Homo sapiens Homo heidelbergensis

Homo sapiens (archaic) are also known as Homo heidelbergensis. Remains from this space have been found in a variety of places starting from Germany to Bodo, Africa, and even in Jinniushan, Asia (1). Their brain size increased and their skull encasing also became more rounded than the skull of the Homo erectus(2). The skeleton and teeth are generally less thick and dense, but there are still large brow ridges present(3). They also had a much steeper forehead than previous species, which hints that the brain itself had more emphasis on the forebrain (1). This is a very interesting observation for this sector of the brain is responsible for planning and reasoning, movements of limbs, speech, as well as social conduct, which modern day humans are much more advanced in (1).

The social life of the Homo sapien (archaic) is still quite vague for not many clues have been found at this point. The advancement of tools was seen, especially the presence of the hand axe(4). Weapons were also found, which shows that the hunting style of life was more prevalent, and meat was a higher percent of their diet. Hopefully, more clues will show up as additional remains are found.

Amie Street: Awesome New Music Model

A lot has happened in the music space recently that suggests a steady progression towards the sale of DRM-free music by the big labels. In my opinion this progression/evolution is inevitable, and will be followed by a reduction in pricing towards zero - services will be able to sell based on service levels (ease and speed of download, inclusion of music video content and album art, etc.), but not much else. I’ll expand these thoughts in a post later this week.

Today I came across a new startup called Amie Street that may have found the right way to help people discover and market price music from new or little known bands. The founders, Elliott Breece, Elias Roman and Joshua Boltuch, are three Providence, RI college students (pictured left to right in photo below).

This is a very alpha site and there are a few bugs (I can only get the flash player to work on Firefox on a PC, no luck with IE or Firefox on Mac), and the interface could use some help with flow. But the core business model is killer, something I haven’t seen before.

Artists can upload their music to Amie Street for promotion and sale. Users form social networks with friends, listen to, and purchase music. All songs are DRM-free in MP3. Songs appear to be at 192kpbs quality level, although it may just be whatever the artist uploads.

All songs are free to start. Prices fluctuate over time based on demand for the song - currently the highest priced song, “Against the Wall” by Danny Ross, is $0.36. 273 songs have been uploaded so far. This demand based pricing model seems like a good way to sell music.

Users can search, browse and listen to music for free (via streaming). My download test worked well and the price of the song was properly deducted from the $3 in account credit I put on my credit card.

Users who have purchased a song can recommend it to their friends using a limited number of “rec’s” that they receive (users get one per dollar they add to their account). Once recommended, users will get account credit if the price of the song increases, giving them an incentive to find and recommend good music.

If you REC a song at 1 cent or above Amie Street will pay you half of the difference in the prices. So, if you REC a song at 10 cents, and it ends up at 90 cents, we will pay you 40 cents (half of the 80 cents difference).

If you REC a song while it is still free (0 cents), and it ends up at 98 cents, we will deposit 98 cents into your Amie Account. Amie Street pays you more for RECing a song while it is still free because you take more of a risk and because we want everyone on Amie Street to be RECing those great undiscovered songs.

Artists keep 70% of proceeds after $5 in sales. They are not required to sell their music exclusively through Amie Street, and can remove it at any time.

The model is extremely well thought out. Since the vast majority of bands are not concerned with people stealing their music - they just want people to listen to it - Amie Street could be a great way for them to promote their stuff. Myspace has proven that social networks are a perfect mechanism for promoting music, and the tweaks Amie Street have put on the model could be a winner. This is one to keep an eye on as it prepares for a full public launch.

Quick Takes: New Rules on U.S. Student Loan Programs, Career Ed Campuses Approved, Split Votes for Michigan Community Colleges, 3 of 11 Missing Visa H

Quick Takes: New Rules on U.S. Student Loan Programs, Career Ed Campuses Approved, Split Votes for Michigan Community Colleges, 3 of 11 Missing Visa Holders Surface
* The Education Department published interim final regulations in the Federal Register Wednesday to carry out changes in the student loan and other programs that were enacted as part of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act that President Bush signed in February. The department asked those who wish to comment on the regulations to do so by September 8. * The Career Education Corporation said in a federal filing Wednesday that it had won approval from the U.S. Education Department to open campuses of the International Academy of Design and Technology in Sacramento and San Antonio that are eligible to award federal financial aid. The department’s freeze on new Career Education campuses or programs remains in place pending completion of an inquiry into the some of the company’s financial aid practices, but the design campuses were approved because the applications were already in process at the time of the freeze, company officials said. * Voters in Michigan rejected tax increases that would have provided about $1.3 million in additional funds annually for Southwestern Michigan College but approved a tax increase that is expected to generate another $4.4 million a year for Lake Michigan College, the Kalamazoo Gazette reported. * Three of the 11 Egyptians who failed to show up on the Montana State University campus for an exchange program despite arriving in the United States on student visas last month have turned themselves in, federal law enforcement authorities told the Associated Press. One student was arrested in Minnesota, and the other two turned themselves in in New Jersey, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. The other six students have joined the program at Montana State, where Norm Peterson, the vice president for international programs, said they were “doing fine under the circumstances.”

Where can I type in the title in "Jason's Blogger site in 2007" Blog?

See... plz help..........

The Science of Zzzzz’s

PAUL BURNHAM FINNEY
Published: August 8, 2006
With the global economy now taking more executives to far-flung places like Beijing and Mumbai, jet lag is becoming a bigger aggravation, leading sleep researchers to work harder than ever to find suitable remedies.
Trips to the other side of the globe make adjusting a traveler’s body clock — or circadian system — an even more drawn-out process. Jet-lag experts say they believe it takes one day for each time zone away from home, up to a maximum of six or seven days, to get fully in sync with local time.
On brief visits to China, as Dr. Abinash Virk of the Mayo Clinic pointed out, business travelers often have no recourse except to plunge into meetings without time to recuperate.
About eight million corporate travelers made overseas trips last year, according to the United States Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Most were flying to Europe or the Pacific Rim, throwing their body clocks off kilter — and the effects are considered greater going East than West.
There is no easy remedy. One problem in developing solutions is all the variation in travelers’ ability to handle jet lag. Sleep researchers have found that people who have dealt with sleep deprivation over long periods — on night shifts, for example — can tolerate jet lag better than most.
Older travelers also tend to get harder hit than the young by jet lag, as President Bush might attest. When asked how he felt after his quick visit to Baghdad just before his 60th birthday, Mr. Bush said, “A little jet-lagged.”
Dr. Charmane I. Eastman, director of the Biological Rhythms Research Lab at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said she had found one way to virtually eliminate jet lag from, say, a New York-Milan flight.
It involves resetting your body clock with small doses of the hormone melatonin for three days before flight time — combined with going to bed an hour earlier each day — and then taking in bright light, natural or artificial, after arriving in Italy about six hours later. She recommends using a light box, widely used to treat the “winter blues.”
But most international travelers manage their jet-lag problem by improvising, often with advice from their physician or a medical travel clinic.
“I used melatonin for a while, but it made me feel buzzy the next day,” said Leigh Allen, chief executive of Global Consumer Finance Advisory, a consulting firm, who makes frequent trips between New York and London. “Now I have dinner on the ground since British Airways made that an option at JFK, then board and go to bed after a drink or two, and sleep for most of the seven-hour flight.”
Melatonin has been widely considered helpful for reducing the effects of jet lag, and for inducing sleep. Now, however, the latest consensus among medical researchers is that melatonin isn’t considered reliable in inducing sleep, but is useful for adjusting your body clock.
Left to their own devices, most travelers settle for a sedative to get to sleep on the plane — Ambien, Lunesta or Sonata are among the most popular — and a caffeine pill to wake up. But people who use these sedatives also may fail to get up and exercise in flight to reduce the risk of blood-clotting from tight seating, and may experience side effects after they land.
Some businesses are seeking advice on jet lag for their employees. Alertness Solutions, a Silicon Valley consultancy, has worked with JetBlue, Qantas and Singapore Airlines, among others
“Airline captains are the master jet-laggers,” said Dr. Mark R. Rosekind, president and chief scientist at the consulting firm. “We’ve done surveys of pilots to see how they manage alertness. They’re not doing the stuff that works.”
What does work? “Napping and caffeine, among various solutions,” said Dr. Rosekind. “When I was at NASA, we did a study involving 26-minute naps and we found they boosted performance by 34 percent and alertness by 54 percent. Naps of less than a half-hour work.
“Using a combination of nap and caffeine is better than using them separately, if you can believe it. It takes 15 to 30 minutes for caffeine to kick in. So you do the two together. All it takes is a cup of coffee — not even a pill. By the time the caffeine is working, your nap is over.”
JetBlue has a program to promote wakefulness in its pilots, created jointly with Alertness Solutions, that diagnoses their sleeping styles and helps them make adjustments.
For instance, sleep patterns may show that a captain gets only five solid hours of sleep over a nine-hour period. After diagnosing the pattern, JetBlue would help modify that sleep pattern, through diet or exercise, to provide more restful sleep during a shorter period. A spokeswoman, Jenny Dervin, said the airline would open the program to flight attendants this fall.
Sleep researchers are also working with professional and amateur athletes who, of course, change time zones to play “away” games or perform at international meets. “A proper amount of sleep can boost an athlete’s performance as much as 30 percent,” said Dr. Rosekind.
Last fall his company worked with Hilton Hotels to improve sleeping quarters for American athletes at the Olympic Winter Games in Italy. The enhancements included new lighting, mattresses, temperature controls and easy-to-set alarm clocks to relieve athletes’ chronic anxieties about waking up on time.
Sleep experts are broadening their research to include the disconnect between flying fatigue and work patterns.
“The problem is how you manage people with a global 24/7 lifestyle,” said Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, chief executive of Circadian Technologies, and a former Harvard Medical School professor.
“The big new trend is what our clients call ‘journey management,’ ’’ he added. For example, when companies bring together staff from all over the world for a project, his firm will help coordinate the trips to help make sure everyone is productive when they arrive.
Dr. Moore-Ede added, “Jet lag may be largely sleep disruption, but it’s really a complex mixture of being out of sync with your normal behavioral pattern, plus other factors, even including airline food. If you’re going to be abroad for only a few days, why fool around with bright-light solutions? If you keep resetting your body clock, you end up scrambling your orientation.”
Mr. Allen of Global Consumer Finance Advisory, a veteran traveler, said with an air of cheerful resignation: “In a sleep-deprived world, I just run around perpetually tired. I don’t call it jet lag.”