calorie bijou: November 2012

Friday, November 30, 2012

News: The U.S. is Blocking Energy Wealth and Jobs | Pitts Report

The Governing Class and the Decline of America
Steve McCann
The United States finds itself in a circumstance once thought unthinkable. An ill-educated and near morally bankrupt society increasingly made up of those dependent on government combined with a governing class whose primary interest is themselves. More

The U.S. is Blocking Energy Wealth and Jobs

You know you?re in trouble when ?

You know you?re in trouble as a nation when the Communist Party USA is openly celebrating the re-election of the president. And that is exactly what is happening in late November 2012. The Stalinists are calling Barack Obama?s win a ?victory for the people.? As a former communist (note small c), I can translate that for you. It means a ?victory for communism ? or, more precisely, a victory for the party.? Just listen to some of the hyperbolic and ecstatic rhetoric: ?We meet on the heels of an enormous people?s victory. It was a long and bitterly contested battle?

Is a Good, Old-Fashioned Purge in Order for the GOP? (Fiscal Cliff,?Obama?s road to Communism)

On November 19, Pravda?s Xavier Lerma wrote an article asserting that President (I use the term loosely) Barack Obama had been re-elected ?by an illiterate society.? Some conservatives have been wont to dismiss and ridicule some of the dead-on assessments of the former Soviet newspaper since it was once in fact a Soviet newspaper. Some of this dismissal and ridicule did occur relative to Lerma?s piece; I think however, that such observations made by those who have been there and done that ought to be considered, if not heeded. Lerma writes ?He [Obama] is a Communist without question promoting the?

Target: Old White Men
Selwyn Duke
Who forged the West? Who birthed democracy? Who improved upon it, giving us our Constitution and modern republican government? There is a reason why most of the busts and pictures of legendary figures portray old white men. More

Michigan Governor Won't Rule Out Dissolving City Of Detroit... Oakland Crime Rate Soars As City Loses Officers; 33 Burglaries A Day... Post Office Chief Lays Out Plan for Survival; Eliminate Mail Delivery On Saturday...

Give Obama what he wants: Implosion is exactly what America needs in order to find its fiscal way

The best thing the Republicans could do right now is to give Obama everything that he wants. Those of us who think, rather than feel, understand that Obama?s course will end up with the United States going bankrupt, because there isn?t enough money on the planet, much less the US, to pay for all the goodies the Democrats want to bestow on their favored constituents. Just to give you an example of how hopeless the situation is, the combined net worth of the Forbes list of America?s 400 wealthiest people is just over $1.7 trillion. So if you confiscate 100%?
Five theories about Obama?s meeting with Romney

? Obama is having Mitt Romney over for lunch on Thursday and their meeting is already generating a lot of buzz. Here are five theories about the White House?s motives?. 1. Obama is extending a common courtesy? 2. Obama will offer Romney a Cabinet job? 3. Obama will enlist Romney in the fiscal cliff debate? 4. Obama wants Romney?s advice on business issues? 5. Obama wants closure on the 2012 presidential election, or something else??.

Why Ingraham is Right and Perry is Wrong on Illegal Immigration and the Vote
Jack Eldon Jackson
To properly articulate the conservative message on illegal immigration (and it is a good, quintessentially American one), we?ll have to return to first principles. More

Losing the Latino Vote
Gil Dominguez
A large and widely undereducated voting bloc that will keep Democrats in power for the foreseeable future. And the country will be the worse off because of it. More

LEADERSHIP: #My2K

CUT WHAT?

Dems dig in over reform...

Libs have series of demands...

MONEY ON THE MOVE AHEAD OF '13 TAX CONFUSION...

Reuters Thinks Going From 100% to 35% Tax Rate Will Be a Burden for Cubans

Reuters somehow can?t recognize a 100% tax rate even when it is right under their noses in their own article. Reporter Marc Frank apparently thinks that going to a 35% tax rate would somehow be more of a burden for Cubans than their current tax rate which is 100%. Frank even wrote about the 100% tax rate but absurdly didn?t recognize the fact that total confiscation of revenue is the same thing: Under the old system, large and small state-run companies, which accounted for more than 90 percent of economic activity, simply handed over all their revenues to the government,?
Just What Was Fundamentally Wrong with Bolshevism?

I recently read the new biography of Trotsky by Oxford don Robert Service, published in 2009 by Pan Books. It is well-written and surprisingly interesting. The book does a great public service in describing the life of the actual Trotsky, whose previous ?biographies? were little more than hagiographies written by his toady worshippers (people like Isaac Deutscher). The last time that I had taken any interest in Trotsky was when I was a teenager and had fleeting delusions of believing in ?socialism.? Reading the new book as an adult and as an economist, I found it a useful opportunity to?
The Madness Of A Lost Society
Thu Nov 29 08:27:37 2012 ? by BCW
While we are very far gone at the moment as a society, never forget there are millions of people out there fighting for what is right and we will succeed in ushering in a new and more positive era for life on earth. These 11 minutes are well worth your time.

No Apologies For Romney's Loss -- By Stuart Stevens...

PAPER: Two-thirds of millionaires left Britain to avoid 50% tax rate...

Militant Socialism in America
Eileen F. Toplansky
We need to be better marketers for liberty. We need to call Obama out when he creates a web of deceit. If he can come up with one-liners for his party line, so can we. More

A Tax Increase Primer
Henry Oliner
If we want a more progressive tax policy with the wealthy paying a greater share, then we should encourage the proliferation of the wealthy. One way to get more taxes from millionaires is to have more millionaires. More

'Is Morsi about to turn Egypt into the new Iran?'

Protests continue...

8 SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER PROPHET FILM...

EBAY pulls Glenn Beck 'Obama in Pee Pee' jar after bids rise to $11,300...

In Cuba, Tax-Free Life Is on the Way Out...

Minnesota Taxpayers Challenge State Abortion Funding
Thu Nov 29 08:13:59 2012 ? by rhema
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of two Minnesota taxpayers challenging the state?s unauthorized use of state funds being used for elective abortions. The plaintiffs in Walker v. Jesson are suing to prevent the state from using public funds to pay for non-therapeutic abortions on indigent women. The Minnesota Legislature passed a statute in the late 1970s limiting the abortions it would pay for, and also banned taxpayer funding for elective abortions. In 1995, the state Supreme Court struck down part of the statute, ruling that the state cannot withhold state funding for abortions that?

PM: Ignore the Sound of UN Applause

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has a message for Israelis planning to watch the UN General Assembly approve the PA?s bid to be recognized as a non-voting observer state later Thursday: There is no need to be upset. Speaking Thursday, Netanyahu said that the PA?s statehood bid was ?meaningless. The decision by the General Assembly to raise the PA delegation?s status to a non-member observer state will not advance the establishment of a Palestinian state. I suggest that we not be impressed with the applause at the General Assembly. It doesn?t matter how many hands are raised against us, we have?

Source: http://www.pittsreport.com/2012/11/news-target-old-white-men/

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Women's Swimming & Diving: Liberty League vs. Union (11/30/2012)

November 2012

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Source: http://calendar.union.edu/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=6487&information_id=17015&type=&rss=rss

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Determining Quantum: How Much $$ Is Needed ... - Elder Caring Inc.

Originally published at allaboutestates.ca

Last week, I attended an excellent session organized by my fellow blogger, Paul Fensom from Scotia Private Client Group. The topic was on guardianship, the important role of the guardian, the management plan and the understanding or expectation on how the money should be spent.

Working with defence and plaintiff lawyers, and with individuals who have been catastrophically injured, I am very aware of how these impairments (physical and / or cognitive / behavioural) can significantly impact one?s day to day functioning. The definition I use for ?functioning? is global and may include their role as: student, employee, spouse, parent, caregiver and what they did in terms of their livelihood, role within their family, recreational, academic and/or (a)vocational pursuits and interests. The Life Care Plan [defined by the International Academy of Life Care Planners, (2002), Standards of Practice, Journal of Life Care Planning, 1 (1), 49-57] is ?a dynamic document based upon published standards of practice, comprehensive assessment, data analysis, and research, which provides an organized, concise plan for current and future needs, with associated costs, for individuals who have experienced catastrophic injury or have chronic health needs?. It is an important document that quantifies the goods and services needed to addresses the losses that the injured party has sustained. It identifies the client?s medical, rehabilitation and social needs and it provides a present day dollar to each of the goods and services. It is recommended that the report then be given to an actuary, accountant or economist, who can then forecast the present day value over the individual?s projected lifetime.

When a young person is injured, projected costs over a lifetime can generate very large numbers, similarly for those who may have congenital rather than acquired impairments. Financial and estate and trust officers can assist their older or disabled clients by understanding and quantifying the full extent of anticipated care needs which may include housing, (accessible or alternative) purchased in home care, assistive devices, equipment, transportation issues and a host of other items. For a senior, it can make the difference to ensure they have dignity and resources to live out their life.

The Life Care Plan (or Future Cost of Care Plan) preferably prepared by a Canadian Certified Life Care Planner can be used as a working tool which in addition to calculating the costs based on medical information, should be referenced regularly. It can be used as a blueprint for planning purposes.

Speak with an expert including a lawyer who specializes in the field, financial advisors/institutions who can responsibly manage these monies and a Certified Life Care Planner who has been trained to systematically review, analyse, research and quantify the current and anticipated required goods and services that are and will be needed, on behalf of your client.

Tagged as: Elder Caring, Future Cost of Care, Life Care Plan, seniors, Trusts

Source: http://www.eldercaring.ca/2012/11/29/determining-quantum-how-much-is-needed-to-live-well/

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Watch: Minority Report Meets Judge Dredd In The Sci-Fi Short Film ...

Have a goo of this stylish, indie sci-fi short?film called ?Memorize?. It?s?set in a?dystopian future where?everyone?s?memories are recorded by chips planted in your head, so there?s no escaping the truth or the law.?The film was?written and directed by childhood friends?Eric Ramberg?and?Jimmy Eriksson?and was shot on a teeeny-tiny budget in Sweden.

Here?s the synopsis:

In 2027, everyone is implanted with a chip ? the Memorize-chip. It records everything you see, a new system to fight crime. One unit controls the system. The SSU ? Special Surveillance Unit.

The short has some cool CG tricks and some deadly camera work. The action and dialog is a bit?dodgy?at times, but given the budget it?s?definitely?worth a watch.

eNjoy!

Director?s note:

We shot this piece on a ?shoestring budget?, using just one 5D-Mark II-camera (with Canon L-series lenses). Our very first mission was actually to help another company (Quixel) with some live-action shots/scenes to simply showcase their new texture-tool for 3d-models in games and movies, but instead we came up with this concept idea and created a full blown short film. Primarily, we wanted to do something visual and entertaining to simply present this concept and showcase Quixel?s tools.

We did almost everything our self (with some 3d/texture/sfx help) and we used close friends/family members to be ?actors?, including myself playing the main character. So I guess that?s why the acting isn?t top notch and why we didn?t use so much dialogue BUT we also wanted to keep it very visual, we wanted to tell a story with pictures (and UI-text of course). That was a big challenge but I think we succeeded. In the end we?re happy with the end result considering the conditions and people really seems to like it! That?s awesome to see and very rewarding! / Jimmy & Eric?

Source: http://returntofleet.com/2012/11/28/watch-minority-report-meets-judge-dredd-in-the-sci-fi-short-film-memorize/

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Moody's eyeing progress of sin tax bill in PHL Congress | Economy ...

Global debt watcher Moody?s Investors Service is keeping an eye on the sin tax measure now pending in the Philippine Congress where it is up for discussions at the bicameral conference committee level.
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Moving forward, what Moody?s wants to see ? in particular ? is how the legislated sin tax measure would impact on and sustain the government?s fiscal needs, said Christian de Guzman, Moody?s lead analyst for the Philippines, in response to an e-mailed query by reporters in Manila. ?
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The measure seeks to increase taxes on tobacco products and alcoholic beverages over five years.
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?We would see the actual passage of the bill as positive as it would help to increase the government?s revenues,? Singapore-based De Guzman noted.
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?Relative to other countries with similar ratings, the Philippine government?s revenues are far lower and thus have an adverse impact on key ratios of fiscal sustainability that we monitor,? he added.
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Last month, Moody?s upgraded its ratings on Philippine foreign and local currency long-term bonds to a notch below investment grade (Ba1 from Ba2), which confirmed the earlier ratings given by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor?s.
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?I think it?s also important to note that the dimensions of the sin tax bill post-bicameral conference are as yet unclear,? said De Guzman.
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Because the additional revenues will fund healthcare spending, the actual passage of the bill would have neutral impact on the deficit, according to Moody?s.
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Still, the measure?s actual passage into law bodes well for the government?s efforts to improve revenues, according to the analyst.
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Such development reflects a concrete example of the 15th Congress actually enacting a new legislation in aid of government?s finances, De Guzman added.
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?The 15th Congress had not achieved any significant developments with regards to revenue previously, while the 14th Congress was characterized by the passage of several revenue eroding measures,? he noted.
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The bicameral conference committee will reconcile both versions of the Sin Tax Reform Bill approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Houser version seeks additional revenues of P31.5 billion in the first year of implementation and the Senate version is eyeing to raise P40 billion more in the same period. ? VS, GMA News

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/284114/economy/finance/moodys-eyeing-progress-of-sin-tax-bill-in-phl-congress

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Cyber Deals Aren't Just for Monday | Daily Ticker - Yahoo! Finance

Missed those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals? You're not alone. Some retailers like Amazon.com (AMZN) are extending their holiday sales for an entire week to lure in shoppers. The holiday shopping season has just commenced but early signs are pointing to a jolly year for retailers, especially online retailers.

Related: How to Protect Yourself While Shopping Online This Holiday Season: Wired's Mat Honan

According to research firm comScore, online sales totaled $1.04 billion Black Friday weekend, a 26% gain from last year. Online retailers are expected to post $43.4 billion in holiday sales this year. A survey conducted for the National Retail Federation estimates that more than 129 million Americans shopped online on Cyber Monday, up from 123 million on the same day last year. E-commerce currently makes up less than 10 percent of consumer spending in the U.S.

Related: Why Black Friday Holiday Sales Matter Less Than Ever Before

Amazon.com was the most-visited retail Web site on Black Friday, according to comScore, followed by the online sites of Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and Apple. Amazon also recorded the highest year-over-year increase in visitor traffic among the top five retailers.

"We expect this to be our biggest holiday season ever," Amazon spokesman Scott Stanzel says in the accompanying clip.

Amazon has yet to release its Cyber Monday stats but Stanzel expects the numbers to surpass last year's tally when 17.7 million items were purchased by consumers worldwide, a rate of 200 items per second. For 2012, Amazon hired 50,000 temporary workers to help meet the site's holiday shipping demand.

Related: Inside the World of Online Retail: What It's Like to Be a Warehouse Worker

As expected, consumer electronics are the hottest sellers on Amazon, with tablets and TVs being two popular holiday gifts. But consumers are also taking advantage of low prices on toys, movies and diamond stud earrings on the site, Stanzel notes. Amazon has been viewed as the evil empire by brick-and-mortar retailers because of its ability to offer deep discounts on merchandise and its zero-tax policy in most states. "Showrooming" -- the pejorative term used to describe Amazon's effect on sales ? has become well-known among consumers and the retail industry alike. Showrooming refers to shopping and analyzing a product in a physical store but ultimately purchasing the item at a lower cost on Amazon or another online retailer. Stanzel says consumers are just trying to find the best deals.

"We think there's much transparency in retail these days," he says. "People can get the information they want, they can seek out the lowest prices. There's a lot of competition for that consumer dollar."

Retailers' holiday sales will depend largely on how optimistic consumers are about the economy. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 73.7 last month, the fourth consecutive monthly increase and the highest level since February 2008.

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Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/cyber-deals-aren-t-just-monday-185335904.html

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The Cost of Dying in America ? Malia Litman's Blog

As Congress returns from the Thanksgiving holiday, the most pressing issue to be addressed is the ?fiscal cliff.?Just one aspect of the budget matters to be considered by Congress is the cost of Medicare. It is not a popular topic and most members of Congress don?t want to be thought of as so heartless as to ?deny? grandma or grandpa the medical care essential to sustaining their ?life.? However we fail to consider the meaning of ?life? and whether grandma or grandpa would choose to continue ?life? as they know it in the ICU of hospitals around the country. Medical science has advanced to the point that medical equipment can breathe for patients through ventilators. When a patient is brain dead, and the brain no longer sends signals to the lungs telling them to breathe, we do it for them. The patient isn?t capable of thought while they breathe on the ventilator, but they are still ?alive.? Elderly patients who are dependant on a ventilator often have to have a tracheotomy (a hole cut into their throat ) in which the tube is placed because the tube down the throat or nose is so irritating that long term intubation would result in deterioration of the tissue in the throat or nose that could result in substantial pain and possibly death. The problem with a tracheotomy is that the patient is unable to talk because air doesn?t pass the vocal chords. Whether the patient has a tracheotomy or not, patients on ventilators often must be restrained (have their hands tied) so that they don?t pull out the ventilator tubes and/or be sedated so that they don?t ?fight ? the ventilator. If sedated the patient is unaware of the activities of daily living and is in essence living in a coma. Ventilator patients account for roughly 37% of all ICU cases and utilize vast resources. Medicare pays an average of $98,000 for each of 65,000 patients on ventilators.?When a patient?s kidneys stop functioning we put the patient on dialysis. If they are elderly there is no hope of a kidney transplant, as they would not likely survive the surgery, and the kidney would likely be of more use to a younger patient. In 2007 Medicare spent $8.6 Billion dollars on the treatment and medications for dialysis patients. That doesn?t include the cost of hospitalization of patients on dialysis. Many dialysis patients die every year. Twenty percent of dialysis patients die every year in the United States. The United States has the highest death rate in the world for its dialysis patients. The explanation seems to be that the United States doctors tend to put elderly patients on dialysis more often than in other countries. The patients in the United States on dialysis tend to be older and sicker.

The United States is the only major industrialized nation that does not have a budget for the amount of taxpayer funds that may be allocated to end of life care. The uncomfortable truth is that in 2009 Medicare paid 55 Billion Dollars just to doctors and hospitals for care of elderly patients during the last two months of life. That?s more than the entire budget for the Department of Education.

As a nurse I watched patients die after long battles with disease and injuries. Before my grandma died from cancer, she was in a hospital for over a month, during which time she was either in pain or unconscious. When her heart finally stopped beating my sister and I were next to her holding her hands and easing her transition from this life to the next. When the crash cart came bursting into the room, we had to beg the doctors to refrain from attempting to resuscitate her. When we attempt to keep a person breathing, regardless of their quality of life, we inflict unimaginable pain. We must ask ourselves if we sustain life because that is what the patient wants, as compared to what we want. Regardless of the cost, would we want to survive if our ?life? was maintained by the use of a ventilator to help us breath, chest tubes in each lung to drain fluid, dialysis to clean our blood of toxins, a catheter to drain urine, a feeding tube in our stomach to infuse nourishment, a rectal tube to collect the fecal matter, all the while being restrained or sedated to prevent dislodging of one or more of the tubes? The unmanageable cost of end of life care is the price we pay to prolonging the life of a person we can?t bear to lose. The pain and suffering we inflict on the elderly is the price the elderly pays for our inability to say ?good-bye.?

America can?t sustain our current level of spending and debt. When we speak of the ?fiscal cliff? we must realize that life as we know it can?t continue. Medicare is only one part of the problem. However Medicare spending on end-of-life care is one place that cuts could be made that would not only reduce the deficit, but would be desirable for the elderly. When our pets are dying and suffering, we take them to the vet to have them ?put out of their misery.? We do that because we love them. While I am not advocating killing the elderly who are suffering,, there is a difference between euthanasia and unreasonably prolonging respirations because we can?t bear to lose a loved one. It?s not even about the financial burden of this end-of-life care, it?s about compassion for the patient.

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Source: http://malialitman.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/the-cost-of-dying-in-america/

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Scientists See Advances in Deep Learning, a Part of Artificial Intelligence

Hao Zhang/The New York Times

A voice recognition program translated a speech given by Richard F. Rashid, Microsoft?s top scientist, into Mandarin Chinese.

Using an artificial intelligence technique inspired by theories about how the brain recognizes patterns, technology companies are reporting startling gains in fields as diverse as computer vision, speech recognition and the identification of promising new molecules for designing drugs.

The advances have led to widespread enthusiasm among researchers who design software to perform human activities like seeing, listening and thinking. They offer the promise of machines that converse with humans and perform tasks like driving cars and working in factories, raising the specter of automated robots that could replace human workers.

The technology, called deep learning, has already been put to use in services like Apple?s Siri virtual personal assistant, which is based on Nuance Communications? speech recognition service, and in Google?s Street View, which uses machine vision to identify specific addresses.

But what is new in recent months is the growing speed and accuracy of deep-learning programs, often called artificial neural networks or just ?neural nets? for their resemblance to the neural connections in the brain.

?There has been a number of stunning new results with deep-learning methods,? said Yann LeCun, a computer scientist at New York University who did pioneering research in handwriting recognition at Bell Laboratories. ?The kind of jump we are seeing in the accuracy of these systems is very rare indeed.?

Artificial intelligence researchers are acutely aware of the dangers of being overly optimistic. Their field has long been plagued by outbursts of misplaced enthusiasm followed by equally striking declines.

In the 1960s, some computer scientists believed that a workable artificial intelligence system was just 10 years away. In the 1980s, a wave of commercial start-ups collapsed, leading to what some people called the ?A.I. winter.?

But recent achievements have impressed a wide spectrum of computer experts. In October, for example, a team of graduate students studying with the University of Toronto computer scientist Geoffrey E. Hinton won the top prize in a contest sponsored by Merck to design software to help find molecules that might lead to new drugs.

From a data set describing the chemical structure of thousands of different molecules, they used deep-learning software to determine which molecule was most likely to be an effective drug agent.

The achievement was particularly impressive because the team decided to enter the contest at the last minute and designed its software with no specific knowledge about how the molecules bind to their targets. The students were also working with a relatively small set of data; neural nets typically perform well only with very large ones.

?This is a really breathtaking result because it is the first time that deep learning won, and more significantly it won on a data set that it wouldn?t have been expected to win at,? said Anthony Goldbloom, chief executive and founder of Kaggle, a company that organizes data science competitions, including the Merck contest.

Advances in pattern recognition hold implications not just for drug development but for an array of applications, including marketing and law enforcement. With greater accuracy, for example, marketers can comb large databases of consumer behavior to get more precise information on buying habits. And improvements in facial recognition are likely to make surveillance technology cheaper and more commonplace.

Artificial neural networks, an idea going back to the 1950s, seek to mimic the way the brain absorbs information and learns from it. In recent decades, Dr. Hinton, 64 (a great-great-grandson of the 19th-century mathematician George Boole, whose work in logic is the foundation for modern digital computers), has pioneered powerful new techniques for helping the artificial networks recognize patterns.

Modern artificial neural networks are composed of an array of software components, divided into inputs, hidden layers and outputs. The arrays can be ?trained? by repeated exposures to recognize patterns like images or sounds.

These techniques, aided by the growing speed and power of modern computers, have led to rapid improvements in speech recognition, drug discovery and computer vision.

Deep-learning systems have recently outperformed humans in certain limited recognition tests.

Last year, for example, a program created by scientists at the Swiss A.?I. Lab at the University of Lugano won a pattern recognition contest by outperforming both competing software systems and a human expert in identifying images in a database of German traffic signs.

The winning program accurately identified 99.46 percent of the images in a set of 50,000; the top score in a group of 32 human participants was 99.22 percent, and the average for the humans was 98.84 percent.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 26, 2012

An earlier version of this article misstated the number of molecules analyzed in a contest sponsored by Merck and won by students using deep-learning software. Contestants analyzed thousands of potential molecules, not 15. (There were 15 data files, each containing thousands of molecules.)

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/24/science/scientists-see-advances-in-deep-learning-a-part-of-artificial-intelligence.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Setting aside the smartphone: two weeks with Samsung's Galaxy Camera

Exploring the world with the hottest cameras and smartphones, I've grown accustomed to drawing discreet glances from curious gadget enthusiasts. In Tokyo, it was Canon's EOS M camera that netted polite peeks. In Hong Kong, it was the Galaxy Note II. From the moment I exposed the striking Galaxy Camera in Bangkok, however, those subtle scans turned into full-on stares, with several courageous passersby even inquiring about the latest Android-based Samsung device dangling from a strap around my wrist.

"Is that a phone or a camera?" Well, it's certainly not the best camera, nor is it a passable "phone," but for this early adopter, at least, it was poised to replace both. When Samsung first revealed its Jelly Bean-powered superzoom hybrid at IFA, the challenge became clear -- there wasn't room in my life for two Galaxy gadgets, but a 21x zoom-equipped all-in-one sounded mighty promising. After I finally unpacked it, the 4.8-inch, touchscreen-equipped, 16.1-megapixel shooter didn't leave my side once during the next two weeks.

It streamed music in the gym, downloaded email on the go, and provided walking directions and historical context as I explored Thailand. But the Galaxy Camera's impressive zoom also brought me far closer to the action than even the most powerful camera phone, and a micro-SIM from iPhoneTrip enabled instant uploads to Dropbox and Instagram far from the nearest open hotspot. As you may have gathered from our review, the Galaxy Camera wasn't designed to replace anyone's smartphone, and with the jumbo footprint and mediocre battery upping the inconvenience factor, could such a device feasibly become your one and only? You'll find the answer after the break.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Camera review