The Abbottabad raid
The Associated Press reports on the highly secretive Osama bin Laden operation:
The Black Hawks were to drop the SEALs and depart in less than two minutes, in hopes locals would assume they were Pakistani aircraft visiting the nearby military academy.
One Black Hawk was to hover above the compound, with SEALs sliding down ropes into the open courtyard.
The second was to hover above the roof to drop SEALs there, then land more SEALs outside — plus an interpreter and the dog, who would track anyone who tried to escape and to alert SEALs to any approaching Pakistani security forces.
If troops appeared, the plan was to hunker down in the compound, avoiding armed confrontation with the Pakistanis while officials in Washington negotiated their passage out.
The two SEAL teams inside would work toward each other, in a simultaneous attack from above and below, their weapons silenced, guaranteeing surprise, one of the officials said. They would have stormed the building in a matter of minutes, as they’d done time and again in two training models of the compound.
Due to the exceptionally secretive nature of the mission, detailed accounts of the raid weren’t fully revealed until recently. I suspect there are still more details forthcoming, but this is already an intriguing tale.
Inside Apple
Fascinating feature by Adam Lashinsky for Fortune magazine on Apple’s high-profile MobileMe botched rollout:
The initial rollout, however, was affected by slow loading times and servers constantly down, which lead to speculation as to whether MobileMe was really ready for public release, with many questioning the premium fee Apple was asking for one-year usage of the service. In Fortune’s story, Lashinsky says Steve Jobs summoned the entire MobileMe team for a meeting at the company’s on-campus Town Hall, accusing everyone of “tarnishing Apple’s reputation.” He told the members of the team they “should hate each other for having let each other down”, and went on to name new executives on the spot to run the MobileMe team.
Steve Jobs was allegedly furious:
According to a participant in the meeting, Jobs walked in, clad in his trademark black mock turtleneck and blue jeans, clasped his hands together and asked a simple question: “Can anyone tell me what MobileMe is supposed to do?” Having received a satisfactory answer, he continues, “So why the fuck doesn’t it do that?”
George W. Bush’s 2003 “Mission Accomplished” speech
In light of tonight’s news, it’s interesting to note today also happens to be the eighth anniversary of former president Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(Source: reddit.com)
Apple COO Tim Cook – FQ1 2009 Earnings Call
We believe that we’re on the face of the Earth to make great products, and that’s not changing.
We’re constantly focusing on innovating.
We believe in the simple, not the complex.
We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.
We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.
We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.
And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change.
And I think, regardless of who is in what job, those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well.
(via asymco)
Gate Rape
noun – The TSA airport screening procedure.
My sister got gate raped at LAX.
See also: freedom fondle
Staying Busy Translates to Being Happy
An interesting new study suggests people who are extremely active are happier than people who sit idle.
The finding may explain why people confess to being so incredibly busy in today’s society.
(via emilyposts » psychotherapy)
This fall, First and Second Avenues will be redesigned to accommodate Manhattan’s first Select Bus Service. The new M15 SBS will introduce some features that have radically improved bus systems abroad—and avoid others that planners have deemed too controversial.
This is so awesome. But I gotta wonder if the ticket honor system would work in a city as greedy and immoral as NYC.
(via smarterplanet)
