Almost there - 05 June 2008
Jun. 5th, 2008 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptChanged gears entirely today... but was dismayed to find that I had only kept one of my previous .hack game saves, and that all of my games are back at home, which means I’ll have to wait for them to appear before creating a game save file and importing in. It’s probably not anything supercool, but I played the previous games, so I should probably at least get a little data imported in.
A small bit of interesting health news - brief, intense workouts can convey the same cardiovascular benefits as longer, more moderate programs. Thus, one can do just as well by sprints as one does in longer runs. Just don’t overdo things to the point past benefits. In that case, it would be easy to say, clearly, you're doing it wrong.
And onward to things that are more likely to induce heart problems than fix them - the news.
Internationally, we lead with a secret plan to establish permanent bases in Iraq, conduct more military operations without consulting the Iraqis, and grant immunity from Iraqi law to United States troops supposedly is being negotiated as a treaty, with a push to complete before Mr. Bush leaves office in January. This is a leak, so it may be a rumor, it mat be an actuality. If it is true, though, then Senator McCain’s “one hundred years” may become a reality before anyone is even elected in January. With Turkey and Iran coordinating attacks against PKK forces in northern Iraq, that may be the excuse Mr. Bush needs to press through this plan, by hinting that Iran may not stop in the north. Israel and the U.S. are trying to get Europe to also call Iran a bogeyman, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Iran is somehow part of the justification for more permanent bases.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, a tape attributed to al-Zawahri urges holy war to be conducted over the Gaza Strip, as if there weren’t already enough fighting going on there.
In France, a court ruling permitting an annulment of a marriage because it was discovered that the bride is not a virgin has generated an uproar, with worries that the ruling will be used as legal precedent and support for customs that say brides should be virgins and as a bludgeon to set back women’s rights. It is not mentioned in the article how the discovery of the bride’s status came about. The reasoning suggests that the virginity of the bride was an essential component of the groom’s decision to marry, and after this was found to be untrue, then he didn’t want to marry. I’m not sure what legal opinion should be on the matter, nor what uses such a ruling as this could be put to. I also wonder, for those who must have virginal brides, whether there aren’t also customs that are supposed to check the potential bride for her virginity. I personally think that not knowing sexual compatibility before marrying (or at least, not having had a discussion about whether sex will be a part of the marriage) increases the chances that the marriage won’t work out, but ages-old customs do not change overnight.
Additionally, aid ships waiting off the coast of Burma/Myanmar will resume their normal programs, after being stonewalled by the government and not permitted to enter the country to deliver their supplies. It’s a wonder that the government of the country isn’t taking all the help that has been raised for them, but that particular government has not demonstrated sanity in their response to the cyclone strike.
Doemstically, the residents of Indianapolis, Indiana will be subjected to military exercises occurring in their city. While the exercises are supposedly in buildings that have been “surrendered”, this naturally sparks a worry that the government is training so as to potentially subject their own people to martial law in the upcoming months. I think a lot of people are still wondering whether we’ll make it to January with a peaceful transfer of power, especially if a Democrat is elected in November. And with voting machines that flip votes and other shenanigans, if we want to be absolutely sure that our vote tabulations are accurate and untampered with, we’re going to have to do some serious auditing, starting right now, of the machines and the files. Otherwise there’s a good chance that the next election will be as disputed as the last two. So far, however, Indiana has not gone as far as the district of Columbia's intent to seal off entire neighborhoods to try and quell the violence inside. Checkpoints, ID demands, and turning away everyone else included. Where, exactly, does the authority to do that derive from? I’m damn sure it isn’t the Constitution.
Further underscoring how the country continues to be undemocratic, military tribunals are underway for several of the alleged perpetrators and planners of the 11 September attacks. Would it be fair to call such tribunals actual trials, considering they are not being conducted in the presence of a jury of the person’s peers, but instead before a military judge? The possibility of the death penalty looms on those who are standing at the moment, a result that some of them may not believe is a totally bad outcome, despite the whole dying thing.
Another Marine charged in the Haidtha incident has been cleared of charges. What was apparently a strong case for war crimes is managing to not find ways of making the charges stick and proving them.
Despite the ever-increasing price of oil and gasoline, some people aren't getting rid of their large, horrible fuel-efficiency cars, like Hummers - although both people interviewed in the article have alternate cars that they use for regular driving, and that get much better gas mileage than the 10mpg that a Hummer does. I don’t think there is going to be a time any time soon where fuel prices will be cheap enough that driving one’s oversized car around will be practical.
There are reasons why we tell people not to play on the train tracks... two young girls were sunbathing on the tracks, fell asleep, and then ended up losing limbs as a train rounded the bend and struck them. What possessed someone to sunbathe on the train tracks in the first place? You wouldn’t do it in the middle of the road... at least, I would hope someone wouldn’t do that. Tell me this is just an unfortunate consequence of teenage brains not being fully developed and not a deliberate act of stupidity.
The temporary removal of a Catholic priest over remarks about Senator Clinton has sparked an outcry from the parish, who demand that the Cardinal responsible for the removal reinstate the priest. The reasons given sound like good Christian ones - the priest was involved in a lot of community building, good social work, charity, and other programs that the parishioners are worried may stop or stall with his absence. The priest has apologized for his remarks. Forgiveness is a virtue, and with the parish asking the Cardinal to absolve their priest and put him back to work, I would hope that the Cardinal grants their request.
And now that Senator Obama is the presumptive nominee, and there are good sources saying that Senator Clinton will suspend her campaign, a significant amount of material has finally come out of the woodwork. Speculation that Senator Clinton will try to be Senator Obama's vice president has already begun. Beyond that, Senator Obama has apparently accepted Senator McCain's offer to engage in almost weekly town-hall style debates, at locations to be determined by the campaigns. Such a move could help Senator Obama, with large amounts of exposure, or hurt him, if Senator McCain is able to demonstrate that Senator Obama is somehow lacking in policy decisions or considerations. Thomas Sowell has already made up his mind, contending Senator Obama supports "far-left grievance politics" based on his voting record and his apparent unwillingness to believe that terrorists and Iran will become nuclear and use those nuclear weapons against the free world in blind, unthinking hatred, and David Limbaugh contends that Senator Obama fully believes in and endorses anti-white rhetoric, based on the sermons delivered at Trinity United and the approving response from the congregation thereof. Truth value of those statements not taken into account, of course. Bill Steigwald accuses the mainstream media of not doing their jobs and investigating all the thinkers that influenced the Senator Obama in his earlier days, and all the people that he associated with in those times. Not just time-consuming, but there’s no guarantees that the people the Senator looked up to then are the same he looks up to now. Why not focus on the actual policy and opinions the Senator has expressed recently? OpinionJournal is the moderate voice, considering that despite his voting record and his actions regarding Trinity United, the editors at the WSJ feel they do not know Senator Obama well enough to trust him with the presidency, and want to see more of what Seantor Obama is in the coming months. Tony Blankley feels Senator Obama has not yet taken a definite stance on his economic policy, wanting him to choose between Reagan and The Socialists, when his real policy may incorporate elements of both, while Thomas Frank recommends some different economic reading for the Senator, warning him to not get too caught up in the promises of “market-based” everything. The chairman of Vets for Freedom insists that Seantor Obama must visit Iraq, after which he will understand completely the need to stay, and that progress is being made, and that he shouldn't pull out troops. And perhaps, just a bit, he’ll find some magic pixie dust in the Green Zone. The Senator understands that the situation in Iraq would probably resemble a dog-and-pony show, were he to visit, because risking the Senator by showing him what actually happens in danger zones is a big no-no.
Of course, through all of this, we could set aside all the serious matters and reduce to an absurd degree, as comedian Rush Limbaugh does, by making Senator Obama's race the single reason why he is the Democratic party nominee.
Forward into opinions - Fouad Ajami believes that the narrative on Iraq has shifted, with critics of the war trying to rewrite the reasons we went into Iraq, and not noticing the subtle “gains”, trying to once again prove that the absence of proof is proof of absence, especially where the default and optimal condition is zero. I do not think that any war supporter can really count the “no terror attacks” and “governments and terrorists have rethought their positions” as a positive outcome of the war in Iraq. “Iraq as a functioning democracy, standing on its own and doing well in the international community”, that I can see as a goal that someone could claim. That hasn’t happened yet.
Terrence Jeffrey joins the cacophony calling for the Untied States to exploit its own oil reserves, to lower prices without considering environmental consequences or the need to increase refining capacities to handle a new influx of oil. There’s probably a good reason why drilling in those zones isn’t currently permitted, and there’s no guarantee that drilling out those zones would actually result in profitability for the oil companies. With no profit guarantee, it’ll probably be a decently chilly day in Hades before the oil companies go looking. Until then, creative re-use of non-recyclable items may stave off our doom for a little while.
In technology, robots are learning to pick up and manipulate objects they have not seen before, a cloth of microfibers that can pick up contaminants from water while not absorbing any of the water itself, which would make for excellent safety gear on oil platforms and tankers, a wireless sensor network to keep tabs on the environment while there’s no person around to observe, using electrodes on the tongue to help people correct their balance, the possibility of building structures using materials native to the moon, although not everything in the structure would be moon-made, advances in holography, and finally, nanobots powered like sperm, focus fusion, and the possibility of four-dimensional space and two-dimensional time.
Inflatable electric vehicles? Using air, some very lightweight fibers, and electric motors and powerplants, one could conceivably go quite a ways without the need to recharge, or at the very least, have a cheap car that gets excellent mileage per charge. If that prototype turns out to be workable, and the car itself to be affordable, I can see it becoming pretty popular, assuming it can be certified as street-legal.
A new way to find worm infections - by automatically triggering a quarantine when the scans get too high. By taking the signature characteristic of a worm and finding a way to fight it, this may help prevent the spread of such things - although it may mean a few more irate calls to tech support as to why the Internet isn’t working.
Earning a coveted quiche to the face, in the next-to-last spot for tonight, Focus on the Family is holding a symposium on becoming "ex-gay" in Orlando this Saturday, timing it to coincide with Disney World’s Gay Days event. The promotion for the event includes six billboards, at least one radio appearance, and trying to stir up as much sentiment as possible, it appears. Truth Wins Out is putting on a counter-event to Focus on the Family's Florida conference. I don’t know if anyone can really become “ex-gay” - even in the most charitable of definitions, it would probably be more akin to being a sober alcoholic than actually being “cured” of homosexuality. Or, perhaps, the best that FotF and their ilk hope for is that they’ll find some way of making someone bisexual, which I’m sure would really make their hackles rise. Much of what I’ve heard of supposed therapies involve repression to the point of abuse (if not actual abuse) and piling on the shame, guilt, and “God Loves You(, But Not If You Keep Sinning Like This)” style of persuasion. The health of the people involved certainly doesn’t seem to be a consideration in the zeal to try and get them to repent of their ways.
Speaking of homosexuals, the Brazilian government is going to have to do a hot-potato dance to avoid getting nailed with arresting a military officer, officially because of desertion, but also potentially because he gave an interview about being a homosexual.
Last for tonight, something really cute - the itty bitty kitty committee, which fosters tiny cute kittens left at the Tacoma/Pierce County Humane Society office. In other words, this committee is somewhere very close to me. So I salute them and say “d’awwwww” at all the tiny cute cats. And now, bed.
A small bit of interesting health news - brief, intense workouts can convey the same cardiovascular benefits as longer, more moderate programs. Thus, one can do just as well by sprints as one does in longer runs. Just don’t overdo things to the point past benefits. In that case, it would be easy to say, clearly, you're doing it wrong.
And onward to things that are more likely to induce heart problems than fix them - the news.
Internationally, we lead with a secret plan to establish permanent bases in Iraq, conduct more military operations without consulting the Iraqis, and grant immunity from Iraqi law to United States troops supposedly is being negotiated as a treaty, with a push to complete before Mr. Bush leaves office in January. This is a leak, so it may be a rumor, it mat be an actuality. If it is true, though, then Senator McCain’s “one hundred years” may become a reality before anyone is even elected in January. With Turkey and Iran coordinating attacks against PKK forces in northern Iraq, that may be the excuse Mr. Bush needs to press through this plan, by hinting that Iran may not stop in the north. Israel and the U.S. are trying to get Europe to also call Iran a bogeyman, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Iran is somehow part of the justification for more permanent bases.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, a tape attributed to al-Zawahri urges holy war to be conducted over the Gaza Strip, as if there weren’t already enough fighting going on there.
In France, a court ruling permitting an annulment of a marriage because it was discovered that the bride is not a virgin has generated an uproar, with worries that the ruling will be used as legal precedent and support for customs that say brides should be virgins and as a bludgeon to set back women’s rights. It is not mentioned in the article how the discovery of the bride’s status came about. The reasoning suggests that the virginity of the bride was an essential component of the groom’s decision to marry, and after this was found to be untrue, then he didn’t want to marry. I’m not sure what legal opinion should be on the matter, nor what uses such a ruling as this could be put to. I also wonder, for those who must have virginal brides, whether there aren’t also customs that are supposed to check the potential bride for her virginity. I personally think that not knowing sexual compatibility before marrying (or at least, not having had a discussion about whether sex will be a part of the marriage) increases the chances that the marriage won’t work out, but ages-old customs do not change overnight.
Additionally, aid ships waiting off the coast of Burma/Myanmar will resume their normal programs, after being stonewalled by the government and not permitted to enter the country to deliver their supplies. It’s a wonder that the government of the country isn’t taking all the help that has been raised for them, but that particular government has not demonstrated sanity in their response to the cyclone strike.
Doemstically, the residents of Indianapolis, Indiana will be subjected to military exercises occurring in their city. While the exercises are supposedly in buildings that have been “surrendered”, this naturally sparks a worry that the government is training so as to potentially subject their own people to martial law in the upcoming months. I think a lot of people are still wondering whether we’ll make it to January with a peaceful transfer of power, especially if a Democrat is elected in November. And with voting machines that flip votes and other shenanigans, if we want to be absolutely sure that our vote tabulations are accurate and untampered with, we’re going to have to do some serious auditing, starting right now, of the machines and the files. Otherwise there’s a good chance that the next election will be as disputed as the last two. So far, however, Indiana has not gone as far as the district of Columbia's intent to seal off entire neighborhoods to try and quell the violence inside. Checkpoints, ID demands, and turning away everyone else included. Where, exactly, does the authority to do that derive from? I’m damn sure it isn’t the Constitution.
Further underscoring how the country continues to be undemocratic, military tribunals are underway for several of the alleged perpetrators and planners of the 11 September attacks. Would it be fair to call such tribunals actual trials, considering they are not being conducted in the presence of a jury of the person’s peers, but instead before a military judge? The possibility of the death penalty looms on those who are standing at the moment, a result that some of them may not believe is a totally bad outcome, despite the whole dying thing.
Another Marine charged in the Haidtha incident has been cleared of charges. What was apparently a strong case for war crimes is managing to not find ways of making the charges stick and proving them.
Despite the ever-increasing price of oil and gasoline, some people aren't getting rid of their large, horrible fuel-efficiency cars, like Hummers - although both people interviewed in the article have alternate cars that they use for regular driving, and that get much better gas mileage than the 10mpg that a Hummer does. I don’t think there is going to be a time any time soon where fuel prices will be cheap enough that driving one’s oversized car around will be practical.
There are reasons why we tell people not to play on the train tracks... two young girls were sunbathing on the tracks, fell asleep, and then ended up losing limbs as a train rounded the bend and struck them. What possessed someone to sunbathe on the train tracks in the first place? You wouldn’t do it in the middle of the road... at least, I would hope someone wouldn’t do that. Tell me this is just an unfortunate consequence of teenage brains not being fully developed and not a deliberate act of stupidity.
The temporary removal of a Catholic priest over remarks about Senator Clinton has sparked an outcry from the parish, who demand that the Cardinal responsible for the removal reinstate the priest. The reasons given sound like good Christian ones - the priest was involved in a lot of community building, good social work, charity, and other programs that the parishioners are worried may stop or stall with his absence. The priest has apologized for his remarks. Forgiveness is a virtue, and with the parish asking the Cardinal to absolve their priest and put him back to work, I would hope that the Cardinal grants their request.
And now that Senator Obama is the presumptive nominee, and there are good sources saying that Senator Clinton will suspend her campaign, a significant amount of material has finally come out of the woodwork. Speculation that Senator Clinton will try to be Senator Obama's vice president has already begun. Beyond that, Senator Obama has apparently accepted Senator McCain's offer to engage in almost weekly town-hall style debates, at locations to be determined by the campaigns. Such a move could help Senator Obama, with large amounts of exposure, or hurt him, if Senator McCain is able to demonstrate that Senator Obama is somehow lacking in policy decisions or considerations. Thomas Sowell has already made up his mind, contending Senator Obama supports "far-left grievance politics" based on his voting record and his apparent unwillingness to believe that terrorists and Iran will become nuclear and use those nuclear weapons against the free world in blind, unthinking hatred, and David Limbaugh contends that Senator Obama fully believes in and endorses anti-white rhetoric, based on the sermons delivered at Trinity United and the approving response from the congregation thereof. Truth value of those statements not taken into account, of course. Bill Steigwald accuses the mainstream media of not doing their jobs and investigating all the thinkers that influenced the Senator Obama in his earlier days, and all the people that he associated with in those times. Not just time-consuming, but there’s no guarantees that the people the Senator looked up to then are the same he looks up to now. Why not focus on the actual policy and opinions the Senator has expressed recently? OpinionJournal is the moderate voice, considering that despite his voting record and his actions regarding Trinity United, the editors at the WSJ feel they do not know Senator Obama well enough to trust him with the presidency, and want to see more of what Seantor Obama is in the coming months. Tony Blankley feels Senator Obama has not yet taken a definite stance on his economic policy, wanting him to choose between Reagan and The Socialists, when his real policy may incorporate elements of both, while Thomas Frank recommends some different economic reading for the Senator, warning him to not get too caught up in the promises of “market-based” everything. The chairman of Vets for Freedom insists that Seantor Obama must visit Iraq, after which he will understand completely the need to stay, and that progress is being made, and that he shouldn't pull out troops. And perhaps, just a bit, he’ll find some magic pixie dust in the Green Zone. The Senator understands that the situation in Iraq would probably resemble a dog-and-pony show, were he to visit, because risking the Senator by showing him what actually happens in danger zones is a big no-no.
Of course, through all of this, we could set aside all the serious matters and reduce to an absurd degree, as comedian Rush Limbaugh does, by making Senator Obama's race the single reason why he is the Democratic party nominee.
Forward into opinions - Fouad Ajami believes that the narrative on Iraq has shifted, with critics of the war trying to rewrite the reasons we went into Iraq, and not noticing the subtle “gains”, trying to once again prove that the absence of proof is proof of absence, especially where the default and optimal condition is zero. I do not think that any war supporter can really count the “no terror attacks” and “governments and terrorists have rethought their positions” as a positive outcome of the war in Iraq. “Iraq as a functioning democracy, standing on its own and doing well in the international community”, that I can see as a goal that someone could claim. That hasn’t happened yet.
Terrence Jeffrey joins the cacophony calling for the Untied States to exploit its own oil reserves, to lower prices without considering environmental consequences or the need to increase refining capacities to handle a new influx of oil. There’s probably a good reason why drilling in those zones isn’t currently permitted, and there’s no guarantee that drilling out those zones would actually result in profitability for the oil companies. With no profit guarantee, it’ll probably be a decently chilly day in Hades before the oil companies go looking. Until then, creative re-use of non-recyclable items may stave off our doom for a little while.
In technology, robots are learning to pick up and manipulate objects they have not seen before, a cloth of microfibers that can pick up contaminants from water while not absorbing any of the water itself, which would make for excellent safety gear on oil platforms and tankers, a wireless sensor network to keep tabs on the environment while there’s no person around to observe, using electrodes on the tongue to help people correct their balance, the possibility of building structures using materials native to the moon, although not everything in the structure would be moon-made, advances in holography, and finally, nanobots powered like sperm, focus fusion, and the possibility of four-dimensional space and two-dimensional time.
Inflatable electric vehicles? Using air, some very lightweight fibers, and electric motors and powerplants, one could conceivably go quite a ways without the need to recharge, or at the very least, have a cheap car that gets excellent mileage per charge. If that prototype turns out to be workable, and the car itself to be affordable, I can see it becoming pretty popular, assuming it can be certified as street-legal.
A new way to find worm infections - by automatically triggering a quarantine when the scans get too high. By taking the signature characteristic of a worm and finding a way to fight it, this may help prevent the spread of such things - although it may mean a few more irate calls to tech support as to why the Internet isn’t working.
Earning a coveted quiche to the face, in the next-to-last spot for tonight, Focus on the Family is holding a symposium on becoming "ex-gay" in Orlando this Saturday, timing it to coincide with Disney World’s Gay Days event. The promotion for the event includes six billboards, at least one radio appearance, and trying to stir up as much sentiment as possible, it appears. Truth Wins Out is putting on a counter-event to Focus on the Family's Florida conference. I don’t know if anyone can really become “ex-gay” - even in the most charitable of definitions, it would probably be more akin to being a sober alcoholic than actually being “cured” of homosexuality. Or, perhaps, the best that FotF and their ilk hope for is that they’ll find some way of making someone bisexual, which I’m sure would really make their hackles rise. Much of what I’ve heard of supposed therapies involve repression to the point of abuse (if not actual abuse) and piling on the shame, guilt, and “God Loves You(, But Not If You Keep Sinning Like This)” style of persuasion. The health of the people involved certainly doesn’t seem to be a consideration in the zeal to try and get them to repent of their ways.
Speaking of homosexuals, the Brazilian government is going to have to do a hot-potato dance to avoid getting nailed with arresting a military officer, officially because of desertion, but also potentially because he gave an interview about being a homosexual.
Last for tonight, something really cute - the itty bitty kitty committee, which fosters tiny cute kittens left at the Tacoma/Pierce County Humane Society office. In other words, this committee is somewhere very close to me. So I salute them and say “d’awwwww” at all the tiny cute cats. And now, bed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 02:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 02:58 pm (UTC)You always could adopt an older cat, but if you adopt one at all, I'd recommend doing it on a weekend you have both days off, or on a holiday weekend so you can spend more time with the cat.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-06 04:57 pm (UTC)Also, apparently people are more likely to be allergic to female cats. I'm not sure why, but I read that somewhere. And you've been fine around Will...though not like you've really been around him for an extended period of time, but didn't he try sleeping on you once?