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And then there were more - 8 February 2007
Feb. 9th, 2007 12:37 amToday had good things - I think I’ve finished the Rails assignment, and I’ve even learned a thing or two about making other bits appear as I want them to. So this is progress. Apparently, this is the really, really important sequence - if I learn it, and learn it well, then the big project should become much easier. This is the hope, anyway. If I can make the code work, and then make all the other code work, it’ll be a good day and a relatively simple, if majorly time-consuming, project.
The link parade starts now. As usual, there’s a random assortment. Rhyme or reason don’t always make it together here, so don’t be frightened by abrupt subject shifts.
As will likely be splashed over headlines and talked about on news programmes, Anna Nicole Smith is dead, at the rather young age of 39. Cause of death is yet unknown, but will appear with a few weeks, most likely.
CNN reports on a report from the Humane Society of the United States that says many "faux fur" jackets use raccoon dog fur. Since dog and cat products cannot be imported by law, this is a problem. So two lawmakers have moved to ban imports and require more labeling.
The first lieutenant who has been court-martialed for speaking out against the Iraq war has his first trial end in a mistrial because he apparently signed a document that said something he did not intend to say. I say first trial because the lieutenant will have a new trial on March 19. This raises a very good question as to whether the lieutenant is being put in double jeopardy, but a representative of the JAG office said it doesn’t apply. Anyone who known military law, is the JAG right on this?
Coming through with a bet, a Bears fan has begun the process to legally change his name to Peyton Manning, because the Colts won the Super Bowl. Is this a particular insanity to Americans, or are sport fans in other countries inclined to take and make good on these kinds of bets?
I need more supporting documentation and a lot more details to believe it, but a blog post claims that Windows Vista has been cracked and is selling inexpensively in Iran. If it does turn out to be true, there is a point and laugh in order for Microsoft, considering how much they’re including anti-piracy measures in the operating system.
In the “covering the statue of Justice because a breast is exposed” department, we present The Hoohaa Monologues, which is what a theater now displays after a diver complained that her niece saw the marquee for the play by its proper title. If it were, say, “The cunt-licking, cum-squirting, gangbang monologues”, I might see where they’d have a case for changing the title. But, a vagina is a vagina. There’s really nothing too offensive about it. Unless, of course, it offends you to see the word. CorrenteWire suggests that there are more offensive things to be worried about than the occasional word. (I suspect, as well, that my journal rating probably just jumped up another few points. If I’m not already R-rated, I’m going to be getting there in a hurry.)
A father who was angry at his toddler’s inability to go to bed allegedly knocked her out and left her outside to die, according to the charges filed against the man. Toddlers and children can be frustrating, but leaving your kid out to die is not the way to go about it. Apparently, after doing so, the man then called police and told them that someone had kidnapped the child. If all the allegations are true, then this is a very screwed-up story. It’s already very sad for the child, left alone and outside to die.
John Derbyshire has a low opinion of foreign language learning for his child. He dismisses Spanish as something that will give an edge in future employment because it has low market value. This is because the country “is choc-a-bloc with Spanish speakers”. The Italians are apparently going to disappear into nonexistence, and French is apparently only going to be useful to talking to Africans, natives of Quebec, and the U.N. So French gets the nod. Your assignment, dear readers, is to say why this block of reasoning deserves the designation “stu-pid!”
Manchester University scientists claim to have worked out the beer-goggles effect, where people get more beautiful as more drinks get consumed. The formula takes into account more than beer, too, checking on lighting, smokiness, and the eyesight of the drinker. We have a whole new scoring system of attractiveness, I suspect, where 100 is the bad end.
The librarian profession can take you anywhere in the world. Lest you think any profession is actually safe in Iraq, the British Library has been publishing the accounts of the head of the National Library and Archive in Iraq. The New York Times has an excerpt and some background information on the daunting task of keeping a library open where the staff receive death threats, explosions happen every day, and there’s always a chance that the building and everyone in it could be sacked or blown up. We salute this librarian for his dedication to his library and clients. And I hope that the violence subsides there, so that the library can be rebuilt.
A story from the airport.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
orbasm recounts his experience of having his genital piercing set off the metal detector, and the obvious discomfort of the security personnel when he has to be patted down to confirm it. Apparently, there’s nobody on staff that can professionally handle having to potentially handle another man’s junk. I wonder if he thought his manhood was questioned. (And enough with the jokes...)
Gamespy puts professional gaming in its sights, and gives us the top ten reasons professional gaming sucks. Good arguments on why gaming is really best done in the company of friends. If gaming doesn’t appeal, try picking up Dwight Silverman's list of fifteen geek movies to see before you die. Surprisingly, I can check off off a good number of them. Maybe I’ll go get the rest soon.
A cabbie in New York found that he had interesting cargo that a previous rider had left behind - diamond rings. So he tracked down the owner and returned them to her. The grand reward? $100 U.S. She’d tipped him about 30 cents on the ride before when she lost the suitcase. The cabbie probably deserves a bigger reward, but he didn’t seem inclined to take the $100 check offered, so I don’t think a bigger check would have done much.
Another reason to lower cholesterol: High cholesterol increases risk for Alzheimer's, according to Australian researchers. So beyond the physical benefits, now there are brain benefits to lowering cholesterol.
Archaeologists have discovered a pair of human skeletons aged about five to six thousand years old embracing. Even death couldn’t stop the hug, apparently. Maybe this is our sign that true love is eternal... or at least able to survive many years in the soil.
The outbreak of H5N1 in Britain has the United States taking a curious stance - they're gearing up for a pandemic that doesn't exist yet. Preparedness against what might happen if H5N1 should mutate is good, but this looks more like a martial law simulation. Are they expecting H5N1 to become the new Black Plague? Mike Whitney on Information Clearing House is somewhat suspicious of all the simulations being run, since they seem wildly out of place with the perception that the current Administration is doing very little in the public interest.
That’s the material that crossed my desk today. Take it with whatever dosage of skepticism you require. I’ll be back with more tomorrow. For now, though, I’m going to bed.
The link parade starts now. As usual, there’s a random assortment. Rhyme or reason don’t always make it together here, so don’t be frightened by abrupt subject shifts.
As will likely be splashed over headlines and talked about on news programmes, Anna Nicole Smith is dead, at the rather young age of 39. Cause of death is yet unknown, but will appear with a few weeks, most likely.
CNN reports on a report from the Humane Society of the United States that says many "faux fur" jackets use raccoon dog fur. Since dog and cat products cannot be imported by law, this is a problem. So two lawmakers have moved to ban imports and require more labeling.
The first lieutenant who has been court-martialed for speaking out against the Iraq war has his first trial end in a mistrial because he apparently signed a document that said something he did not intend to say. I say first trial because the lieutenant will have a new trial on March 19. This raises a very good question as to whether the lieutenant is being put in double jeopardy, but a representative of the JAG office said it doesn’t apply. Anyone who known military law, is the JAG right on this?
Coming through with a bet, a Bears fan has begun the process to legally change his name to Peyton Manning, because the Colts won the Super Bowl. Is this a particular insanity to Americans, or are sport fans in other countries inclined to take and make good on these kinds of bets?
I need more supporting documentation and a lot more details to believe it, but a blog post claims that Windows Vista has been cracked and is selling inexpensively in Iran. If it does turn out to be true, there is a point and laugh in order for Microsoft, considering how much they’re including anti-piracy measures in the operating system.
In the “covering the statue of Justice because a breast is exposed” department, we present The Hoohaa Monologues, which is what a theater now displays after a diver complained that her niece saw the marquee for the play by its proper title. If it were, say, “The cunt-licking, cum-squirting, gangbang monologues”, I might see where they’d have a case for changing the title. But, a vagina is a vagina. There’s really nothing too offensive about it. Unless, of course, it offends you to see the word. CorrenteWire suggests that there are more offensive things to be worried about than the occasional word. (I suspect, as well, that my journal rating probably just jumped up another few points. If I’m not already R-rated, I’m going to be getting there in a hurry.)
A father who was angry at his toddler’s inability to go to bed allegedly knocked her out and left her outside to die, according to the charges filed against the man. Toddlers and children can be frustrating, but leaving your kid out to die is not the way to go about it. Apparently, after doing so, the man then called police and told them that someone had kidnapped the child. If all the allegations are true, then this is a very screwed-up story. It’s already very sad for the child, left alone and outside to die.
John Derbyshire has a low opinion of foreign language learning for his child. He dismisses Spanish as something that will give an edge in future employment because it has low market value. This is because the country “is choc-a-bloc with Spanish speakers”. The Italians are apparently going to disappear into nonexistence, and French is apparently only going to be useful to talking to Africans, natives of Quebec, and the U.N. So French gets the nod. Your assignment, dear readers, is to say why this block of reasoning deserves the designation “stu-pid!”
Manchester University scientists claim to have worked out the beer-goggles effect, where people get more beautiful as more drinks get consumed. The formula takes into account more than beer, too, checking on lighting, smokiness, and the eyesight of the drinker. We have a whole new scoring system of attractiveness, I suspect, where 100 is the bad end.
The librarian profession can take you anywhere in the world. Lest you think any profession is actually safe in Iraq, the British Library has been publishing the accounts of the head of the National Library and Archive in Iraq. The New York Times has an excerpt and some background information on the daunting task of keeping a library open where the staff receive death threats, explosions happen every day, and there’s always a chance that the building and everyone in it could be sacked or blown up. We salute this librarian for his dedication to his library and clients. And I hope that the violence subsides there, so that the library can be rebuilt.
A story from the airport.
orbasm recounts his experience of having his genital piercing set off the metal detector, and the obvious discomfort of the security personnel when he has to be patted down to confirm it. Apparently, there’s nobody on staff that can professionally handle having to potentially handle another man’s junk. I wonder if he thought his manhood was questioned. (And enough with the jokes...)Gamespy puts professional gaming in its sights, and gives us the top ten reasons professional gaming sucks. Good arguments on why gaming is really best done in the company of friends. If gaming doesn’t appeal, try picking up Dwight Silverman's list of fifteen geek movies to see before you die. Surprisingly, I can check off off a good number of them. Maybe I’ll go get the rest soon.
A cabbie in New York found that he had interesting cargo that a previous rider had left behind - diamond rings. So he tracked down the owner and returned them to her. The grand reward? $100 U.S. She’d tipped him about 30 cents on the ride before when she lost the suitcase. The cabbie probably deserves a bigger reward, but he didn’t seem inclined to take the $100 check offered, so I don’t think a bigger check would have done much.
Another reason to lower cholesterol: High cholesterol increases risk for Alzheimer's, according to Australian researchers. So beyond the physical benefits, now there are brain benefits to lowering cholesterol.
Archaeologists have discovered a pair of human skeletons aged about five to six thousand years old embracing. Even death couldn’t stop the hug, apparently. Maybe this is our sign that true love is eternal... or at least able to survive many years in the soil.
The outbreak of H5N1 in Britain has the United States taking a curious stance - they're gearing up for a pandemic that doesn't exist yet. Preparedness against what might happen if H5N1 should mutate is good, but this looks more like a martial law simulation. Are they expecting H5N1 to become the new Black Plague? Mike Whitney on Information Clearing House is somewhat suspicious of all the simulations being run, since they seem wildly out of place with the perception that the current Administration is doing very little in the public interest.
That’s the material that crossed my desk today. Take it with whatever dosage of skepticism you require. I’ll be back with more tomorrow. For now, though, I’m going to bed.
