And then there were more - 8 February 2007
Feb. 9th, 2007 12:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptToday 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.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 05:47 am (UTC)And really, If you are afraid to tell a nine-year-old what it is....christ. I mean, a nine-year-old girl ought to be learning about her body and the changes she'll be going through. What's mom/aunt going to say? "your hooha will bleed"?
*rolls eyes* stupid, stupid people.
Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 01:21 pm (UTC)Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 03:05 pm (UTC)Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 03:28 pm (UTC)The real issue here is that sexual organs (and in some parts of Western society, specifically female sexual organs) are considered taboo. Indeed, the original story is doubly sad as the purpose of "The Vagina Monologues" was to rehabilitate women's relationship with their sex, so that they weren't constrained by the taboo which had developed in society.
(Now, "The Vagina Monologues" can still be regarded as flawed since the word "vagina" only refers to the interior part of the female sex organs, and not the rest. Unfortunately, the original word used for the entire female sexual equipment is considered so taboo in much of Western society that I'm not going to refer to it here, since I'm posting from a work machine.)
Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 03:41 pm (UTC)The thing is, a nine-year-old girl should know the real terms for those parts of the body given what changes she will be going through starting around that age. There is no reason why the aunt should have been upset about having to explain the word to the girl, unless she felt uncomfortable talking about puberty and menstruation, something that pretty much every single woman on the planet goes through, and which generally starts somewhere between age 9 and 13.
I think I'd have been more freaked out if I was a nine year old girl experiencing menarche, and having no clue what was going on with my body.
Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 04:37 pm (UTC)Come now, lots of women, more commonly twenty or more years ago, but still now, seem to have problems talking about menstruation. Just because it's common doesn't mean that people necessarily find it comfortable to talk about - masturbation comes to mind as another example of a "common" (if voluntary in this case) experience which used to be (and is still slightly) taboo to discuss.
Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 04:43 pm (UTC)but anyway, i know that women have problems talking about it, but we're also talking about educating their children - you may not like the idea of discussing it, but you're going to have to...I mean, this is the reason there are so many teenage pregnancies and teens with STDs, because they aren't getting the proper types of education.
Masturbation isn't really a topic i'd expect to be discussing with my parental figure, but the changes to my body I would expect to get some kind of education about.
Twenty years ago, I was a young girl learning about the changes my body was about to experience, and I had no problems with discussing those changes with female family members, including my aunts (as well as in my school, but don't get me started on how amazing my sex ed was compared to most schools in other states)
Re: i think i just like using this icon
Date: 2007-02-09 04:48 pm (UTC)However, that does not mean that all people do discuss menstruation and other personal puberty related issues with their children. Things are generally much improved, but there were certainly periods (and areas) where you just didn't talk about certain things, except in highly-codified ways which only alluded to the actual truth. This, as I mentioned, started to become less of an issue from (at a guess) about twenty to thirty years ago, but it certainly hasn't totally vanished.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-09 06:58 am (UTC)I can see the flipping out over real fur being labeled as fake (as if you can't tell the difference!) but the dog/raccoon dog thing shouldn't have anything to do with it.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-09 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-09 03:09 pm (UTC)I do wonder how they are going to word the law. If it does say "canine fur", then that would make fox fur illegal as well, right?
I'm reminded of when my college put on Cabaret my Sopho-Junior year. I was in the chorus, as was a friend of mine. We were also on Costume crew and had to go through huge stores of costumes trying to find ourselves period costumes. One of the items we came across was a mink (i think?) stole. Made out of real fur. Made out of a real animal to the point where it still had the animals face and paws. Creeped me out so badly and despite the item in question being over 40 years old, it sickened me. my friend of course, thought it was the coolest thing ever. Anyway, sorry. Tangent.
JAG & Anna Nicole
Date: 2007-02-09 11:06 am (UTC)She had that court case reviewed by the Supreme Court of the US, finally started getting he life back together somewhat with the loss of weight & having her baby girl Dani Lynn...then came the death of her boy Daniel 3 days later, the paternity problem on Dani Lynn, the ongoing battle for J. Howard's estate & new things about false advertising on the Trimspa commercials.
It all strikes me as tragic...in fact her life seems to draw a great many comparisons to the life of Marilyn Monroe. They both left way too early & deserved to have everything work out in the end. Too bad it didn't. I can only hope that when the estate case is done, Dani Lynn'll have some money set up and not get fleeced before she's even old enough to drive.
In regards to the court case with 1st Lt. Watada: You have to understand that the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) doesn't include the same provisions that civilian courts do. Miranda doesn't exist, among other things. However, they do have Double Jeopardy. The Government admits with Watada that he mis-signed a document. That document stated he understood he disobeyed orders to deploy. When it was thrown out by the Judge, the Government threw out the two charges of Conduct Unbecoming an Officer but he remains charged with missing movement - for his refusal to deploy - and two other allegations of conduct unbecoming an officer for comments made about the case.
This is why it was good to watch JAG on CBS...up until I found out Catherine Bell was a Scientologist & Vegan. That just kicked me out of the State of Disbelief I needed to enjoy a good show.
Re: JAG & Anna Nicole
Date: 2007-02-09 03:10 pm (UTC)Re: JAG & Anna Nicole
Date: 2007-02-10 09:55 am (UTC)This is why I know I would have a problem dealing with traditional Japanese cuisine...that is if I could ever get my ass over there for some fun.
Re: JAG & Anna Nicole
Date: 2007-02-10 12:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-09 03:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-09 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-10 12:00 am (UTC)But as the previous replier said, UCMJ is not the same as a civilian trial.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-10 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-10 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-10 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-10 05:32 pm (UTC)One commentator said it's obvious from the picture that they're actually trying to throttle each other.