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silveradeptI came back, I banged by head against Ruby on Rails. I picked up a useful thing that will serve me later, but I could not achieve what I actually wanted to do with the silly thing. (Argh.) I will consult expert advice and begin anew.
Paranoia really did kick in. As is no doubt splashed across most of news and blogs, two people involved in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force stunt have been arrested. Yep, nobody hurt, devices removed, fears assuaged, and now, the final step, crucify a scapegoat.
As punishment for corssing a police line in protest, a grandmother was sentenced to sweep the steps of the Texas capitol building - the same steps she and others had sat on after crossing the line. Someone probably thought it was an excellent, fitting punishment. The grain of truth is in the lesson she says she’s learned - the justice system is more like a system of shame. I’m sympathetic to the idea that there were probably other, better, uses of her time for a community service punishment, too. Make of it what you like.
Domestic politics gives - a six month timeline for progress in Iraq, which is six months too soon in the majority of America’s opinions. Also, note several of the Senators have changed their views on Iraq over time. They’re allowed to, but they can’t say that they were always against the war. Any Senator trying to do that should be reminded of their past. Finally, probably because more of the country is classified as rural than urban, TomDispatch analyzes the statistic that 60% more soldiers from rural America end up dead than those from urban America.
Internationally, the British government trumpeted its success in foiling a plot to kidnap and behead a soldier, which apparently is a terrorist act now, rather than just a kidnapping and murder. Elsewhere, Hugo Chavez was granted the ability to rule by decree. We’ll see how well this turns out.
Updating on some earlier material, Citizendium is now up and running. Citizendium aims to become better than Wikipedia, through the use of expert guidance and the requirement of using one’s real name. Additionally, here's sound flowchart advice on whether to upgrade to Windows Vista or not.
The BBC reports that left-handed people are quicker thinkers in sport and gaming tasks. They’re apparently better at using both sides of their brain. For those losing their bodies from a disease called peripheral neuropathy, a kinesiology professor at Lousiana State University is using tai chi to fight it off. This probably fits in with the “benefits of meditation” sort of work. With all our abilities to fight off or screen for or try to influence our own genes and bodies, how much of that control and ability should parents have with their children, RJ Eskow on the Huffington Post asks. The spectre of designer babies looms larger each day, and while for now, it seems to be limited more to people trying to select away from genes and expressions that are harmful, there’s a wonder whether soon, we’ll be able to pick every feature of our child to be just so. If ti comes about, though, it might take someone in a very altered state. After all, the person who theorized double-helix DNA was using LSD at the time it came to him. (Or so we’re told by this rerporter).
Tracking down the provenance of the material to follow has been problematic - as much of it has been removed from the original source, while quoted in others. Where things started was I Feel Sick at Talking in Circles, which referenced this post from Fundies say the darndest things about a mother's fundamentalist reaction to her son's coming out, which makes reference to a post made at Unidiversal that has the same text as what's quoted, supposedly coming from a post discussed at Religious Forums. The original post itself has been redacted, of course. Potentially from what resulted from the mother’s non-acceptance, if this chain is correct, and the “Betty” in the following forum is the same “Betty” that posted the first part - her son killed himself. (The responses in the Free Jesus forum are rather interesting, as they tend toward absolving the mother of blame for her son’s death, because she stuck to her religious beliefs, and her son obviously didn’t keep the faith.) This entire chain of events really doesn’t make sense to me. I would have to pass off to those who know better about what parents can do to their children in this particular case.
Anyway, much later than usual, I finally put this out as a post.
Paranoia really did kick in. As is no doubt splashed across most of news and blogs, two people involved in the Aqua Teen Hunger Force stunt have been arrested. Yep, nobody hurt, devices removed, fears assuaged, and now, the final step, crucify a scapegoat.
As punishment for corssing a police line in protest, a grandmother was sentenced to sweep the steps of the Texas capitol building - the same steps she and others had sat on after crossing the line. Someone probably thought it was an excellent, fitting punishment. The grain of truth is in the lesson she says she’s learned - the justice system is more like a system of shame. I’m sympathetic to the idea that there were probably other, better, uses of her time for a community service punishment, too. Make of it what you like.
Domestic politics gives - a six month timeline for progress in Iraq, which is six months too soon in the majority of America’s opinions. Also, note several of the Senators have changed their views on Iraq over time. They’re allowed to, but they can’t say that they were always against the war. Any Senator trying to do that should be reminded of their past. Finally, probably because more of the country is classified as rural than urban, TomDispatch analyzes the statistic that 60% more soldiers from rural America end up dead than those from urban America.
Internationally, the British government trumpeted its success in foiling a plot to kidnap and behead a soldier, which apparently is a terrorist act now, rather than just a kidnapping and murder. Elsewhere, Hugo Chavez was granted the ability to rule by decree. We’ll see how well this turns out.
Updating on some earlier material, Citizendium is now up and running. Citizendium aims to become better than Wikipedia, through the use of expert guidance and the requirement of using one’s real name. Additionally, here's sound flowchart advice on whether to upgrade to Windows Vista or not.
The BBC reports that left-handed people are quicker thinkers in sport and gaming tasks. They’re apparently better at using both sides of their brain. For those losing their bodies from a disease called peripheral neuropathy, a kinesiology professor at Lousiana State University is using tai chi to fight it off. This probably fits in with the “benefits of meditation” sort of work. With all our abilities to fight off or screen for or try to influence our own genes and bodies, how much of that control and ability should parents have with their children, RJ Eskow on the Huffington Post asks. The spectre of designer babies looms larger each day, and while for now, it seems to be limited more to people trying to select away from genes and expressions that are harmful, there’s a wonder whether soon, we’ll be able to pick every feature of our child to be just so. If ti comes about, though, it might take someone in a very altered state. After all, the person who theorized double-helix DNA was using LSD at the time it came to him. (Or so we’re told by this rerporter).
Tracking down the provenance of the material to follow has been problematic - as much of it has been removed from the original source, while quoted in others. Where things started was I Feel Sick at Talking in Circles, which referenced this post from Fundies say the darndest things about a mother's fundamentalist reaction to her son's coming out, which makes reference to a post made at Unidiversal that has the same text as what's quoted, supposedly coming from a post discussed at Religious Forums. The original post itself has been redacted, of course. Potentially from what resulted from the mother’s non-acceptance, if this chain is correct, and the “Betty” in the following forum is the same “Betty” that posted the first part - her son killed himself. (The responses in the Free Jesus forum are rather interesting, as they tend toward absolving the mother of blame for her son’s death, because she stuck to her religious beliefs, and her son obviously didn’t keep the faith.) This entire chain of events really doesn’t make sense to me. I would have to pass off to those who know better about what parents can do to their children in this particular case.
Anyway, much later than usual, I finally put this out as a post.
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Date: 2007-02-04 10:12 pm (UTC)this is great information, and not solely applicable to people with peripheral neuropathy, but anyone with a neurologic disorder that results in dystropy, including brain injury. thanks for posting this. i don't think we're moving to louisiana, but at the same time, i can just do taichi on my own, and/or contact professor li for more information. possibly i'll even start my own "study" group... 8)