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Snow, snow, snow - 17 December 2008
Dec. 17th, 2008 10:06 pmWell, it's been an interesting set of days - the kitties got their itting, the snow came to us (enough to cover my car!), and today was a snow day from work - I didn't honestly think I'd ever have such things, but when the ice freezes and the roads and the people get dangerous, sometimes they just call it off. That's pretty weird.
At the top of the news, in weird stuff, a successful face transplant replaced more than 80% of a woman's face with a cadaver's. Which says a lot about reconstructive surgery these days. Perhaps we'll be seeing things like that when not for reconstructive purposes.
The shoe-tossing thing has gone beyond a unique way of expressing displeasure into an Internet thing, and thus, see how some of the finest minds of the Internet have remixed the shoe-throwing incident. Although the allegations of abuse of the journalist by the authorities did not make the list, and is not funny at all if it turns out to be true. The better option would be to let him walk free, and then to debate in the free press whether such a response was appropriate, or even deserving of jail time. Perhaps the next remix target will be the guy who held up someone for an eggbeater. In any case, plenty of criticism on the reaction to the shoe-tossing. Many of "why wasn't there more protection and screening? It could have been much worse!"
Perhaps the weirdest of the weird coming out of today's news is the case where a three year-old was denied a birthday cake personalization because of his name, Adolf Hitler Campbell.
In more standard news, a study suggests that people watching romantic comedies have more unrealistic expectations of love, especially in the beginnings of relationships. After their scienctific research, now the on-line version for the rest of us about media, personality, and well-being.
The United States troops in Iraq will soon have to get used to something new - seeking warrants from Iraqi judges. To try and get things off to the right start, United States troops have handed over several detainees of the Saddam Hussein era to Iraqi authorities - the more recent detainees would be more of a problem in ensuring they stay detained, I suspect. The additional time will eventually have to cope without the presence of United Kingdom troops, who are set to withdraw by the end of May, 2009. After all of this, be assured - the outgoing administrator is confident that he protected the country from another terror attack. Another part of his continued wish to paint himself in a positive light, although this is probably a genuine conviction instead of a cynical ploy. Much like how the CEO of Blackwater is convinced that his employees are doing a useful service for America.
Elsewhere in the regions, other Arab countries are moreconcerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions, which might be the first sign seen in the mainstream media that others are concerned about the idea of nuclear power in hands they don't trust.
In the opinions: the Slacktivist has some trouble understanding how all the people that believe in the constant pressure and presence of the devil and his demons manage to function, because they should be scared stiff at all the constant malice and malicious presence. Especially when it looks like those malicious entities are trying to bring about evil things foretold.
Elsewhere, William Kirstol comments on how left and right are both harping on the automakers, each finding a great scapegoat to tag, be it unions or lack of environmental standard compliance. Thomas Sowell finds the bailout to be the latest in reality-postponement, the thing that Americans love to do best, in both education and in economics. Todd Zywicki takes the tack that bankruptcy is best for the Big Three, to help kill the UAW and environmentalist lobby.
The founder of WorldNetDaily denies he's a homosexual and then the General wonders whether he's been part of the Village People. Well, actually, he's decrying Wikipedia as a cavern of lies, because his particular page happens to be a popular target for vandalism, and people will believe anything they read on the Internet, especially Wikipedia. Or, perhaps, if they had paid attention to basic biblio, they would know better. Perhaps Mr. Farah will do some library promotion.
Melanie Phillips thinks the President-elect will harness the grassroots, over e-mail and through "community organizing", to implement Marxist rule, because those people, the 52% that elected him, will go to work on the Congress, who will fold and implement Obama's every whim because the people want it. Pete du Pont extols the virtues of capitalism and the need to not let Obama control the people through the government, because Obama likes the bailout idea and wants the government to control more and more in exchange for funding. Jonah Goldberg thinks we're panicking on the whole economic crisis thing, and that despite the downturn, it's no time to declare capitalism dead. The WSJ thinks that Japan already tried it, and their anemic growth through the 90s will be mirrored if we follow the stimulus lead. To all of this, Terry Paulson says that the American people need to rise up and demand that their elected leaders let capitalism work and have anybody who fails collapse, individual or corporation, lest socialism rise and we get into Atlas Shrugged territory.
Brett Stephens suggests that some of that otherwise-spent cash might be better applied to buying Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, before a terrorist or terror group purcahses them. The money, of course, comes as an economic aid package to help Pakistan build itself into a solid and secular country.
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann predict the collapse of hostile regimes, because the price of oil has fallen and will stop financing their America-bashing ways. They'd probably also be cheered by the appearance on the Internet of Iranians showing defiance to their government.
Last out of opinions - The WSJ thinks Internet security in the United States needs some beefing up, because we're apparently constantly being compromised on sensitive networks and only a few steps away from having our entire information system crashed. Well, maybe not quite that, but they think we're being lax about security.
In technology,
Liquid bone, injectable, which will be awesome for helping set breaks or scaffold other things, quantum communication for a whole seven microseconds, reclaiming urban lots as farms and other ideas for putting agriculture right in the middle of the city, so that you get local produce generated by local hands without petroleum and shipping, seeing that the solar wind makes the upper atmosphere expand and contract, attempts to bring semantic meaning to the desktop and the way its files are arranged and metadata-tagged, the six biggest stunts pulled in the name of science, and the year in ideas for 2008, according to the New York Times.
Last for tonight, Ocarina, an application for iPhone that turns it into the instrument, and yes, there is a Hylian mode. For those without such technology, enjoy instead a guide to the many varied facial expressions of one Mr. Keanu Reeves.
At the top of the news, in weird stuff, a successful face transplant replaced more than 80% of a woman's face with a cadaver's. Which says a lot about reconstructive surgery these days. Perhaps we'll be seeing things like that when not for reconstructive purposes.
The shoe-tossing thing has gone beyond a unique way of expressing displeasure into an Internet thing, and thus, see how some of the finest minds of the Internet have remixed the shoe-throwing incident. Although the allegations of abuse of the journalist by the authorities did not make the list, and is not funny at all if it turns out to be true. The better option would be to let him walk free, and then to debate in the free press whether such a response was appropriate, or even deserving of jail time. Perhaps the next remix target will be the guy who held up someone for an eggbeater. In any case, plenty of criticism on the reaction to the shoe-tossing. Many of "why wasn't there more protection and screening? It could have been much worse!"
Perhaps the weirdest of the weird coming out of today's news is the case where a three year-old was denied a birthday cake personalization because of his name, Adolf Hitler Campbell.
In more standard news, a study suggests that people watching romantic comedies have more unrealistic expectations of love, especially in the beginnings of relationships. After their scienctific research, now the on-line version for the rest of us about media, personality, and well-being.
The United States troops in Iraq will soon have to get used to something new - seeking warrants from Iraqi judges. To try and get things off to the right start, United States troops have handed over several detainees of the Saddam Hussein era to Iraqi authorities - the more recent detainees would be more of a problem in ensuring they stay detained, I suspect. The additional time will eventually have to cope without the presence of United Kingdom troops, who are set to withdraw by the end of May, 2009. After all of this, be assured - the outgoing administrator is confident that he protected the country from another terror attack. Another part of his continued wish to paint himself in a positive light, although this is probably a genuine conviction instead of a cynical ploy. Much like how the CEO of Blackwater is convinced that his employees are doing a useful service for America.
Elsewhere in the regions, other Arab countries are moreconcerned about Iran's nuclear ambitions, which might be the first sign seen in the mainstream media that others are concerned about the idea of nuclear power in hands they don't trust.
In the opinions: the Slacktivist has some trouble understanding how all the people that believe in the constant pressure and presence of the devil and his demons manage to function, because they should be scared stiff at all the constant malice and malicious presence. Especially when it looks like those malicious entities are trying to bring about evil things foretold.
Elsewhere, William Kirstol comments on how left and right are both harping on the automakers, each finding a great scapegoat to tag, be it unions or lack of environmental standard compliance. Thomas Sowell finds the bailout to be the latest in reality-postponement, the thing that Americans love to do best, in both education and in economics. Todd Zywicki takes the tack that bankruptcy is best for the Big Three, to help kill the UAW and environmentalist lobby.
The founder of WorldNetDaily denies he's a homosexual and then the General wonders whether he's been part of the Village People. Well, actually, he's decrying Wikipedia as a cavern of lies, because his particular page happens to be a popular target for vandalism, and people will believe anything they read on the Internet, especially Wikipedia. Or, perhaps, if they had paid attention to basic biblio, they would know better. Perhaps Mr. Farah will do some library promotion.
Melanie Phillips thinks the President-elect will harness the grassroots, over e-mail and through "community organizing", to implement Marxist rule, because those people, the 52% that elected him, will go to work on the Congress, who will fold and implement Obama's every whim because the people want it. Pete du Pont extols the virtues of capitalism and the need to not let Obama control the people through the government, because Obama likes the bailout idea and wants the government to control more and more in exchange for funding. Jonah Goldberg thinks we're panicking on the whole economic crisis thing, and that despite the downturn, it's no time to declare capitalism dead. The WSJ thinks that Japan already tried it, and their anemic growth through the 90s will be mirrored if we follow the stimulus lead. To all of this, Terry Paulson says that the American people need to rise up and demand that their elected leaders let capitalism work and have anybody who fails collapse, individual or corporation, lest socialism rise and we get into Atlas Shrugged territory.
Brett Stephens suggests that some of that otherwise-spent cash might be better applied to buying Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, before a terrorist or terror group purcahses them. The money, of course, comes as an economic aid package to help Pakistan build itself into a solid and secular country.
Dick Morris and Eileen McGann predict the collapse of hostile regimes, because the price of oil has fallen and will stop financing their America-bashing ways. They'd probably also be cheered by the appearance on the Internet of Iranians showing defiance to their government.
Last out of opinions - The WSJ thinks Internet security in the United States needs some beefing up, because we're apparently constantly being compromised on sensitive networks and only a few steps away from having our entire information system crashed. Well, maybe not quite that, but they think we're being lax about security.
In technology,
Liquid bone, injectable, which will be awesome for helping set breaks or scaffold other things, quantum communication for a whole seven microseconds, reclaiming urban lots as farms and other ideas for putting agriculture right in the middle of the city, so that you get local produce generated by local hands without petroleum and shipping, seeing that the solar wind makes the upper atmosphere expand and contract, attempts to bring semantic meaning to the desktop and the way its files are arranged and metadata-tagged, the six biggest stunts pulled in the name of science, and the year in ideas for 2008, according to the New York Times.
Last for tonight, Ocarina, an application for iPhone that turns it into the instrument, and yes, there is a Hylian mode. For those without such technology, enjoy instead a guide to the many varied facial expressions of one Mr. Keanu Reeves.
