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It's been way too long since I updated - mostly I've been on vacation, and doing my other work to make sure that my bank account stays healthy. The good thing is, I've seen numbers in my checking account that I haven't seen in years, thanks to an excellent refund check and the other work. The problem is, it's only a temporary lift. Life will intrude again, and before the year is out, I suspect that all the happy that I have now will have vanished with the money.
I have an idea for a headcanon fixfic regarding the Whoniverse, based on my stubborn brain insisting that Amelia Pond would have been killed in "Praise Him". It also apparently involves the Doctor playing 16-bit video games to get the right idea of how to accomplish the fix. I'd think about it, but I'm not sure I could write Rory appropriately equally adorable, incredulous, and furious at The Doctor's apparently cavalier attitude toward the whole venture. Maybe when I get time.
So, let's get to it. The Dead Pool Actors Guild welcomes Annette Funicello, Mouseketeer and unwitting instructor in the use of camera angles, at 70 years of age. The Politics Forum raises some eyebrows at the arrival of former Prime Minister Thatcher at 87 years, and the Art Critics department holds a place of high honor for Roger Ebert at 70 years of age.
Out in the world today, A 7.8 Richter earthquake struck and shook around the nation of Iran. Persons believing this is somehow G-d's punishment to the Muslims will be sent over there one-way.
New Zealand officially supports marriage equality. Uruguay officially supports marriage equality. The United States? Still has schools considering disciplinary action against a teacher that used the word "vagina" in a biology class about the reproductive system and an organization that believes that it might be okay to let gay men in as members, so long as they're under 18 and have no aspirations of being leaders when they become adults. But only might, as the Boy Scouts will get lots of pushback saying that they should stay discriminatory.
Domestically, two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least three and wounding many more. After asking for video and still imagery from the large amount of spectators recording the event, the FBI identified two persons as suspects in the bombing. One was killed in a guns-and-explosives shootout, then the second was apprehended later in the day after a massive dragnet failed earlier. A tip called in turned out to be fruitful. The parents of the two suspects claimed that their boys had been framed by someone else. The investigation continues.
That's the good part. The bad part was The New York Post running a front-page story about two men who were not suspects, calling them "bag men" and claiming the FBI wanted to talk to them. They would later run a much smaller story saying the men had been "cleared", but at no point have they apologized for splashing the two men on the front page and drawing public scrutiny onto them.
And Senator Lindsey Graham wanting "enemy combatant" rules to apply in the case and lamenting the lack of a UAV tracking the suspect, with the implication that things would have been so much easier if the drone could have just killed the suspect. Other conservative commentators suggested that the fact the two young men were immigrants from a very young age means that immigration reform needs to be scuttled and the borders locked down, including Steve King of Iowa, because clearly we're just letting in ALL THE TERRORISTS. The other conspiracy theories that worked their way up into government aren't helping, either.
A fertilizer plant in Texas that also stored and created ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 14, injuring more, and destroying more than 50 homes in the process.
The House of Representatives hates you and wants to be able to spy on you as easily as possible. Additionally, the IRS believes it can access your e-mail without a warrant. And furthermore, research indicates that even anonymized, it doesn't take a whole lot of data to match a pattern to a person.
North Carolina believes it may establish a state religion, ignoring federal court decisions that extend the prohibitions placed on the federal govenment in the First Amendment to state government. Said bill died quickly, however, once attention was brought to it.
An Alaskan lawmaker used a racial slur to describe Hispanic immigrants, then did not apologize for it. A GOP official used the n-word in describing construction. He did later apologize for the remark after running through his complete list of excuses.
Kansas's legislators and governor declare life begins at conception, their vitriolic hatred for women, and their dedication to ensuring that women who come in for abortions are told lies.
Senators that voted against cloture on S. 649 explain their cowardice and obstructionism as part of a bizarre zero-sum game - that somehow, they only have enough in them to support one or two controversial issues, instead of as many as come before the Senate to be thoughtfully and completely considered before voting. Gridlock is no way to govern, and if there were a procedure in place to do so, I'd call for a confidence vote in the obstructionists or find a way to get the parlimentarian to rule the obstructors out of order when they choose to filibuster everything without reason.
Finally, here's a reason why you publish your data and subject it to review and the scientific process. It's possible that the push toward austerity and economy-wrecking...is based on an Excel error and really awful methodology.
In technology, We know that packaged food is usually bad for you with regard to fats and cholesterol. They're also over-salting them.
For better dining, a Wine Aroma Wheel by Pierre Boucheron - so that you can talk about the things that make your wine great.
Also, a proof-of-concept that suggested it may be possible to hack planes by exploiting flight systems and delivering control payloads. The aviation administrations responded swiftly and said it wasn't possible to hack live planes so easily.
In opinions, Elite panic - the thought by the rich that everyone else thinks like they do...and that they might be able to do them harm. And we'll couple that with a study that suggests that violence may act and spread much like a contagion.
From AlterNet: the best way for the people who want a Christian nation and the people who want a giant separation between religion and government to win...is to adopt each others' strategies. Amusing.
Not so amusing: Wouldn't it be great if we could think of assaulting women in the same mindset that we think of assaulting cats? It would certainly stop a significant amount of bullshit just with that one little shift.
The more we get to know people, both QUILTBAG and reactionary conservative alike, the more our opinions tend to shift toward letting gay people come out of the closet and trying to push reactionary conservatives in. Thing is, if you push the conservatives into the closet, they don't get enough opportunities for youto see them and evaluate whether you agree with their policies.
Last out, People who complain about things on social justice fronts...often are doing so because they love those things and want them to be better, not because they hate them. And it's more productive to criticize someone's practices rather than to claim they don't have the same label you do.
And last for tonight - a Quidditch World Cup just concluded, IT Security, in a very short read, and an acapella singer of chiptunes and video game music - that sings all the parts himself.
I have an idea for a headcanon fixfic regarding the Whoniverse, based on my stubborn brain insisting that Amelia Pond would have been killed in "Praise Him". It also apparently involves the Doctor playing 16-bit video games to get the right idea of how to accomplish the fix. I'd think about it, but I'm not sure I could write Rory appropriately equally adorable, incredulous, and furious at The Doctor's apparently cavalier attitude toward the whole venture. Maybe when I get time.
So, let's get to it. The Dead Pool Actors Guild welcomes Annette Funicello, Mouseketeer and unwitting instructor in the use of camera angles, at 70 years of age. The Politics Forum raises some eyebrows at the arrival of former Prime Minister Thatcher at 87 years, and the Art Critics department holds a place of high honor for Roger Ebert at 70 years of age.
Out in the world today, A 7.8 Richter earthquake struck and shook around the nation of Iran. Persons believing this is somehow G-d's punishment to the Muslims will be sent over there one-way.
New Zealand officially supports marriage equality. Uruguay officially supports marriage equality. The United States? Still has schools considering disciplinary action against a teacher that used the word "vagina" in a biology class about the reproductive system and an organization that believes that it might be okay to let gay men in as members, so long as they're under 18 and have no aspirations of being leaders when they become adults. But only might, as the Boy Scouts will get lots of pushback saying that they should stay discriminatory.
Domestically, two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least three and wounding many more. After asking for video and still imagery from the large amount of spectators recording the event, the FBI identified two persons as suspects in the bombing. One was killed in a guns-and-explosives shootout, then the second was apprehended later in the day after a massive dragnet failed earlier. A tip called in turned out to be fruitful. The parents of the two suspects claimed that their boys had been framed by someone else. The investigation continues.
That's the good part. The bad part was The New York Post running a front-page story about two men who were not suspects, calling them "bag men" and claiming the FBI wanted to talk to them. They would later run a much smaller story saying the men had been "cleared", but at no point have they apologized for splashing the two men on the front page and drawing public scrutiny onto them.
And Senator Lindsey Graham wanting "enemy combatant" rules to apply in the case and lamenting the lack of a UAV tracking the suspect, with the implication that things would have been so much easier if the drone could have just killed the suspect. Other conservative commentators suggested that the fact the two young men were immigrants from a very young age means that immigration reform needs to be scuttled and the borders locked down, including Steve King of Iowa, because clearly we're just letting in ALL THE TERRORISTS. The other conspiracy theories that worked their way up into government aren't helping, either.
A fertilizer plant in Texas that also stored and created ammonium nitrate exploded, killing 14, injuring more, and destroying more than 50 homes in the process.
The House of Representatives hates you and wants to be able to spy on you as easily as possible. Additionally, the IRS believes it can access your e-mail without a warrant. And furthermore, research indicates that even anonymized, it doesn't take a whole lot of data to match a pattern to a person.
North Carolina believes it may establish a state religion, ignoring federal court decisions that extend the prohibitions placed on the federal govenment in the First Amendment to state government. Said bill died quickly, however, once attention was brought to it.
An Alaskan lawmaker used a racial slur to describe Hispanic immigrants, then did not apologize for it. A GOP official used the n-word in describing construction. He did later apologize for the remark after running through his complete list of excuses.
Kansas's legislators and governor declare life begins at conception, their vitriolic hatred for women, and their dedication to ensuring that women who come in for abortions are told lies.
Senators that voted against cloture on S. 649 explain their cowardice and obstructionism as part of a bizarre zero-sum game - that somehow, they only have enough in them to support one or two controversial issues, instead of as many as come before the Senate to be thoughtfully and completely considered before voting. Gridlock is no way to govern, and if there were a procedure in place to do so, I'd call for a confidence vote in the obstructionists or find a way to get the parlimentarian to rule the obstructors out of order when they choose to filibuster everything without reason.
Finally, here's a reason why you publish your data and subject it to review and the scientific process. It's possible that the push toward austerity and economy-wrecking...is based on an Excel error and really awful methodology.
In technology, We know that packaged food is usually bad for you with regard to fats and cholesterol. They're also over-salting them.
For better dining, a Wine Aroma Wheel by Pierre Boucheron - so that you can talk about the things that make your wine great.
Also, a proof-of-concept that suggested it may be possible to hack planes by exploiting flight systems and delivering control payloads. The aviation administrations responded swiftly and said it wasn't possible to hack live planes so easily.
In opinions, Elite panic - the thought by the rich that everyone else thinks like they do...and that they might be able to do them harm. And we'll couple that with a study that suggests that violence may act and spread much like a contagion.
From AlterNet: the best way for the people who want a Christian nation and the people who want a giant separation between religion and government to win...is to adopt each others' strategies. Amusing.
Not so amusing: Wouldn't it be great if we could think of assaulting women in the same mindset that we think of assaulting cats? It would certainly stop a significant amount of bullshit just with that one little shift.
The more we get to know people, both QUILTBAG and reactionary conservative alike, the more our opinions tend to shift toward letting gay people come out of the closet and trying to push reactionary conservatives in. Thing is, if you push the conservatives into the closet, they don't get enough opportunities for youto see them and evaluate whether you agree with their policies.
Last out, People who complain about things on social justice fronts...often are doing so because they love those things and want them to be better, not because they hate them. And it's more productive to criticize someone's practices rather than to claim they don't have the same label you do.
And last for tonight - a Quidditch World Cup just concluded, IT Security, in a very short read, and an acapella singer of chiptunes and video game music - that sings all the parts himself.
