his growling most of all. In a final three as close as this one appears to be, any little mistake hurts, and his over-the-top crashing about the stage on his final song didn?t do much to win the tender loving care of the audience. When in doubt, he tends to shout, and ultimately, it looks like the viewers plugged up their ears instead of picking up the phones for him.

That sets up the Phillip-Jessica finale, or Dave Matthews 2.0 vs. The Oldest-Sounding Teenager in America. But the big question next week won?t just concern who?s going to win. We'll also find out whether Ford will give Phillip a car like it normally does for the two finalists, despite the fact that he?s been absent from the video shoots. Is he secretly in league with the Japanese auto companies? And what are they going to do for that Ford video shoot next week? Have Jessica sing by herself? (Remember: Phillip has a doctor's note to skip filming those!)

Joshua can also take solace in the fact that he wasn?t the worst performer to take the stage this week. That would go to a lip-synching Lisa Marie Presley, who dragged herself onto the ?Idol? stage for the first time. She was part of a gothic set that had her both looking and sounding like something undead. Somewhere up there, Elvis is probably shaking his head and wondering whether she?s studied tapes of him performing. He?s also probably thinking that if he were alive, he?d make one heck of an ?Idol? judge.

But for now, it's the viewers who have spoken, and it?ll be a former pawn-shop worker or a California teenager who gets the confetti and the million-dollar deal on Wednesday.

Are you surprised that Joshua was cut? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

Who do you think will win?

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

Video: 50-year-old pics found of NYC, TODAY studio

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Obama calls on Congress to help small businesses

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama says Congress could help sustain the economy's "momentum" by passing legislation that would give businesses a 10 percent income tax credit if they create new jobs or increase wages this year.

Obama made his pitch during a roundtable discussion with small business leaders in Washington. The legislation is part of what Obama calls his "to-do" list for Congress. Obama says the action plan will help ensure that the economy doesn't "lose steam" at a time when people are starting to feel optimistic.

Later Wednesday, Obama will make another push for his initiatives in a White House meeting with bipartisan congressional leaders. The president's action plan centers on a series of economic initiatives he has been pushing for months, none of which have previously gained traction in Congress.

Associated Press

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