A wonderful Friday - 18 January 2008
Jan. 18th, 2008 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptHalf-day of training today, on the very important matter of Intellectual Freedom, that thing that Librarians fight tooth, nail, and claw for to make sure that you can read what you want, view what you want, and that the government can’t just arbitrarily summon your records for no reason at all, among other things. Although they’re trying to do plenty of other things, like link the databases of the United States and the United Kingdom into a shared terror-fighting fingerprint and biometrics database. Soon enough, we’ll have a worldwide linking service, I’m sure, so that nobody can hide from anyone if the government decides they’re wanted or a terrorist.
My professional self also raises an eyebrow at research by CIBER that says everyone is adopting the Google mindset in their research behavior, including having zero patience and wanting everything to be online. The CIBER research recommends that libraries follow the trend and provide their material on-line, in addition to training people on information literacy and tooting their own horns as a place where reputable information can be gathered. In short, what librarians have decided they need to do for a while now.
Chess champion and Grand Master Bobby Fischer has passed away at 64 years of age.
In the matter of Iraq and Afghanistan, members of the armed services who were not fit for active duty were sent into Iraq anyway. Supposedly, those service members would be going in for light duties in places where medical services were available, but taking the injured back, along with the continued attempts to cheat veterans out of their proper services makes me wonder how anyone can say the current Administration actually supports the troops, as they claim to.
Furthermore, this following news from the Independent sounds very familiar. Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet. I seem to recall similar concern about opium in Afghanistan. Opium and the drug trade follow instability and then have to be rooted out or otherwise channeled. Is this one of the results of having one’s government knocked over?
Osama bin Laden's son wants to ride across North Africa for peace. The son doesn’t renounce the father, understanding that Osama truly believes he’s doing good, even if the West is less than fond of his methods and results.
In domestic politics, Red Rabbit isn't fond of Obama's admiration of Reagan and opposition to the 60s. For as much as he’s a darling candidate of the Democrats, Obama has his own laundry/skeletons in the closet. I still think that everyone is playing relatively nice right now, because the candidates are not yet decided. Once that’s finished, the gloves will be coming off. We might be seeing the beginnings of that with a Obama-supporting advertisement that says "Hillary Clinton is shameless", among other things, and Vogue's Anna Wintour calling Senator Clinton a "mannish" coward for not gracing Vogue with her presence.
Cristopher Hitchens wants humans to transcend small things like "race" or gender when selecting candidates and Presidents. To do what everyone should be doing - weighing the candidates’ positions on the issues, and voting for the one that will follow their positions on those issues.
On the Republican side, Debra Saunders questions the Republican will to win because of their lack of total support for John McCain, the Republican most likely to be electable. That lack of support includes radio ads attacking McCain and Romney for their lack of support for the Confederate flag and calls that repeat accusations first heard in his 2000 campaign.
I thought this to be a uniquely Catholic practice, but it appears the idea of booting people out of a church because of their unrepentant transgressions seems to be spreading to the Protestant churches too. Tolerate no dissent, I guess. I can only wonder what the congregations will start looking like after a generation or two of these expulsions.
In other materials, Ron Rosenbaum tries to work out whether Vladamir Nabokov's last work, currently unread and in a manuscript form, should be destroyed per Nabokov's wishes. The decision rests ultimately with Dmitri, his son. Dmitri has read the material in question and finds it excellent. Does the world deserve to see it, even though it goes against the author’s intended wishes?
Kotaku gives all those who want to do costume play as the currently-deceased Mike from College Roomies From Hell!!! hope by pointing to where one can find an arm-tentacle.
In other science, when combined with nano-scale iron oxide particles, magnetic fields can be used to induce cells to take in drugs or hormones with a fine grain of control. Specific dosing ability through magnetic fields - there’s an interesting thought. Although with as many electromagnetic fields as we are exposed to in our daily lives, would that run the risk of accidentally activating medicines at improper times?
It probably evolved in us for some sort of reason, but research shows that aggression for agression's sake can induce a craving, because it's processed along the same pathways as rewards are. It feels good for us to beat the tar out of something. Somehow, this explains a lot of behavior, including chest-thumping, dueling-penises contests, and other sorts of aggressive-for-their-own-sakes acts.
Potentially weird science, taking an idea that’s been at least done once by Gary Larson, Hungarian researchers are working on a program that intends to explain the meaning of dog barks. Weirder science involves electric circuits and lights have been implanted into contact lenses to provide a display. With those, playing real-street Pac-Man would get a whole lot easier.
In much the same way that the United States Army created and released an FPS, NASA is looking into creating an MMO to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Maybe in a few years, we’ll be able to virtually run missions in space.
Feministing alerts us to a tactic by anti-choice advocates that claims men are victims of abortions and suffer a "post-abortion syndrome". Now, some men might suffer this, but the tactic is a way of furthering the idea that men should have some sort of ultimate authority on what women do with their bodies and that everyone is harmed by abortions. I would hope that most women communicate with their partners and come to consensus about what to do with an unplanned pregnancy, but for those whose partners won’t communicate, or insist that the child be carried to term without also having the assurances that the child will be well cared-for, ultimate authority still rests with the woman carrying the child. We should respect that.
Last for tonight, in the war between MediaDefender and the copyright holders and the pirates and crackers, the pirates are winning. The pirates have even hacked MediaDefender a few times. Solutions to the problems of file-sharing that don’t involve some manner in which all file-sharing becomes legal are not going to last long, I suspect. Technology will be hacked, DRM will be scrubbed, and suits won’t scare everyone. We will survive this. Eventually.
Anyway, night, night, people, and all that.
My professional self also raises an eyebrow at research by CIBER that says everyone is adopting the Google mindset in their research behavior, including having zero patience and wanting everything to be online. The CIBER research recommends that libraries follow the trend and provide their material on-line, in addition to training people on information literacy and tooting their own horns as a place where reputable information can be gathered. In short, what librarians have decided they need to do for a while now.
Chess champion and Grand Master Bobby Fischer has passed away at 64 years of age.
In the matter of Iraq and Afghanistan, members of the armed services who were not fit for active duty were sent into Iraq anyway. Supposedly, those service members would be going in for light duties in places where medical services were available, but taking the injured back, along with the continued attempts to cheat veterans out of their proper services makes me wonder how anyone can say the current Administration actually supports the troops, as they claim to.
Furthermore, this following news from the Independent sounds very familiar. Opium fields spread across Iraq as farmers try to make ends meet. I seem to recall similar concern about opium in Afghanistan. Opium and the drug trade follow instability and then have to be rooted out or otherwise channeled. Is this one of the results of having one’s government knocked over?
Osama bin Laden's son wants to ride across North Africa for peace. The son doesn’t renounce the father, understanding that Osama truly believes he’s doing good, even if the West is less than fond of his methods and results.
In domestic politics, Red Rabbit isn't fond of Obama's admiration of Reagan and opposition to the 60s. For as much as he’s a darling candidate of the Democrats, Obama has his own laundry/skeletons in the closet. I still think that everyone is playing relatively nice right now, because the candidates are not yet decided. Once that’s finished, the gloves will be coming off. We might be seeing the beginnings of that with a Obama-supporting advertisement that says "Hillary Clinton is shameless", among other things, and Vogue's Anna Wintour calling Senator Clinton a "mannish" coward for not gracing Vogue with her presence.
Cristopher Hitchens wants humans to transcend small things like "race" or gender when selecting candidates and Presidents. To do what everyone should be doing - weighing the candidates’ positions on the issues, and voting for the one that will follow their positions on those issues.
On the Republican side, Debra Saunders questions the Republican will to win because of their lack of total support for John McCain, the Republican most likely to be electable. That lack of support includes radio ads attacking McCain and Romney for their lack of support for the Confederate flag and calls that repeat accusations first heard in his 2000 campaign.
I thought this to be a uniquely Catholic practice, but it appears the idea of booting people out of a church because of their unrepentant transgressions seems to be spreading to the Protestant churches too. Tolerate no dissent, I guess. I can only wonder what the congregations will start looking like after a generation or two of these expulsions.
In other materials, Ron Rosenbaum tries to work out whether Vladamir Nabokov's last work, currently unread and in a manuscript form, should be destroyed per Nabokov's wishes. The decision rests ultimately with Dmitri, his son. Dmitri has read the material in question and finds it excellent. Does the world deserve to see it, even though it goes against the author’s intended wishes?
Kotaku gives all those who want to do costume play as the currently-deceased Mike from College Roomies From Hell!!! hope by pointing to where one can find an arm-tentacle.
In other science, when combined with nano-scale iron oxide particles, magnetic fields can be used to induce cells to take in drugs or hormones with a fine grain of control. Specific dosing ability through magnetic fields - there’s an interesting thought. Although with as many electromagnetic fields as we are exposed to in our daily lives, would that run the risk of accidentally activating medicines at improper times?
It probably evolved in us for some sort of reason, but research shows that aggression for agression's sake can induce a craving, because it's processed along the same pathways as rewards are. It feels good for us to beat the tar out of something. Somehow, this explains a lot of behavior, including chest-thumping, dueling-penises contests, and other sorts of aggressive-for-their-own-sakes acts.
Potentially weird science, taking an idea that’s been at least done once by Gary Larson, Hungarian researchers are working on a program that intends to explain the meaning of dog barks. Weirder science involves electric circuits and lights have been implanted into contact lenses to provide a display. With those, playing real-street Pac-Man would get a whole lot easier.
In much the same way that the United States Army created and released an FPS, NASA is looking into creating an MMO to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Maybe in a few years, we’ll be able to virtually run missions in space.
Feministing alerts us to a tactic by anti-choice advocates that claims men are victims of abortions and suffer a "post-abortion syndrome". Now, some men might suffer this, but the tactic is a way of furthering the idea that men should have some sort of ultimate authority on what women do with their bodies and that everyone is harmed by abortions. I would hope that most women communicate with their partners and come to consensus about what to do with an unplanned pregnancy, but for those whose partners won’t communicate, or insist that the child be carried to term without also having the assurances that the child will be well cared-for, ultimate authority still rests with the woman carrying the child. We should respect that.
Last for tonight, in the war between MediaDefender and the copyright holders and the pirates and crackers, the pirates are winning. The pirates have even hacked MediaDefender a few times. Solutions to the problems of file-sharing that don’t involve some manner in which all file-sharing becomes legal are not going to last long, I suspect. Technology will be hacked, DRM will be scrubbed, and suits won’t scare everyone. We will survive this. Eventually.
Anyway, night, night, people, and all that.
