In 2017 my Website was migrated to the clouds and reduced in size.
Hence some links below are broken.
One thing to try if a “www” link is broken is to substitute “faculty” for “www”
For example a broken link
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm
can be changed to corrected link http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

However in some cases files had to be removed to reduce the size of my Website
Contact me at 
rjensen@trinity.edu if you really need to file that is missing

Tidbits on October 12, 2016
Bob Jensen at Trinity University

Wes Lavin's 2016 Foliage Photographs:  Parts 1 and 2

Wes Lavin's 2016 Autumn Foliage Part 1
http://cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Lavin/2016Sept/2016FoliagePart1.htm

Wes Lavin's Autumn Foliage Photographs:  Part 2
http://cs.trinity.edu/rjensen/Tidbits/Lavin/2016Oct/2016FoliagePart2.htm

 

 

Tidbits on October 12, 2016
Scroll Down This Page

Bob Jensen's Tidbits ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

For earlier editions of Fraud Updates go to http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm 
Bookmarks for the World's Library --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm 

Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page is at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/

More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

Updates from WebMD --- Click Here

Scholarpedia (a cross between Wikipedia and Google Scholar) --- http://www.scholarpedia.org

Google Scholar --- https://scholar.google.com/

Wikipedia --- https://www.wikipedia.org/

Bob Jensen's search helpers --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/searchh.htm

Bob Jensen's World Library --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm


Tidbits October 2016 Special Edition for the AECM Blackout Period
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2016/Tidbits101216SpecialEdition.htm 

The above link contains tidbits for my three blogs added during the AECM listserv's blackout period in October 2016.
Rather than flood readers email boxes with separate messages I included all of them in the above link.




Online Video, Animations, Slide Shows, and Audio

What Life Was Like for Teenagers in Ancient Rome: Get a Glimpse from a TED-ED Animation ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/what-life-was-like-for-teenagers-in-ancient-rome-get-a-glimpse-from-a-ted-ed-animation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Las Vegas Magician Mac King Shows Us A Trick --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmI9uwYzH9o


Free music downloads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm 

I Am The Edison Phonograph (1906) ---
http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/i-am-the-edison-phonograph-1906/

Hear the First Recording of Computer Music: Researchers Restore Three Melodies Programmed on Alan Turing’s Computer (1951) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/hear-the-first-recording-of-computer-music.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Hear a Playlist of the 336 Songs Mentioned in Bruce Springsteen’s New Memoir, Born to Run (no thanks) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/hear-a-playlist-of-the-336-songs-mentioned-in-bruce-springsteens-new-memoir-born-to-run.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Experience Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Virtual Reality: Download the Free App Created by Queen & Google ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/experience-queens-bohemian-rhapsody-in-virtual-reality.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Wynton Marsalis Takes Louis Armstrong’s Trumpet Out of the Museum & Plays It Again ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/05/wynton-marsalis-takes-louis-armstrongs-trumpet-out-of-the-museum-plays-it-again.html

Web outfits like Pandora, Foneshow, Stitcher, and Slacker broadcast portable and mobile content that makes Sirius look overpriced and stodgy ---
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2009/tc20090327_877363.htm?link_position=link2

Pandora (my favorite online music station) --- www.pandora.com
TheRadio
(online music site) --- http://www.theradio.com/
Slacker (my second-favorite commercial-free online music site) --- http://www.slacker.com/

Gerald Trites likes this international radio site --- http://www.e-radio.gr/
Songza:  Search for a song or band and play the selection --- http://songza.com/
Also try Jango --- http://www.jango.com/?r=342376581
Sometimes this old guy prefers the jukebox era (just let it play through) --- http://www.tropicalglen.com/
And I listen quite often to Soldiers Radio Live --- http://www.army.mil/fieldband/pages/listening/bandstand.html
Also note
U.S. Army Band recordings --- http://bands.army.mil/music/default.asp

Bob Jensen's threads on nearly all types of free music selections online ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Music.htm


Photographs and Art

Wonderful wildlife: The winners of the ZSL Animal Photography Prize 2016 ---
https://www.yahoo.com/news/wonderful-wildlife-the-winners-of-1524927452102710.html

Crocker Art Museum: Collections --- https://www.crockerartmuseum.org/collections

British Art Studies --- http://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk

Medieval Hungary --- http://jekely.blogspot.co.uk

Henri Matisse Illustrates James Joyce’s Ulysses (1935) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/henri-matisse-illustrates-james-joyces-ulysses-1935.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

#Opera Before Instagram: Portraits, 1890-1955 --- http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/opera-portraits-1890-to-1955

Artisans and Craft Production in Nineteenth-Century Scotland --- http://www.artisansinscotland.shca.ed.ac.uk

Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature --- https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/frankenstein

BioMedical Picture of the Day --- http://www.bpod.mrc.ac.uk

The 1995 Hubble Photo That Changed Astronomy ---
http://www.vox.com/2016/9/21/12989670/hubble-deep-field

Haiti:  Hurricane Matthew's Aftermath ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/pictures-hurricane-matthew-haiti-2016-10/#the-port-city-of-les-cayes-flooded-suffering-badly-in-the-storm-1

Jim Martin's Gibbs Gardens Photographs ---
http://maaw.info/Photos/GibbsGardens.htm

31 vintage photos show what New York City looked like in the early 1940s ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/beautiful-vintage-photos-of-manhattan-in-the-1940s-2016-10

10 breathtaking entries from the world's most famous photography competition ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/entries-to-the-sony-world-photography-award-2016-9

The war in Afghanistan is 15 years old — here are 29 photos of one of the US's longest wars ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-15-years-of-us-war-in-afghanistan-2016-10

Gardenvisit.com --- http://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens

A Photographic History of Oregon State University --- http://photohistory.oregonstate.edu/works/photo-history

Bob Jensen's threads on art history ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#ArtHistory

Bob Jensen's threads on history, literature and art ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#History


Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on libraries --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm#---Libraries

A Master List of 800 Free Classic eBooks for iPad, Kindle & Other Devices ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/a-master-list-of-800-free-classic-ebooks-for-ipad-kindle-other-devices.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Henri Matisse Illustrates James Joyce’s Ulysses (1935) ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/henri-matisse-illustrates-james-joyces-ulysses-1935.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Selected Shorts (performing arts short stories) --- http://www.selectedshorts.org/listen

Interesting Literature --- https://interestingliterature.com

The Big Roundtable: Publishing nonfiction short stories  --- http://www.thebigroundtable.com/

8+ Hours of Classic Charles Dickens Stories Dramatized, Starring Orson Welles, Boris Karloff, Richard Burton & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/8-hours-of-classic-charles-dickens-stories-dramatized.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Anthony Burgess Names the 99 Best Novels in English Between 1939 & 1983: Orwell, Nabokov, Huxley & More ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/anthony-burgess-names-the-99-best-novels-in-english.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

The New Yorker Fiction Podcast --- http://www.newyorker.com/series/fiction-podcast

Free Electronic Literature --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm
Free Online Textbooks, Videos, and Tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks
Free Tutorials in Various Disciplines --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#Tutorials
Edutainment and Learning Games --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Edutainment
Open Sharing Courses --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI




Now in Another Tidbits Document
Political Quotations on October 12, 2016
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/tidbits/2016/TidbitsQuotations101216.htm        

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the booked obligation of $19+ trillion) ---
http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2016/05/25/spring-2016-to-whom-does-the-us-government-owe-money-n2168161?utm_source=thdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl
The US Debt Clock in Real Time --- http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 
Remember the Jane Fonda Movie called "Rollover" --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)

To Whom Does the USA Federal Government Owe Money (the unbooked obligation of $100 trillion and unknown more in contracted entitlements) ---
http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/15/news/economy/entitlement-benefits/
The biggest worry of the entitlements obligations is enormous obligation for the future under the Medicare and Medicaid programs that are now deemed totally unsustainable ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

Entitlements are two-thirds of the federal budget. Entitlement spending has grown 100-fold over the past 50 years. Half of all American households now rely on government handouts. When we hear statistics like that, most of us shake our heads and mutter some sort of expletive. That’s because nobody thinks they’re the problem. Nobody ever wants to think they’re the problem. But that’s not the truth. The truth is, as long as we continue to think of the rising entitlement culture in America as someone else’s problem, someone else’s fault, we’ll never truly understand it and we’ll have absolutely zero chance...
Steve Tobak ---
http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2013/02/07/truth-behind-our-entitlement-culture/?intcmp=sem_outloud

"These Slides Show Why We Have Such A Huge Budget Deficit And Why Taxes Need To Go Up," by Rob Wile, Business Insider, April 27, 2013 ---
http://www.businessinsider.com/cbo-presentation-on-the-federal-budget-2013-4
This is a slide show based on a presentation by a Harvard Economics Professor.

Peter G. Peterson Website on Deficit/Debt Solutions ---
http://www.pgpf.org/

Bob Jensen's threads on entitlements --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Entitlements.htm

Bob Jensen's health care messaging updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Health.htm




How to Live Less Anxiously in Academe ---
http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Live-Less-Anxiously-in/237920?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=de3966054c8b4a3db4920f8c9c51546d&elq=63ef1de6e7dc4e72b99de8df6aca5123&elqaid=10906&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4147

Jensen Comment
To this I might add that great rewards come from becoming an academic specialist to a level where there are relatively few specialists in the world of academe. Literature professors leaned this long ago where we have professors who literally followed in the footsteps of a famous author or poet. For example, years ago Trinity University hired a highly-regarded professor in England named Norman Sherry who first built his own reputation on literally following in the footsteps of the famous author Joseph Conrad by traveling to places where Conrad lived and worked and even staying in the same hotels whenever possible. Later while at Trinity Norman did the same things at an even more intense level re-living much of the life of Graham Greene ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Sherry
To me Norman was always very friendly and interesting on and off campus, although there are many Norman Sherry stories floating around campus. He's a bit of a character to say the least.

In my own case, as luck would have it in the 1980s, an extremely complex accounting standard was being written on Accounting for Derivatives and Hedging Activities. It later emerged as SFAS 133. I knew that virtually nobody in academe knew much about this extremely complicated topic in terms of the new accounting rules. Hence, by the time SFAS 133 emerged I became one of the few academic experts teaching and consulting on this technical standard. I built my reputation on it ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/caseans/000index.htm
Because of this specialization I was invited to numerous universities, companies, and conferences to speak on the topic around the world ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Resume.htm#Presentations

Unlike the topics of Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene, the topic of hedge accounting does not make for exciting conversation at dinner parties. I helped further the reputation of accountants as being dull until I also learned a bit more about sports and weather --- topics about which Norman Sherry knows absolutely nothing.


Unimaginative Engineering Education:  The Ingenious Richard K. Miller
http://nautil.us/issue/40/learning/ingenious-richard-k-miller

Jensen Comment
One of the most challenging courses in the Trinity University Engineering Department is the Senior Design course. When reading the above article it I thought about how in most five-year accounting programs accounting students don't design anything in accountancy. They view the world of standards, rules, and tax laws as if these were set in concrete --- and they are set in concrete as far as the culminating national CPA examination is concerned.

Wouldn't it perhaps be better if in a five-year accountancy program accounting students had at least one accountancy design course?


Inside Higher Ed 2016:  Key Trends in Graduate and Professional Education: Attracting Students in Changing Times ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/10/05/new-compilation-graduate-education?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=56ea154f66-DNU20161005&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-56ea154f66-197565045&mc_cid=56ea154f66&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Inside Higher Ed 2016:  The State of Undergraduate Education ---
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/22/more-people-enroll-college-even-rising-price-tag-report-finds?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=00a3f1d133-DNU20160922&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-00a3f1d133-197565045&mc_cid=00a3f1d133&mc_eid=1e78f7c952

Jensen Comment
What the study fails to mention is the superiority of undergraduates today relative to decades past. Half of today's students earn A- or better grades whereas in the 1940s the median grade in the USA was closer to a C grade. College teachers today must all be doing a much better job in Lake Wobegon across the USA where nobody is average --- Bravo!
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/assess.htm#RateMyProfessor


Learn to Code with Harvard’s Popular Intro to Computer Science Course: The 2016 Edition  ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/learn-to-code-with-harvards-popular-intro-to-computer-science-course-the-2016-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29


The Math Dude --- http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/math-dude


I don't know how many other academic journals do this, but the Chronicle of Higher Education will publish "sponsored" articles that bypass the normal refereeing and commentary process ---
http://www.chronicle.com/page/Sponsor-Content/654/

Here's an example of such an article paid for by the University of Connecticut ---
http://www.chronicle.com/paid-article/Going-Going-Gone-A-Fish/4?cid=at&elqTrackId=2f1c3917b11b4508a6a05e2c6875427e&elq=1bc2b90621a94ebb90c300a37bda9c4a&elqaid=10969&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4186
It's not clear whether or not the author contributed all or some of the funds to the University of Connecticut for publication of the article.

Jensen Comment

Although such articles are not refereed in the usual sense I'm certain an editor passes judgment on the appropriateness of the sponsored article. For example, I seriously doubt whether a sponsored Chronicle article would be accepted that denies climate change. Some articles might also be deemed as too promotional although some promotion is deemed acceptable for sponsored articles.

What is more problematic is the role sponsored articles play in the hiring, promotion, tenure, and performance evaluation process. Of course this is an issue that may vary by institution. However, colleges and universities should probably start considering the role of such non-refereed articles in performance evaluations. For example, since the University of Connecticut paid for the above particle perhaps it was submitted ahead of time for some type of refereeing process by expert readers before it was submitted to the Chronicle by the University of Connecticut.

Although readers of the article can send comments to the University of Connecticut and/or the author of the paper, to my knowledge the Chronicle of Higher Education will not publish reader comments on the above article. The Chronicle does publish comments on most (but not all) of its mainline articles.

There's also an issue of liability and responsibility for legal issues in the article. I assume that the Chronicle and the authors are responsible for sponsored articles pretty much the same as their responsibility for traditional articles. What is not clear is how much responsibility also accrues to the sponsor paying for the article. For example, if there was a lawsuit concerning the above article would the University of Connecticut also become a party to that lawsuit? I suspect this is the case.

There also is a related question of responsibility for publishing serious corrections to the sponsored articles. Presumably the Chronicle will publish seriousl-needed corrections such as corrections for math errors, data errors, attribution errors, and other types of errors the Chronicle corrects for traditional articles.


Question
Do robots really eat novels to improve their ability to make conversation?

Answer
In a manner of speaking and some authors of those digested novels aren't particularly happy about entering the digestive tracks of artificial intelligence.

Google swallows 11,000 novels to improve AI's conversation ---
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/28/google-swallows-11000-novels-to-improve-ais-conversation?CMP=share_btn_tw


Robot Written Reviews (of serious academic journals) Fool Academics ---
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/robot-written-reviews-fool-academics

. . .

Using automatic text generation software, computer scientists at Italy’s University of Trieste created a series of fake peer reviews of genuine journal papers and asked academics of different levels of seniority to say whether they agreed with their recommendations to accept for publication or not.

In a quarter of cases, academics said they agreed with the fake review’s conclusions, even though they were entirely made up of computer-generated gobbledegook – or, rather, sentences picked at random from a selection of peer reviews taken from subjects as diverse as brain science, ecology and ornithology.

“Sentences like ‘it would be good if you can also talk about the importance of establishing some good shared benchmarks’ or ‘it would be useful to identify key assumptions in the modelling' are probably well suited to almost any review,” explained Eric Medvet, assistant professor at Trieste’s department of engineering and architecture, who conducted the experiment with colleagues at his university’s Machine Learning Lab.

“If, by chance, a generated review combines sentences which are not too specific, but credible, the review itself may appear as written by a real, human reviewer even to the eyes of an experienced reader,” added Dr Medvet, whose paper, "Your Paper has been Accepted, Rejected, or Whatever: Automatic Generation of Scientific Paper Reviews", was published in the journal Lecture Notes in Computer Science last month.

Mixing the fake reviews with real reviews was also likely to distort decisions made by academics by making weak papers appear far stronger thanks to a series of glowing reviews, the paper found.

The research team was able to influence the peer review process in one in four cases by throwing fake reviews into the mix, it said.

“This [may be] the situation [faced by a] real conference programme chair…who has to take decisions about all the submissions at his or her conference,” Dr Medvet told Times Higher Education.

“He or she could decide [who to accept] without actually reading all the reviews, or maybe by giving them just a shallow read,” he added.

While computer-generated reviewscannot possibly deceive any rigorous editorial procedure, [they] could nevertheless find a role in several questionable scenarios and magnify the scale of scholarly frauds”, the paper concludes.

With nearly 1,000 so-called "predatory publishers" seeking pay-to-publish journal papers, automatically generated reviews may make it easier for bogus papers to gain credibility, he added.

“It is quite easy to spot the fact that [these reviews] are not sound, but not if you do not read them,” said Dr Medvet.

Jensen Comment
I may have to get one of those to improve my three blogs. Maybe then I can finally retire.


New Handbook  for Educators Explains How to Produce & Distribute Free Video for the World ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/new-handbook-for-educators-explains-how-to-produce-distribute-free-video-for-the-world.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

Bob Jensen's threads on Tools and Tricks of the Trade ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm


More than 94M Americans (over the age of 15) out of workforce Statistics show that 94 million people in the US older than 15 don't have a job and aren't seeking one. The Labor Department projects that by 2020, the number will top 101 million.)
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/10/06/over-94-million-americans-are-outside-the-labor-force-and-thats-almost-certain-to-rise/
The 2016 labor force in the USA is 160 million ---
http://www.dlt.ri.gov/lmi/laus/us/usadj.htm

Jensen Comment
This ignores parents who are at home caring for a family full time. It also ignores many millions of hard workers in the $2 trillion cash-only underground economy who pay no income or payroll taxes.


How the owners of Fidelity get richer at everyday investors’ expense ---
http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-fidelity-family/


Quiz:  How Well Do You Know Microsoft PowerPoint?
http://www.cgma.org/magazine/features/pages/microsoft-powerpoint-quiz.aspx
Click on "Submit" for more questions


Toyota Unveils Robot Baby to Tug at Maternal Instinct in Aging Japan ---
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toyota-robot-baby-idUSKCN1230BR

Jensen Comment
I imagine a lot of young men can't wait for Toyota to advance the capabilities of their blow up bedroom "companions."


Easy ways to clean stainless steel sinks and appliances ---
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/house-home/housekeeping/6-easy-ways-to-clean-stainless-steel-appliances-and-sinks


Excel: Keyboarding for speed ---
http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2016/oct/excel-keyboard-commands.html?utm_source=mnl:cpald&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=10Oct2016


A Much Scarier Version of the Grandparent Scam:  "We have your child"

Previously I reported that wegot hit as grandparents by a phony call from a supposed grandchild allegedly arrested outside the USA. As luck would have it we did not fall for it, although this is a very convincing scam for grandparents who do not talk with a grandchild frequently on the telephone and are not quite fine tuned in to voice recognition like we are with our children ---
"Grandparent scam" explained: What you need to know ---
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/grandparent-scam-explained-by-former-scammer-what-you-need-to-know/
These days it's often more common for grandparents and some of their grandchildren to communicate via email rather than telephone. If you get an emergency request from a grandchild don't fall for it immediately unless you are 100% certain that the call is genuine. You can ask a grandchild a question that a scammer cannot answer such as what did we do together during our most recent visit. If you send money send it via something like a postal money order or certified check rather than give out a credit card number or checking account number.

This is a less common scarier version where fake kidnappers report that they have your child ---
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/we-have-your-daughter-a-virtual-kidnapping-and-a-mothers-five-hours-of-hell/2016/10/03/8f082690-8963-11e6-875e-2c1bfe943b66_story.html
This scam will probably get the FBI's attention.

Professors should make students aware of both of these types of scams. Students, in turn, should warn their parents and grandparents.


Indian police seek kingpins in tax scam aimed at Americans ---
https://www.yahoo.com/news/indian-police-seek-kingpins-tax-scam-aimed-americans-163430236--finance.html

Jensen Comment
Based upon voice accents, I suspect those computer repair scams also come out of India.


How do you get impeccable handwriting (and earn a college diploma) when you're blind and deaf?
Helen Keller’s Impeccable Handwriting: See a Collection of Her Childhood Letters ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/helen-kellers-impeccable-handwriting.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
Jensen Comment
Most of us with advanced degrees cannot yet write this well.


A 2016 Master List of 1,200 Free Courses From Top Universities: 40,000 Hours of Audio/Video Lectures  ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/a-master-list-of-1200-free-courses-from-top-universities.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

The 50 Most Popular MOOCs of All time ---
http://www.openculture.com/2016/05/learning-how-to-learn-enroll-in-the-latest-edition-of-the-most-popular-mooc.html

MOOCs and edX: World Religions Through Their Scriptures --- https://www.edx.org/xseries/world-religions-through-scriptures

By definition there are no admission standards to take a MOOC and admission is free, although fees may be charged for recognition (badges, completion credentials, or college credits) that have added academic standards. In general, MOOCs are video windows into advanced courses filmed live across the curriculum at prestigious universities. Although some universities provide MOOCs for introductory courses (undergraduate or graduate) MOOCs are not well suited to introductory students who need more hand holding and personalized supervision that are seldom, if ever, available in a MOOC taken by a "massive" number of students. At the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania introductory courses in the first-year MBA core can be taken for free as MOOCs. Students who are planning to go into MBA programs around the world often take these MOOCs in preparation when they will later be taking similar courses in accounting, finance, management, marketing, etc. for credit.

Whereas the Wharton Business School offers core MBA courses as MOOCs, other programs have distance education courses that are not MOOCs because of fees and admission standards. For example, the Harvard Business School has an extension program for pre-MBA courses that are relatively expensive and capped regarding course size with competitive admission standards. Bob Jensen's threads on these and other free-based distance education courses are at
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Crossborder.htm

The cumulative number of MOOCs didn’t break 100 until the end of 2012. But by the end of 2013 that number had grown to over 800. And today the number of registered MOOC students added in 2015 is nearly equal to the last three years combined.
"MOOCs Are Still Rising, at Least in Numbers," by Ellen Wexler, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 19, 2015 ---
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/moocs-are-still-rising-at-least-in-numbers/57527?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en&elq=7bf78ed93ead47d3a4da220c40587cbd&elqCampaignId=1647&elqaid=6629&elqat=1&elqTrackId=f325471009eb4e959e66d27de2031216

Bob Jensen's threads on free courses from top universities (transcript credits are not free and entail taking competency tests from credit providers) ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


The Industry (for-profit education and training) That Was Crushed By The Obama Administration ---
https://www.buzzfeed.com/mollyhensleyclancy/the-industry-that-was-crushed-by-the-obama-administration?utm_term=.xh23WyRlep#.pb909levyp
Jensen Comment
I side with the Department of Education (call it Obama if you want) on this issue. The problem with most for-profit education providers is that they could not compete for tuition payers when traditional universities commenced to offer online degrees. When students use their own money they prefer the prestige of a degree from some university like Indiana University that earned all of its accredited degree programs relative to a less-prestigious for-profit university that that rarely has specialized accreditations like an AACSB accreditation of its undergraduate and graduate business degree programs. What happened is that for-profit universities became almost totally dependent upon the Federal government for revenue such as the tuition of returning veterans who, with shaky prior academic credentials, are nervous about competing with students at Indiana University and other prestigious traditional universities now offering online degrees. To make matters worse for-profit universities commenced questionable marketing promotions such as when the University of Phoenix sends rock bands to military bases to drum up interest in using VA education benefits at the University of Phoenix. When faced with falling profits some for-profit universities commenced to drastically cut costs. Some like ITT became increasingly fraudulent in providing lower and lower quality of training and education. The Department of Education has to make a decision as to whether it would continue to foot the bill for frauds. Not all the remaining for-profit schools are fraudulent. But they somehow have to find a way to compete in a world of more prestigious non-profit programs, especially the online programs. Here are some of the top non-profit online degree programs ---
http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Crossborder.htm#Education

  • US News:  2015 Best Online Bachelor's Programs ---
    http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/bachelors/rankings?int=a2bb09&int=a56509
    1. Penn State University World Campus
    2. Daytona State College
    3. University of Illinois Chicago
    4. Western Kentucky University
    5. Embry-​Riddle Aeronautical University—​Worldwide
    6. Oregon State University
    7. Colorado State University Global Campus
    8. Arizona State University
    9. Ohio State University --- Columbus
    10. Pace University
    11. Others --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/bachelors/rankings?int=a2bb09&int=a56509

    US News:  2015 Best Online Graduate Education Programs ---
    http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/education/rankings

        1. University of Houston
        2 .Florida State University
        3. Northern Illinois University
        4. Penn State University World Campus
        5. Central Michigan University
            Graceland University
            University of Nebraska --- Lincoln

        8. Auburn University
            Ball State University
            George Washington University

      11. Creighton Unversity
            Emporia State University
            Michigan State University
            Others --- http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/education/rankings

     US News:  2015 Best Online MBA Programs
    http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/mba

        1.  Indiana University (Kelly)
            Temple (Fox)
            University of North Carolina --- Chapel Hill

        4.  Arizona State University (Carey)
             University of Florida (Hough)

        6 . University of Texas --- Dallas

        7.  Carnegie-Mellon University (Tepper)
             Penn State University World Campus

        9.  North Carolina State University (Jenkins)

        10. Auburn University

    US News:  2015 Online Higher Education Search Engine ---
    http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education


  •  ---
    http://www.wsj.com/graphics/college-rankings-2016/

    US News Higher Education Rankings ---
    http://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/press-room/articles/2016-09-13/us-news-releases-2017-best-colleges-rankings

    Bob Jensen's threads on other rankings and rankings controversies ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies2.htm#BusinessSchoolRankings


    Visual Cinnamon (data visualization) --- http://www.visualcinnamon.com

    Visualization of Multivariate Data (including faces) --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/352wpvisual/000datavisualization.htm 


    Consumers Are Getting Plucked:  Why America Pays 50% More for Chicken  ---
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-28/is-there-a-vast-conspiracy-to-overcharge-you-for-chicken?cmpid=BBD092816_BIZ


    Larry Summers: Four things the Fed should do now to help the economy ---
    http://larrysummers.com/2016/09/30/four-modifications-to-feds-current-posture/


    Harvard's Oliver Hart and MIT's Bengt Holmström just won the 2016 Nobel Prize in economics ---
    http://www.businessinsider.com/nobel-prize-in-economics-winner-2016-10


    Still, there’s little to celebrate from Bankrate’s survey of banks. To make sure you’re not hit with egregious ATM fees, here are three simple ways to avoid them
    ---
    http://time.com/money/3433402/how-to-avoid-atm-fees/

    Bob Jensen's personal finance helpers ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob1.htm#InvestmentHelpers


    Here's how the Internet of Things will explode by 2020 ---
    http://www.businessinsider.com/iot-ecosystem-internet-of-things-forecasts-and-business-opportunities-2016-2




    From the Scout Report on September 30, 2016

    Open eBooks --- http://openebooks.net 

    Open eBooks, a project headed by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and First Book with support from a variety of publishers and foundations, strives to make a variety of books freely available to children and families who need them. Any educator or librarian who works in a Title I eligible school or in a program or library that "serves at least 70 percent of children from in-need families" can sign up for an Open eBooks account. These educators and librarians can then provide an access code to youth in their program, allowing youth and their family to access up to 10 books at a time on any device free of charge. Youth can then "return" a book to check out a new one at any time.


    Peek A Tab --- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/peek-a-tab/nnpdamdaknpnohmlbnmgphiodghbohop?hl=en 

    Anyone who browses the internet with multiple tabs open knows that doing so can both help and hinder productivity: while multiple tabs allow users to quickly switch between websites and documents, it can also clutter one's browser so that it is difficult to remember what tabs are open. Peek A Tab, a free extension for Google Chrome, may be the answer. Users can install it with just one click. Once installed, visitors can select a small Peek A Tab icon, which will appear on the upper right corner of their browser, to see an easily readable, vertical list of all currently opened tabs. Users can then quickly visit - or close - tabs using this list.


    SpaceX Founder Elon Musk Announces Bold Plan to Colonize Mars
    SpaceX founder Elon Musk plans to get Humans to Mars
    in six years
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony

    Elon Musk's Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-mars-exploration.html?_r=0

    YouTube: Elon Musk unveils Mars colonization plan
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10gECHeMSds

    SpaceX's Elon Musk Unveils Interplanetary Spaceship to Colonize Mars
    http://www.space.com/34210-elon-musk-unveils-spacex-mars-colony-ship.html

    StarTalk Radio: The Future of Humanity with Elon Musk
    http://www.startalkradio.net/show/the-future-of-humanity-with-elon-musk

    NASA: Mars Log
    http://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/log


    From the Scout Report on October 7, 2016

    XMind --- http://www.xmind.net 

    Visual learners looking for a free study or note taking tool may want to check out XMind. This "mind-mapping" program, designed for Mac or Windows computers, allows users to create and save a variety of organizational maps, diagrams, charts, and spreadsheets. Users can create their own maps or select from a variety of templates, including timelines, fishbone charts, and flowcharts. Users can then save their maps to other note-taking tools like Evernote, or share them on social media via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. (Users may also purchase a version of XMind that allows them to export mindmaps to a variety of formats, including PDF or Microsoft Office). As of now, XMind is available only on computers; a mobile version is in the works.


    Block & Flow --- http://www.blockandflowapp.com 

    Block & Flow is a free productivity iOS application and Google Chrome extension that uses the pomodoro technique (short work intervals followed by brief, regular breaks) and provides users with self-generated data about how they spend their time. Users create a number of categories to describe work activities (e.g. writing, email, studying, etc), then assign each of these tasks a color. Next, users select from their self-designed categories as they start to work. A timer, in the shape of block, appears on the screen for 25 minutes. Once this time is over, users are prompted to take a 5 minute break. Block and Flow is unique from other pomodoro devices in that users can then view the amount of time - or total blocks - they spend each week on each of their self-created categories. This allows users to regularly assess and adjust their work habits and productivity.


    October is for Book Lovers: National Book Foundation Announces Book
    Award Finalists; Nobel Prize for Literature and Man Booker Prize to be
    Announced in Coming Weeks
    These are the 2016 National Book Awards Finalists
    http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/06/496760469/these-are-the-2016-national-book-award-finalists

    The 2016 National Book Awards Finalists
    http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-2016-national-book-awards-finalists?mbid=social_twitter

    Readers' Guide to This Fall's Big Book Awards
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/books/readers-guide-to-this-falls-big-book-awards.html

    Meet the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35
    http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-5-under-35-20160908-snap-story.html

    Robert Caro, The Art of Biography No. 5
    http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6442/the-art-of-biography-no-5-robert-caro

    National Book Foundation
    http://www.nationalbook.or g

     




    Free Online Tutorials, Videos, Course Materials, and Learning Centers


    Education Tutorials

    Learn to Code with Harvard’s Popular Intro to Computer Science Course: The 2016 Edition  ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/learn-to-code-with-harvards-popular-intro-to-computer-science-course-the-2016-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    New Handbook  for Educators Explains How to Produce & Distribute Free Video for the World ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/new-handbook-for-educators-explains-how-to-produce-distribute-free-video-for-the-world.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    NSTA: Classroom Resources K-12 science) --- http://ngss.nsta.org/Classroom-Resources.aspx

    Global Math Department --- http://globalmathdepartment.org

    The Elizabeth Murray Project (history resources for teachers) --- http://web.csulb.edu/projects/elizabethmurray/EM

    Smithsonian Learning Lab --- https://learninglab.si.edu

    open.NASA https://open.nasa.gov

    Philosophy of Sport --- http://philosophyandsports.blogspot.com 

    Bob Jensen's threads on general education tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm#EducationResearch

    Bob Jensen's bookmarks for multiple disciplines --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob2.htm

    Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI

     


    Engineering, Science, and Medicine Tutorials

    Visual Cinnamon (data visualization) --- http://www.visualcinnamon.com
    Visualization of Multivariate Data (including faces) --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/352wpvisual/000datavisualization.htm 

    open.NASA https://open.nasa.gov

    Medieval Islamic Views of the Cosmos: The Book of Curiosities --- http://cosmos.bodley.ox.ac.uk

    Periodic Table Battleship!: A Fun Way To Learn the Elements ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/periodic-table-battleship-a-fun-way-to-learn-the-elements.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    Cosmos Magazine: The science of everything --- https://cosmosmagazine.com

    Gazzaley Lab: Select Lectures (neuroscience) --- http://gazzaleylab.ucsf.edu/select-lectures

    BioMedical Picture of the Day --- http://www.bpod.mrc.ac.uk

    Contagions: Thoughts on Historic Infectious Diseases --- https://contagions.wordpress.com

    Gardenvisit.com --- http://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens

    Old Weather --- https://www.oldweather.org

    From the Scout Report on September 30, 2016

    SpaceX Founder Elon Musk Announces Bold Plan to Colonize Mars
    SpaceX founder Elon Musk plans to get Humans to Mars
    in six years
    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/27/elon-musk-spacex-mars-colony

    Elon Musk's Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond
    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-mars-exploration.html?_r=0

    YouTube: Elon Musk unveils Mars colonization plan
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10gECHeMSds

    SpaceX's Elon Musk Unveils Interplanetary Spaceship to Colonize Mars
    http://www.space.com/34210-elon-musk-unveils-spacex-mars-colony-ship.html

    StarTalk Radio: The Future of Humanity with Elon Musk
    http://www.startalkradio.net/show/the-future-of-humanity-with-elon-musk

    NASA: Mars Log
    http://mars.nasa.gov/programmissions/missions/log

    Bob Jensen's threads on free online science, engineering, and medicine tutorials are at --http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

    Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


    Social Science and Economics Tutorials

    The Nature of Cities --- http://www.thenatureofcities.com

    Gardenvisit.com --- http://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens

    Pew Research Center: Libraries 2016 --- http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/09/09/libraries-2016

    Philosophy of Sport --- http://philosophyandsports.blogspot.com

    Contagions: Thoughts on Historic Infectious Diseases --- https://contagions.wordpress.com

    Bob Jensen's threads on Economics, Anthropology, Social Sciences, and Philosophy tutorials are at
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

    Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


    Law and Legal Studies

    Bob Jensen's threads on law and legal studies are at
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm


    Math Tutorials

    Global Math Department --- http://globalmathdepartment.org

    The Math Dude --- http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/math-dude

    Bob Jensen's threads on free online mathematics tutorials are at
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

    Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


    History Tutorials

    The Elizabeth Murray Project (history resources for teachers) --- http://web.csulb.edu/projects/elizabethmurray/EM

    Smithsonian Learning Lab --- https://learninglab.si.edu

    Interesting Literature --- https://interestingliterature.com 

    MOOCs and edX: World Religions Through Their Scriptures --- https://www.edx.org/xseries/world-religions-through-scriptures

    Hear the First Recording of Computer Music: Researchers Restore Three Melodies Programmed on Alan Turing’s Computer (1951) ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/hear-the-first-recording-of-computer-music.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    Crocker Art Museum: Collections --- https://www.crockerartmuseum.org/collections

    Medieval Hungary --- http://jekely.blogspot.co.uk

    #Opera Before Instagram: Portraits, 1890-1955 --- http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/opera-portraits-1890-to-1955

    Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians --- https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians

    Religion and Gender --- https://www.religionandgender.org

    Medieval Islamic Views of the Cosmos: The Book of Curiosities --- http://cosmos.bodley.ox.ac.uk

    Philosophy of Sport --- http://philosophyandsports.blogspot.com

    I Am The Edison Phonograph (1906) ---
    http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/i-am-the-edison-phonograph-1906/

    British Art Studies --- http://www.britishartstudies.ac.uk

    History of Hunting Dogs --- http://calsportsmanmag.com/history-of-hunting-dogs/

    Old Weather --- https://www.oldweather.org

    Minnesota Historical Society: The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 --- http://www.usdakotawar.org

    Artisans and Craft Production in Nineteenth-Century Scotland --- http://www.artisansinscotland.shca.ed.ac.uk

    8+ Hours of Classic Charles Dickens Stories Dramatized, Starring Orson Welles, Boris Karloff, Richard Burton & More ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/09/8-hours-of-classic-charles-dickens-stories-dramatized.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    Gardenvisit.com --- http://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens

    UR Football Comes Home (football history at the University of Richmond) --- http://football.urlibraries.org

    Selected Shorts (performing arts short stories) --- http://www.selectedshorts.org/listen

    What Life Was Like for Teenagers in Ancient Rome: Get a Glimpse from a TED-ED Animation ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/what-life-was-like-for-teenagers-in-ancient-rome-get-a-glimpse-from-a-ted-ed-animation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    A Photographic History of Oregon State University --- http://photohistory.oregonstate.edu/works/photo-history

    The New Yorker Fiction Podcast --- http://www.newyorker.com/series/fiction-podcast

    The First World War saw the first major use of chemical warfare in battle.--- http://daily.jstor.org/deterrence/

    Bob Jensen's threads on history tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm
    Also see http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm  

    Bob Jensen's links to free courses and tutorials --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/updateee.htm#OKI


    Language Tutorials

    Langscape (history of languages) --- http://langscape.umd.edu

    Bob Jensen's links to language tutorials are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Languages


    Music Tutorials

    Pete Seeger Teaches You How to Play Guitar for Free in The Folksinger’s Guitar Guide (1955) ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/pete-seeger-teaches-you-how-to-play-guitar-for-free-in-the-the-folksingers-guitar-guide-1955.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29

    Bob Jensen's threads on free music tutorials are at
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2.htm

    Bob Jensen's threads on music performances ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm


    Writing Tutorials

    Stop Trying to Sound Smart When You’re Writing
    Eliminate fancy-pants words
    https://hbr.org/2016/10/stop-trying-to-sound-smart-when-youre-writing?referral=00202&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-weekly_hotlist-_-hotlist_date&utm_source=newsletter_weekly_hotlist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hotlist_date

    Rilke on Writing and What It Takes to Be an Artist ---
    https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/10/04/rilke-letters-to-a-young-poet-writing/?mc_cid=533d31dcb0&mc_eid=4d2bd13843

    Bob Jensen's helpers for writers are at http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Bookbob3.htm#Dictionaries



    Bob Jensen's threads on medicine ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookbob2-Part2.htm#Medicine

    CDC Blogs --- http://blogs.cdc.gov/

    Updates from WebMD --- http://www.webmd.com/

    September 28, 2016

    September 29, 2016

    September 30, 2016

    October 1, 2016

    October 3, 2016

    October 4, 2016

    October 5, 2016

    October 6, 2016

    October 7, 2016

    October 8, 2016

    October 10, 2016

    October 11, 2016


    Orange Juice is the Biggest Con of Your Life ---
    http://www.businessinsider.com/orange-juice-not-healthy-2016-10

    Jensen Comment
    This does not extrapolate to all juices from fruits and vegetables, although many of those are probably very high in calories.


    Sweden:  Woman's Womb Does Double Duty, First For Daughter, Then Grandson ---
    http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/woman-s-womb-does-double-duty-first-daughter-then-grandson-n661746


    Government Health Plans Spent Over $1 Billion on EpiPens Over Five Years ---
    http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/government-health-plans-spent-over-1-billion-epipens-over-five-n660741

    Jensen Comment
    The $465 fine sounds like a good deal as a fine for pricing fraud. I would've like to see some jail time. Sigh!


    CDC Sounds Alarm on Travel to Asia as Zika Spreads There ---
    http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/cdc-sounds-alarm-travel-asia-zika-spreads-there-n657416

     




    Humor for June 2015

    At the vice presidential debate last night, the Republican nominee, Mike Pence, made sure to thank the hosts at Norwood University. One problem: The institution is named Longwood University.
    Jensen Comment
    Wasn't it Robert Kennedy who, from the back of a train during whistle stop campaign train, said good morning to the wrong Iowa town?
    When he woke up Marilyn Monroe forgot to tell him where they were

    The 8 Greatest Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Impressions of All Time ---
    http://time.com/4451557/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-impressions/?xid=newsletter-brief

    Alec Baldwin's SNL Donald Trump Spoof ---
    http://www.openculture.com/2016/10/alec-baldwin-does-a-perfect-donald-trump-watch-snls-spoof-of-the-trump-clinton-debate.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29




    Humor September 2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor0916.htm

    Humor August  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor083116.htm

    Humor July  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q3.htm#Humor0716.htm  

    Humor June  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor063016.htm

    Humor May  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor053116.htm

    Humor April  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q2.htm#Humor043016.htm

    Humor March  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor033116.htm

    Humor February  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor022916.htm

    Humor January  2016 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book16q1.htm#Humor013116.htm

    Humor December 1-31,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q4.htm#Humor123115.htm.htm

    Humor November 1-30,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q4.htm#Humor113015.htm

    Humor October 1-31,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q4.htm#Humor103115

    Humor September 1-30,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q3.htm#Humor093015

    Humor August 1-31,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q3.htm#Humor081115

    Humor July 1-31,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q3.htm#Humor073115

    Humor June 1-30,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q2.htm#Humor043015

    Humor May 1-31,  2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q2.htm#Humor043015

    Humor April 1-30, 2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q2.htm#Humor043015

    Humor March 1-31, 2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q1.htm#Humor033115

    Humor February 1-28, 2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q1.htm#Humor022815

    Humor January 1-31, 2015 --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/book15q1.htm#Humor013115




    Tidbits Archives --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

    More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

    Update in 2014
    20-Year Sugar Hill Master Plan --- http://www.nccouncil.org/images/NCC/file/wrkgdraftfeb142014.pdf

    Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
    For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/

    Online Distance Education Training and Education --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Crossborder.htm
    For-Profit Universities Operating in the Gray Zone of Fraud  (College, Inc.) --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#ForProfitFraud

    Shielding Against Validity Challenges in Plato's Cave ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TheoryTAR.htm

    The Cult of Statistical Significance: How Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives ---
    http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/DeirdreMcCloskey/StatisticalSignificance01.htm

    How Accountics Scientists Should Change: 
    "Frankly, Scarlett, after I get a hit for my resume in The Accounting Review I just don't give a damn"
    http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm
    One more mission in what's left of my life will be to try to change this
    http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/temp/AccounticsDamn.htm 

    What went wrong in accounting/accountics research?  ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#WhatWentWrong

    The Sad State of Accountancy Doctoral Programs That Do Not Appeal to Most Accountants ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#DoctoralPrograms

    AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE ACCOUNTING REVIEW: 1926-2005 ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/395wpTAR/Web/TAR395wp.htm#_msocom_1

    Bob Jensen's threads on accounting theory ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm

    Tom Lehrer on Mathematical Models and Statistics ---
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfZWyUXn3So

    Systemic problems of accountancy (especially the vegetable nutrition paradox) that probably will never be solved ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudConclusion.htm#BadNews

     

    World Clock --- http://www.peterussell.com/Odds/WorldClock.php
    Facts about the earth in real time --- http://www.worldometers.info/

    Interesting Online Clock and Calendar --- http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf
    Time by Time Zones --- http://timeticker.com/
    Projected Population Growth (it's out of control) --- http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/worldpopulation.htm
             Also see http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Populations.html
            
    Facts about population growth (video) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U
    Projected U.S. Population Growth --- http://www.carryingcapacity.org/projections75.html
    Real time meter of the U.S. cost of the war in Iraq --- http://www.costofwar.com/ 
    Enter you zip code to get Census Bureau comparisons --- http://zipskinny.com/
    Sure wish there'd be a little good news today.

    Free (updated) Basic Accounting Textbook --- search for Hoyle at
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#Textbooks

    CPA Examination --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cpa_examination
    Free CPA Examination Review Course Courtesy of Joe Hoyle --- http://cpareviewforfree.com/

    Rick Lillie's education, learning, and technology blog is at http://iaed.wordpress.com/

    Accounting News, Blogs, Listservs, and Social Networking ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

    Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm 
    Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
    Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
    Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

    Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
    In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
    I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

    Some of Bob Jensen's Tutorials

    Accounting program news items for colleges are posted at http://www.accountingweb.com/news/college_news.html
    Sometimes the news items provide links to teaching resources for accounting educators.
    Any college may post a news item.

    Accounting  and Taxation News Sites ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/AccountingNews.htm

     

    For an elaboration on the reasons you should join a ListServ (usually for free) go to   http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/ListServRoles.htm
    AECM (Educators) http://listserv.aaahq.org/cgi-bin/wa.exe?HOME
    AECM is an email Listserv list which provides a forum for discussions of all hardware and software which can be useful in any way for accounting education at the college/university level. Hardware includes all platforms and peripherals. Software includes spreadsheets, practice sets, multimedia authoring and presentation packages, data base programs, tax packages, World Wide Web applications, etc.

    Over the years the AECM has become the worldwide forum for accounting educators on all issues of accountancy and accounting education, including debates on accounting standards, managerial accounting, careers, fraud, forensic accounting, auditing, doctoral programs, and critical debates on academic (accountics) research, publication, replication, and validity testing.

     

    CPAS-L (Practitioners) http://pacioli.loyola.edu/cpas-l/  (Closed Down)
    CPAS-L provides a forum for discussions of all aspects of the practice of accounting. It provides an unmoderated environment where issues, questions, comments, ideas, etc. related to accounting can be freely discussed. Members are welcome to take an active role by posting to CPAS-L or an inactive role by just monitoring the list. You qualify for a free subscription if you are either a CPA or a professional accountant in public accounting, private industry, government or education. Others will be denied access.
    Yahoo (Practitioners)  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/xyztalk
    This forum is for CPAs to discuss the activities of the AICPA. This can be anything  from the CPA2BIZ portal to the XYZ initiative or anything else that relates to the AICPA.
    AccountantsWorld  http://accountantsworld.com/forums/default.asp?scope=1 
    This site hosts various discussion groups on such topics as accounting software, consulting, financial planning, fixed assets, payroll, human resources, profit on the Internet, and taxation.
    Business Valuation Group BusValGroup-subscribe@topica.com 
    This discussion group is headed by Randy Schostag [RSchostag@BUSVALGROUP.COM
    FEI's Financial Reporting Blog
    Smart Stops on the Web, Journal of Accountancy, March 2008 --- http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/mar2008/smart_stops.htm
    FINANCIAL REPORTING PORTAL
    www.financialexecutives.org/blog

    Find news highlights from the SEC, FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board on this financial reporting blog from Financial Executives International. The site, updated daily, compiles regulatory news, rulings and statements, comment letters on standards, and hot topics from the Web’s largest business and accounting publications and organizations. Look for continuing coverage of SOX requirements, fair value reporting and the Alternative Minimum Tax, plus emerging issues such as the subprime mortgage crisis, international convergence, and rules for tax return preparers.
    The CAlCPA Tax Listserv

    September 4, 2008 message from Scott Bonacker [lister@bonackers.com]
    Scott has been a long-time contributor to the AECM listserv (he's a techie as well as a practicing CPA)

    I found another listserve that is exceptional -

    CalCPA maintains http://groups.yahoo.com/taxtalk/  and they let almost anyone join it.
    Jim Counts, CPA is moderator.

    There are several highly capable people that make frequent answers to tax questions posted there, and the answers are often in depth.

    Scott

    Scott forwarded the following message from Jim Counts

    Yes you may mention info on your listserve about TaxTalk. As part of what you say please say [... any CPA or attorney or a member of the Calif Society of CPAs may join. It is possible to join without having a free Yahoo account but then they will not have access to the files and other items posted.

    Once signed in on their Yahoo account go to http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaxTalk/ and I believe in top right corner is Join Group. Click on it and answer the few questions and in the comment box say you are a CPA or attorney, whichever you are and I will get the request to join.

    Be aware that we run on the average 30 or move emails per day. I encourage people to set up a folder for just the emails from this listserve and then via a rule or filter send them to that folder instead of having them be in your inbox. Thus you can read them when you want and it will not fill up the inbox when you are looking for client emails etc.

    We currently have about 830 CPAs and attorneys nationwide but mainly in California.... ]

    Please encourage your members to join our listserve.

    If any questions let me know.

    Jim Counts CPA.CITP CTFA
    Hemet, CA
    Moderator TaxTalk

     

     

     

     

    Many useful accounting sites (scroll down) --- http://www.iasplus.com/links/links.htm

     

    Bob Jensen's Sort-of Blogs --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/JensenBlogs.htm
    Current and past editions of my newsletter called New Bookmarks --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm
    Current and past editions of my newsletter called Tidbits --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
    Current and past editions of my newsletter called Fraud Updates --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudUpdates.htm

    Some Accounting History Sites

    Bob Jensen's Accounting History in a Nutshell and Links --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/theory01.htm#AccountingHistory
     

    Accounting History Libraries at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) --- http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/accountancy/libraries.html
    The above libraries include international accounting history.
    The above libraries include film and video historical collections.

    MAAW Knowledge Portal for Management and Accounting --- http://maaw.info/

    Academy of Accounting Historians and the Accounting Historians Journal ---
    http://www.accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/aah/

    Sage Accounting History --- http://ach.sagepub.com/cgi/pdf_extract/11/3/269

    A nice timeline on the development of U.S. standards and the evolution of thinking about the income statement versus the balance sheet is provided at:
    "The Evolution of U.S. GAAP: The Political Forces Behind Professional Standards (1930-1973)," by Stephen A. Zeff, CPA Journal, January 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/105/infocus/p18.htm
    Part II covering years 1974-2003 published in February 2005 --- http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/205/index.htm 

    A nice timeline of accounting history --- http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2187711/A-HISTORY-OF-ACCOUNTING

    From Texas A&M University
    Accounting History Outline --- http://acct.tamu.edu/giroux/history.html

    Bob Jensen's timeline of derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudRotten.htm#DerivativesFrauds

    History of Fraud in America --- http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/415wp/AmericanHistoryOfFraud.htm
    Also see http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Fraud.htm

    Bob Jensen's Threads ---
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

    More of Bob Jensen's Pictures and Stories
    http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen/Pictures.htm

    All my online pictures --- http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/PictureHistory/

     

    Professor Robert E. Jensen (Bob) http://faculty.trinity.edu/rjensen
    190 Sunset Hill Road
    Sugar Hill, NH 03586
    Phone:  603-823-8482 
    Email:  rjensen@trinity.edu