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Waaaaaaaugh - 24 January 2007
Jan. 25th, 2007 01:21 amI spent most of today split between looking for stuff to write papers on and trying to wrangle CSS again - I think I made better progress with the research than the coding. From the looks of things, though, this is potentially the last time I have to deal with CSS for this semester. I’m trying to do things in the standards-compliant manner, which is causing headache on headache. In lab tomorrow, I think I’v going to really bug the TA and see if I can’t get it all to work out right. Some things are, others aren’t, and it’s looking more and more like a jumble of code to produce something that looks kind of like the web page we’re supposed to be emulating. Dear goodness, I’m very glad that all the appropriate formatting and positioning for things like the blog entry are done automatic-like. Then again, I don’t think I’d be trying to make nearly so complex designs of pages that we’re trying to emulate. Or it’d be template work from the get-go. (Actually, we’re using templates. The problem is getting the rest of the code to work with the templates. Or getting the templates to do what I want them to do, rather than what they think they should do. Or something like that.
Did take some time out to watch the hockey all-star game, though. All sorts of fun, watching a game that is routinely expected to score more goals than any actual game in the season or the playoffs. Also one of the few ones where both sides approach 10 goals. Congrats to the Western Conference winning 12-9.
Earlier on, I linked to a report from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about a school district that decided to put a temporary moratorium on the film An Inconvenient Truth because there was no opposing viewpoint taught. Since then, parents on the side of science have expressed their opinion on the matter, some in uncivil manners. So now, I guess, the school district gets to see the controversy for themselves. And possibly all the ugliness that can result when those issues start appearing.
Martha Stewart took a call from space and dispensed advice. Everything from making the place feel like home to growing soybeans. It’s nice to find ways to up interest in the space program, but something about Martha Stewart being called for decorating advice defeats the purpose. Of course, that could just be me going “Martha Stewart? Ick.” Your Kilometerage will vary.
Something possibly a little more palatable, and appealing to Canadians, or those with interests in its history - a reproduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, signed by Pierre Tudreau, is available on eBay. Or was, at the time of the writing of the article. Wonder how much such a document would fetch.
In the experimental domains, EEStor claims that they can create a better battery, using barium-titanate battery-ultracapacitors. Meaning they can discharge rapid-like for when power is needed, and store some amount of energy over time. The company is being very hush-hush about things, and some of the claims being made are well out of the range of what is currently available. They’ve licensed the technology to an automotive maker, so we’ll see whether they can live up to the claims or not.
Biologically speaking, research proceeds on extending lifespan, but some people are taking their longevity into their own hands. It remains to be seen whether they will succeed or be validated by the clinical trials. They could end up cutting their lives short, rather than extending them. But when you want to live forever, I suppose that’s the risk you take.
Early adopters of new high-definition formats are also running to some problems. The pronography industry is getting up close and personal with how much HD can show - good or bad. And some of the actors in the industry are changing their bodies to fit the demands of HD. It’s that clear, and for those who want to seem perfect, workouts before shoots and a little post probably will do them wonders.
In politics, the picture the U.S. paints abroad is getting dimmer and dimmer. More people in the world disapprove of the United States’s handling of Iraq and other policy issues. 28% and falling. In London, the top prosecutor of England says "there is no war on terror". He says that laws curtailing freedom should not be used, and that the proper response to terror-type attacks is to use the criminal justice system and the rule of law. Sensible - wish more people here in charge would get the memo. To put some historical perspective on this, here's a copy of the speech that landed Eugene Debs in prison for ten years. There’s more than anti-war sentiment in the speech as Debs’s address is about the state of Socialism at the time, but it’s worth reading, both as a historical piece and as a way of showing how much people of the past can still have their words echo in today’s world.
In Middle Eastern affairs, Iran's president says the United States will not be able to inflict "serious damage" on Iran. I think he has more confidence in the American people and their government than many of us do. A contributer to the Daily Kos spots a meeting between Israel and the U.S. discussing high-level strategy and such, and puts in in context to say that a conflict with Iran is looking very inevitable, as boneheaded as it is for it to be done. We’re all hoping that sanity kicks in before it’s too late. Will the President pull out all the stops and try to take the country down, with members of Congress applauding, or will some sort of intervention happen? Well, the Attorney General is claiming that there's no right to habeas corpus, just that government can't take it away except in the cases mentioned in the Constitution, so I don’t think there’s any help from that end. And SCOTUS really can’t do anything until a case is presented to them. Even then, the Administration is likely to ignore it where they can. All in all, At this particular moment, I can’t tell with certainty whether we’re going to make it through my lifetime. And that’s scary enough by itself.
Running all the way to “Christian” values, a mother accused of murdering her four-year-old child took discipline advice from an evangelical minister’s website that said to spank her children with plumbing supply lines if they misbehaved. Obviously, this is a case of too much corporal punishment and taking that advice to unhealthy extremes. What surrounds it, though, is the idea of “spare the rod and spoil the child” and an apparently driving need for children to be perfectly disciplined at all times. The web site even says that using the plumbing in front of people might get social services called. That should be a warning, even with exhortations to only sting, rather than to bruise, and that if the child’s spirit is broken and they become cowed, it’s an abusive situation. What I see as a strong possibility, though, is that once those children finally reach the state where they’re afraid of their parents, their parents probably believe that their children have finally shaped up.
Another shining example or two of “Christian” values are in the list of bands that promote Gay (note the capital G) messages or are Gay Bands themselves (this one’s been making the rounds). So instead of that devilish rock and roll stuff, we’re turning to music that promotes the homosexual agenda. The winning entry for tonight, however, takes its URL lineage from a recognizable source. But instead of God hating homosexuals (and shellfish), apparently God hates Goths, too. And frankly, I’d be a little annoyed myself at a set of nomadic tribes that had the strength to sack Rome and its empire. The site has some pretty bad page design - the navigation at the left is one half, and then there’s a separate navigation at the bottom with new content. My design sensibilities not only itch, but they express urges to visit violence. I note this is a bit of a trend among many of the “Christians against X” or “God Hates X” sort of sites. Surface credibility is pretty poor. And going into some of the pages, they’re not all necessarily constructed. (Oh, goodness, I’m using my education again.) They do, however, have a list of music and bands that are obviously Goth. Also, one of the other things that has a certain frequency on these kinds of sites is the “Warning! Christian Morals/Beliefs/Ideas Ahead! If you proceed, it’s because you want to, not because we’re forcing you!” as if we couldn’t tell from the URL and the title/subtitle combination what the content was going to be. I’m not saying that Christianity (or any religion, for that matter) has to be inoffensive, as several of them throughout history have brought about good change by being offensive to the normals around them. (Bad changes, too, but nobody bats 1.000). At the point, though, where you feel it’s warranted to put up a disclaimer on your website about your beliefs, then it might be worth re-evaluating your beliefs. More often than not, these sites turn out to be places for people to spew their vitriol at whatever group they choose to hit (and several others along the way, with splash damage), using quotes out of context, not much for research, and mostly taking the attitude that they are the superior, moral person and that you should listen to them and follow them with the same devotion and fervor they have. After all, It’s Not Too Late To Save Your Children (And Yourself) From The Menace. What it usually ends up being is an embarrassment to the person or group that put it up. And good for a cheap laugh in someone’s rundown of links for the day.
Anyway, since it’s already that late, I should get onward to bed. Tomorrow will hopefully see the end of the CSS woes, a good denting into other homework, and some more reading on the paper topic. After a bit of reading, then we’ll see how the writing process goes.
Did take some time out to watch the hockey all-star game, though. All sorts of fun, watching a game that is routinely expected to score more goals than any actual game in the season or the playoffs. Also one of the few ones where both sides approach 10 goals. Congrats to the Western Conference winning 12-9.
Earlier on, I linked to a report from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about a school district that decided to put a temporary moratorium on the film An Inconvenient Truth because there was no opposing viewpoint taught. Since then, parents on the side of science have expressed their opinion on the matter, some in uncivil manners. So now, I guess, the school district gets to see the controversy for themselves. And possibly all the ugliness that can result when those issues start appearing.
Martha Stewart took a call from space and dispensed advice. Everything from making the place feel like home to growing soybeans. It’s nice to find ways to up interest in the space program, but something about Martha Stewart being called for decorating advice defeats the purpose. Of course, that could just be me going “Martha Stewart? Ick.” Your Kilometerage will vary.
Something possibly a little more palatable, and appealing to Canadians, or those with interests in its history - a reproduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, signed by Pierre Tudreau, is available on eBay. Or was, at the time of the writing of the article. Wonder how much such a document would fetch.
In the experimental domains, EEStor claims that they can create a better battery, using barium-titanate battery-ultracapacitors. Meaning they can discharge rapid-like for when power is needed, and store some amount of energy over time. The company is being very hush-hush about things, and some of the claims being made are well out of the range of what is currently available. They’ve licensed the technology to an automotive maker, so we’ll see whether they can live up to the claims or not.
Biologically speaking, research proceeds on extending lifespan, but some people are taking their longevity into their own hands. It remains to be seen whether they will succeed or be validated by the clinical trials. They could end up cutting their lives short, rather than extending them. But when you want to live forever, I suppose that’s the risk you take.
Early adopters of new high-definition formats are also running to some problems. The pronography industry is getting up close and personal with how much HD can show - good or bad. And some of the actors in the industry are changing their bodies to fit the demands of HD. It’s that clear, and for those who want to seem perfect, workouts before shoots and a little post probably will do them wonders.
In politics, the picture the U.S. paints abroad is getting dimmer and dimmer. More people in the world disapprove of the United States’s handling of Iraq and other policy issues. 28% and falling. In London, the top prosecutor of England says "there is no war on terror". He says that laws curtailing freedom should not be used, and that the proper response to terror-type attacks is to use the criminal justice system and the rule of law. Sensible - wish more people here in charge would get the memo. To put some historical perspective on this, here's a copy of the speech that landed Eugene Debs in prison for ten years. There’s more than anti-war sentiment in the speech as Debs’s address is about the state of Socialism at the time, but it’s worth reading, both as a historical piece and as a way of showing how much people of the past can still have their words echo in today’s world.
In Middle Eastern affairs, Iran's president says the United States will not be able to inflict "serious damage" on Iran. I think he has more confidence in the American people and their government than many of us do. A contributer to the Daily Kos spots a meeting between Israel and the U.S. discussing high-level strategy and such, and puts in in context to say that a conflict with Iran is looking very inevitable, as boneheaded as it is for it to be done. We’re all hoping that sanity kicks in before it’s too late. Will the President pull out all the stops and try to take the country down, with members of Congress applauding, or will some sort of intervention happen? Well, the Attorney General is claiming that there's no right to habeas corpus, just that government can't take it away except in the cases mentioned in the Constitution, so I don’t think there’s any help from that end. And SCOTUS really can’t do anything until a case is presented to them. Even then, the Administration is likely to ignore it where they can. All in all, At this particular moment, I can’t tell with certainty whether we’re going to make it through my lifetime. And that’s scary enough by itself.
Running all the way to “Christian” values, a mother accused of murdering her four-year-old child took discipline advice from an evangelical minister’s website that said to spank her children with plumbing supply lines if they misbehaved. Obviously, this is a case of too much corporal punishment and taking that advice to unhealthy extremes. What surrounds it, though, is the idea of “spare the rod and spoil the child” and an apparently driving need for children to be perfectly disciplined at all times. The web site even says that using the plumbing in front of people might get social services called. That should be a warning, even with exhortations to only sting, rather than to bruise, and that if the child’s spirit is broken and they become cowed, it’s an abusive situation. What I see as a strong possibility, though, is that once those children finally reach the state where they’re afraid of their parents, their parents probably believe that their children have finally shaped up.
Another shining example or two of “Christian” values are in the list of bands that promote Gay (note the capital G) messages or are Gay Bands themselves (this one’s been making the rounds). So instead of that devilish rock and roll stuff, we’re turning to music that promotes the homosexual agenda. The winning entry for tonight, however, takes its URL lineage from a recognizable source. But instead of God hating homosexuals (and shellfish), apparently God hates Goths, too. And frankly, I’d be a little annoyed myself at a set of nomadic tribes that had the strength to sack Rome and its empire. The site has some pretty bad page design - the navigation at the left is one half, and then there’s a separate navigation at the bottom with new content. My design sensibilities not only itch, but they express urges to visit violence. I note this is a bit of a trend among many of the “Christians against X” or “God Hates X” sort of sites. Surface credibility is pretty poor. And going into some of the pages, they’re not all necessarily constructed. (Oh, goodness, I’m using my education again.) They do, however, have a list of music and bands that are obviously Goth. Also, one of the other things that has a certain frequency on these kinds of sites is the “Warning! Christian Morals/Beliefs/Ideas Ahead! If you proceed, it’s because you want to, not because we’re forcing you!” as if we couldn’t tell from the URL and the title/subtitle combination what the content was going to be. I’m not saying that Christianity (or any religion, for that matter) has to be inoffensive, as several of them throughout history have brought about good change by being offensive to the normals around them. (Bad changes, too, but nobody bats 1.000). At the point, though, where you feel it’s warranted to put up a disclaimer on your website about your beliefs, then it might be worth re-evaluating your beliefs. More often than not, these sites turn out to be places for people to spew their vitriol at whatever group they choose to hit (and several others along the way, with splash damage), using quotes out of context, not much for research, and mostly taking the attitude that they are the superior, moral person and that you should listen to them and follow them with the same devotion and fervor they have. After all, It’s Not Too Late To Save Your Children (And Yourself) From The Menace. What it usually ends up being is an embarrassment to the person or group that put it up. And good for a cheap laugh in someone’s rundown of links for the day.
Anyway, since it’s already that late, I should get onward to bed. Tomorrow will hopefully see the end of the CSS woes, a good denting into other homework, and some more reading on the paper topic. After a bit of reading, then we’ll see how the writing process goes.
