![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Happy feasting day of a saint driving out serpents. Just don’t let your indulgences break your Lenten sacrifices, if you’ve made them. Or something. I think the object that’s due on Monday has finally been put together in a sufficient way to be turned in. Now, to the assignment due on Thursday, and the assignment due on Wednesday, and the assignment due the Monday after that... and all the rest, too. No rest for the grad student, but the end is in sight. Theoretically. It’s probably good that I’m doing these things now, because they keep me from trying to spend all me time making my project good.
And thus, link parade happens at will.
An article in the New York Times shows cruise ships are being inhabited by younger and younger people, using DJs, themes, and other such attractions (like Canadian independent music artists) to get the young’uns on board. Sounds like a wild time.
I’m putting this up at the top because it’s a rather disgusting object, and I want as much potentially positive stuff to follow - a girl who was looking for her lost puppy found it, when a gift box containing the dog's head was delivered to her house. That’s awful, abusive, and I think that if they find whomever is responsible, they’ll throw the full extent of the law at him.
Mother Nature finally gets her revenge for the warm weather earlier in the week with a storm that grounds and cancels lots of flights to the east coast of the United States. Apparently, this wasn’t enough, either, as she also had a plane bound for Brazil return to O'Hare after possibly having a bird fly into one of the engines. She’s also working out by Australia, where gigantic whirlpools have been spotted.
Taking aim at AIDS, the leader of Gambia claims to have been inspired in a dream to create what he claims is an effective anti-HIV treatment. However, the material has not been released nor obtained by Western medicine to see if it will work. I would certainly hope that if it really is a cure or a good way of slowing down the symptoms, that it will be released post-haste to the rest of the world.
Greenpeace has raised concerns over genetically modified maize produced by Monsato, claiming that rats fed by the maize showed “signs of toxicity” in their livers and kidneys. How much, of course, is not said, and I wonder whether that amount will be problematic for human consumption, and whether that toxicity would build or cause long-term effects.
A different environmental concern, but with something that could be very helpful in enregy and climate change problems - a catalyst that can break the bonds of carbon dioxide might be able to transform the gas into an energy source. The efficiency of such a process is probably yet to be determined, but it could be helpful, even at inefficient rates for a time if carbon dioxide really is overabundant in the biosphere.
The Johnson and Johnson company, owners of Splenda, have take a pre-emptive strike against possibly being struck by negative information on the web by buying domain names that are negatively associated with their product. This could be seen as an attempt to prevent others from publishing an easily-recallable name, in a very Cover-Your-Ass manner, if bad information should appear about the product. It’s actually a pretty good strategy for restricting, but people are very creative. There’s probably the domain that will end up being popular that hasn’t been purchased yet.
The idea of microcredit (loans to small projects needing small amounts of money to achieve) has been percolating about for a bit, and much of the articles have been about the people on the receiving end and the good things they’ve done. In Slate, Jude Stewart reviews sites that allow people to extend microcredit, generally as tax-deductible donations. So if you’ve got some money to spare, even in small amounts, you might be able to make it do good.
The idea of Web 2.0 is permeating into all sorts of places, and sometimes takes a transformation when it meets the other ideas. The Buddhist Geeks are thus putting up the idea of Buddhadharma 2.0, a way of combining technology, interactivity, and the teachings of the Buddha. Maybe virtual meditation spaces can help achieve real enlightenment.
Homeland Security, however, would rather you be afraid and fearful of the Web and its anonymous, distributed nature. They believe terrorists are using the Web to recruit other terrorists worldwide. It’s quite possible, but clamping down on them on the Web could start the slippery slope until we get to government-monitored Internet. (Wonkette responds to this idea) Which may be the eventual plan. In other law-enforcement matters, The Guardian reports the United Kingdom may soon have a network of small jail cells in shopping centers to assist with processing and identity-checking and short-term detention of (likely petty) offenders. It is apparently a difficulty that police doing arrests are far away from the places where they may be needed. Would the relevant people tell me whether the UK arrests on a lot of offenses that would generally carry fines and citations?
The Justice Department appears to have been considering firing and replacing all federal prosecutors as early as 2005. And then replacing them with unconfirmed “temporary” appointments, as was their privilege. This entire sequence has![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bradhicks wondering whether the Republicans and Gonzalez were conspiring to steal the 2008 presidential election that early.
Taking aim at those who support war efforts, are famous, but have never served is the New Hampshire Gazette's Chickenhawks database. Hopefully, they use the Glenn Greenwald definition of chickenhawk rather than others.
Lifetime memory formation may depend on the same process that activates and deactivates genes in embryos. Steps closer to unlocking the secrets of writing and rewriting memories. Combined with nanotech, we could end up in a world where we have always been at war with Oceania. Potentially a scary thing. Potentially a really good thing, too, for people who might suffer from disorders related to this process.
Borneo is a hotbed of discovery lately - a new leopard species was just found there (Have a look at the new cat). All told, sine 1996, more than 400 new species have been identified on the island. That’s a lot of things previously undiscovered material on our own planet. There was an extraterrestrial discovery as well - the south pole of Mars has water ice - and lots of it, according to the article. Water ice on Mars? Maybe life that we can detect was there? Or maybe we can make life there.
If you want to have a look at some steampunk/clockwork style art, look at the work of Pierre Matter here in the Opera Gallery. Lots of things built from other things (or at least, looking like they do). It’s definitely not something that looks unified, but they’re still good to look at.
Commodore is making a resurgence on desktop boxen. Some of those pictures are nostalgic, and others look pretty professionally skinned. There might be a market for people who want an old C64, too, Commodore.
If one prays to the Abrahamic God, then it might be helpful if you use the right name. However, the list isn’t quite complete, as it has nothing about the name Allah and those given to him by the Muslims. That might be a good project to put forth for adding onto that page.
Church signs are often a refuge for puns and other witticism attempts. They’ve risen to enough of a cult-like status that now there's a contest being held to try and determine the best one. Entrants could be something like this particular example, exhorting users to "Try Jesus - if you don't like him, the devil will take you back."
The American Family Association has put up an editorial written by Cliff Kincaid that says the Washington Post, in criticizing General Pace's remarks, has outed itself as being "one and the same" with the homosexual rights movement , among other rather far-fetched claims about the whole matter. Pace is entitled to his opinion, but one could enforce the matter of “don’t ask, don’t tell” on him, as well - superiors aren’t allowed to ask about his sexual preferences, and so long as he doesn’t come out one way or another (right?), then he can serve. I think Pace may have violated his own policy in some way. Because if it only applied one-way, that would be rather discriminatory, wouldn’t it?
We have lots of fantastic technology available at our hands, that will do all sorts of things, from opening garages to turning on cars to browsing a network of distributed computers connected worldwide by a set of protocols. Some days, though all we want to do is open the curtains. (Flash)
The last thing for tonight is something you’d really have to pay attention to (or at least have an eye for) to discover - Little People, tiny figures left in much bigger contexts, as street art. They’re smaller than even the artists who do fairy doors in Ann Arbor. You’d really need to keep an eye out for these ones if you were looking.
Anyway, I’m going to bed, after I fill out who won and lost in the tournament today. And I hope that the Wolverines beat the Irish tomorrow at Joe Louis Arena.
And thus, link parade happens at will.
An article in the New York Times shows cruise ships are being inhabited by younger and younger people, using DJs, themes, and other such attractions (like Canadian independent music artists) to get the young’uns on board. Sounds like a wild time.
I’m putting this up at the top because it’s a rather disgusting object, and I want as much potentially positive stuff to follow - a girl who was looking for her lost puppy found it, when a gift box containing the dog's head was delivered to her house. That’s awful, abusive, and I think that if they find whomever is responsible, they’ll throw the full extent of the law at him.
Mother Nature finally gets her revenge for the warm weather earlier in the week with a storm that grounds and cancels lots of flights to the east coast of the United States. Apparently, this wasn’t enough, either, as she also had a plane bound for Brazil return to O'Hare after possibly having a bird fly into one of the engines. She’s also working out by Australia, where gigantic whirlpools have been spotted.
Taking aim at AIDS, the leader of Gambia claims to have been inspired in a dream to create what he claims is an effective anti-HIV treatment. However, the material has not been released nor obtained by Western medicine to see if it will work. I would certainly hope that if it really is a cure or a good way of slowing down the symptoms, that it will be released post-haste to the rest of the world.
Greenpeace has raised concerns over genetically modified maize produced by Monsato, claiming that rats fed by the maize showed “signs of toxicity” in their livers and kidneys. How much, of course, is not said, and I wonder whether that amount will be problematic for human consumption, and whether that toxicity would build or cause long-term effects.
A different environmental concern, but with something that could be very helpful in enregy and climate change problems - a catalyst that can break the bonds of carbon dioxide might be able to transform the gas into an energy source. The efficiency of such a process is probably yet to be determined, but it could be helpful, even at inefficient rates for a time if carbon dioxide really is overabundant in the biosphere.
The Johnson and Johnson company, owners of Splenda, have take a pre-emptive strike against possibly being struck by negative information on the web by buying domain names that are negatively associated with their product. This could be seen as an attempt to prevent others from publishing an easily-recallable name, in a very Cover-Your-Ass manner, if bad information should appear about the product. It’s actually a pretty good strategy for restricting, but people are very creative. There’s probably the domain that will end up being popular that hasn’t been purchased yet.
The idea of microcredit (loans to small projects needing small amounts of money to achieve) has been percolating about for a bit, and much of the articles have been about the people on the receiving end and the good things they’ve done. In Slate, Jude Stewart reviews sites that allow people to extend microcredit, generally as tax-deductible donations. So if you’ve got some money to spare, even in small amounts, you might be able to make it do good.
The idea of Web 2.0 is permeating into all sorts of places, and sometimes takes a transformation when it meets the other ideas. The Buddhist Geeks are thus putting up the idea of Buddhadharma 2.0, a way of combining technology, interactivity, and the teachings of the Buddha. Maybe virtual meditation spaces can help achieve real enlightenment.
Homeland Security, however, would rather you be afraid and fearful of the Web and its anonymous, distributed nature. They believe terrorists are using the Web to recruit other terrorists worldwide. It’s quite possible, but clamping down on them on the Web could start the slippery slope until we get to government-monitored Internet. (Wonkette responds to this idea) Which may be the eventual plan. In other law-enforcement matters, The Guardian reports the United Kingdom may soon have a network of small jail cells in shopping centers to assist with processing and identity-checking and short-term detention of (likely petty) offenders. It is apparently a difficulty that police doing arrests are far away from the places where they may be needed. Would the relevant people tell me whether the UK arrests on a lot of offenses that would generally carry fines and citations?
The Justice Department appears to have been considering firing and replacing all federal prosecutors as early as 2005. And then replacing them with unconfirmed “temporary” appointments, as was their privilege. This entire sequence has
bradhicks wondering whether the Republicans and Gonzalez were conspiring to steal the 2008 presidential election that early. Taking aim at those who support war efforts, are famous, but have never served is the New Hampshire Gazette's Chickenhawks database. Hopefully, they use the Glenn Greenwald definition of chickenhawk rather than others.
Lifetime memory formation may depend on the same process that activates and deactivates genes in embryos. Steps closer to unlocking the secrets of writing and rewriting memories. Combined with nanotech, we could end up in a world where we have always been at war with Oceania. Potentially a scary thing. Potentially a really good thing, too, for people who might suffer from disorders related to this process.
Borneo is a hotbed of discovery lately - a new leopard species was just found there (Have a look at the new cat). All told, sine 1996, more than 400 new species have been identified on the island. That’s a lot of things previously undiscovered material on our own planet. There was an extraterrestrial discovery as well - the south pole of Mars has water ice - and lots of it, according to the article. Water ice on Mars? Maybe life that we can detect was there? Or maybe we can make life there.
If you want to have a look at some steampunk/clockwork style art, look at the work of Pierre Matter here in the Opera Gallery. Lots of things built from other things (or at least, looking like they do). It’s definitely not something that looks unified, but they’re still good to look at.
Commodore is making a resurgence on desktop boxen. Some of those pictures are nostalgic, and others look pretty professionally skinned. There might be a market for people who want an old C64, too, Commodore.
If one prays to the Abrahamic God, then it might be helpful if you use the right name. However, the list isn’t quite complete, as it has nothing about the name Allah and those given to him by the Muslims. That might be a good project to put forth for adding onto that page.
Church signs are often a refuge for puns and other witticism attempts. They’ve risen to enough of a cult-like status that now there's a contest being held to try and determine the best one. Entrants could be something like this particular example, exhorting users to "Try Jesus - if you don't like him, the devil will take you back."
The American Family Association has put up an editorial written by Cliff Kincaid that says the Washington Post, in criticizing General Pace's remarks, has outed itself as being "one and the same" with the homosexual rights movement , among other rather far-fetched claims about the whole matter. Pace is entitled to his opinion, but one could enforce the matter of “don’t ask, don’t tell” on him, as well - superiors aren’t allowed to ask about his sexual preferences, and so long as he doesn’t come out one way or another (right?), then he can serve. I think Pace may have violated his own policy in some way. Because if it only applied one-way, that would be rather discriminatory, wouldn’t it?
We have lots of fantastic technology available at our hands, that will do all sorts of things, from opening garages to turning on cars to browsing a network of distributed computers connected worldwide by a set of protocols. Some days, though all we want to do is open the curtains. (Flash)
The last thing for tonight is something you’d really have to pay attention to (or at least have an eye for) to discover - Little People, tiny figures left in much bigger contexts, as street art. They’re smaller than even the artists who do fairy doors in Ann Arbor. You’d really need to keep an eye out for these ones if you were looking.
Anyway, I’m going to bed, after I fill out who won and lost in the tournament today. And I hope that the Wolverines beat the Irish tomorrow at Joe Louis Arena.
