December 31, 2007

Have A Great 2008...

Have fun and be safe as you toss out the old and bring in the new year!

Posted by Steve on December 31, 2007 | Comments (1)

December 28, 2007

Friday Ark #171

We'll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and....?

Visit all the boarders, Link to the Ark and check back for updates through Sunday afternoon!

You can find out how to board the Friday Ark at the Arkive page.

Cats

Dogs

Other Vertebrates

Birds

Invertebrates

In Memoriam

Didn't Make It

  • x

Exceptions (inclusion not guaranteed)

Extra, Extra: All Ark boarders are invited to shout out at the Friday Ark Frapper Map.

Dog folks: remember to submit your links to:

Cat folks: remember to submit your links to:

Birders: I and the Bird: A Blog Carnival for Bird Lovers is published every 2 weeks.

For the spineless: Circus of the Spineless. A monthly celebration of Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs, Crustaceans, Worms and most anything else that wiggles.

For other current carnivals check out The Blog Carnival and The TTLB Uber Carnival

Posted by Steve on December 28, 2007 | Comments (5)

December 27, 2007

Get Your Invertebrate Fix Now

Circus of the Spineless #28 is up at Catalogue of Organisms.

Posted by Steve on December 27, 2007

December 25, 2007


MERRY CHRISTMAS


Posted by Steve on December 25, 2007 | Comments (1)

December 24, 2007

Ahh, to be back on the water again...


I do wish I'd retained more French!

Conditioning and technique to aspire to!

Posted by Steve on December 24, 2007

December 22, 2007

Some lame duck video...


Perhaps we will be able to make one of these for the office itself real soon now..

Via Alternate Brain.

Posted by Steve on December 22, 2007

December 21, 2007

Friday Ark #170

We'll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and....?

Visit all the boarders, Link to the Ark and check back for updates through Sunday afternoon!

You can find out how to board the Friday Ark at the Arkive page.

Cats

Birds

Dogs

Other Vertebrates

Invertebrates

In Memoriam

Didn't Make It

Exceptions (inclusion not guaranteed)

Extra, Extra: All Ark boarders are invited to shout out at the Friday Ark Frapper Map.

Dog folks: remember to submit your links to:

Cat folks: remember to submit your links to:

Birders: I and the Bird: A Blog Carnival for Bird Lovers is published every 2 weeks.

For the spineless: Circus of the Spineless. A monthly celebration of Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs, Crustaceans, Worms and most anything else that wiggles.

For other current carnivals check out The Blog Carnival and The TTLB Uber Carnival

Posted by Steve on December 21, 2007 | Comments (3)

December 20, 2007

A Little Holiday Game Playing

No, it is not about who is the better wrapper....



...but, it does make me wonder how many rounds they have played and whether either of them knows the secret of winning.

Linnaeus really likes the accompanying song.

Posted by Steve on December 20, 2007

A Few Alternate Santas

Lore Sjöberg represents an entire line of Alt.Santas, each one wanting to be your holiday provider.

Perhaps you are already familiar with the objectivist, atheist, pagan and parent appreciation Santas.

Or, perhaps, you have run across others....?

Those of you familiar with Dr. Myers won't have to click the link to find out which of Lore's Santas is his favorite .

Personally, I'm quite happy with the real Mr & Mrs Claus who, after the round of parties, toil into the wee hours of Christmas Eve every year at our house.

Posted by Steve on December 20, 2007

December 19, 2007

Sock Puppets and Partners

Jaerome Doolittle argues that w is osama's sock puppet:

Giving Osama bin Laden an instrument like George W.Bush to play is like handing Jascha Heifetz a Stradivarius.

Bin Laden has got from Bush virtually everything he wanted: U.S. troops are out of Saudi Arabia, his enemy Saddam is dead, the Al Qaeda franchise has gone international, his hideout in Pakistan is safer than ever, the Taliban is resurgent, the Great Satan is globally hated and isolated, and Bush has done, praise be to Allah, effectively nothing to end the conflict between Israel and her Arab neighbors. Sweet!

Perhaps.

The way things have played out bush has gotten from osama virtually everything that he wanted: a huge popularity hit in his first term, a mission accomplished photo op, a 2nd term in office, billions in oil profit windfalls for his cronies around the world, the war on terror, the shredding of the bill of rights and so on ad infinitum.

It is not at all clear who is pulling the strings.

Perhaps they are each others sock puppet and, if so, perhaps they are partners.

Posted by Steve on December 19, 2007

December 18, 2007

It's Bilbo Time

Peter Jackson will be making two Hobbit movies!!

Unfortunately, the first one will not be out by Christmas 2008:

But a settlement announced on Tuesday between Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema holds the promise that peace will break out in Middle Earth and that fans could see the first of two resulting movies by December 2010.
Yikes, we have to wait that long. Surely Jackson could have been kind to us and been working on the first one on his own while negotiating with New Line.

The first one will be based on The Hobbit. The second will be based on....well, maybe they are just going to make it all up.

Via The Volokh Conspiracy.

Posted by Steve on December 18, 2007

Tuesday Skritch'n and Chirpin'

You know what to do:

For chirpin' and caucusin'

Enjoy!

Posted by Steve on December 18, 2007

December 17, 2007

Hot Free Software

Check out Lifehacker's 2007 Guide to Free Software and Webapps.

They list their favorite Windows and MAC programs in 20 categories and include links to Lifehacker's previous articles on each recommended tool.

Trying each of these out could provide quite a few hours of enjoyment if you need to fill some time!

Posted by Steve on December 17, 2007

We May Need A Lot More Than Tinfoil Before This Is Over


nq071217.gif


Non Sequitor


Via Thom Hartman on his Air America show this morning.

Posted by Steve on December 17, 2007

December 16, 2007

Unfortunately, It Appears Not To Be A Joke

But, really, it should be:

Neuticles.gif

Testicular Implantation For Pets
(US Patent #58-68140)

#1 Dinosaur says it better than I:

Ho. Ly. Shit! Is there no limit to what you can sell to anthropomorphizing idiots?

Now if this thing is nothing but a fantastic farce, my hat's off to you; I'm not worthy. But I'm afraid -- really afraid -- that it's on the level. Words escape me.

Indirectly via Tundra Medicine Dreams.

Posted by Steve on December 16, 2007 | Comments (1)

Is It A Market Economy?

Thoreau asks:

When so many major elements of the ostensibly private sector–the press, telecommunications, and oil, just to name a few (I’m not including the “defense” industry, because there’s nothing even ostensibly “private sector” about it)–are part and parcel of our security state and imperial policies, does it make sense to describe this as being even the faintest semblance of a market economy and system of private enterprise?
That is a question that really shouldn't need asking. The US economy is not a market economy and has not been since, well, pretty much forever.

It is important to remember that every time someone blames the market, or the free market, or some other similar entity for failing that it is a corporate state economy that has failed and the corporate state economy will fail again and again except at achieving its primary objective: scraping wealth off of the backs of the rest of us.

For more details read Kevin Carson's The Iron Fist Behind the Invisible Hand.

Posted by Steve on December 16, 2007

December 14, 2007

Who's on first...?

Via Scalzi.

Posted by Steve on December 14, 2007

Friday Ark #169

We'll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and....?

Visit all the boarders, Link to the Ark and check back for updates through Sunday afternoon!

You can find out how to board the Friday Ark at the Arkive page.

Cats

Other Vertebrates

Birds

Dogs

Invertebrates

In Memoriam

  • x

Didn't Make It

Exceptions (inclusion not guaranteed)

  • x

Extra, Extra: All Ark boarders are invited to shout out at the Friday Ark Frapper Map.

Dog folks: remember to submit your links to:

Cat folks: remember to submit your links to:

Birders: I and the Bird: A Blog Carnival for Bird Lovers is published every 2 weeks.

For the spineless: Circus of the Spineless. A monthly celebration of Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs, Crustaceans, Worms and most anything else that wiggles.

For other current carnivals check out The Blog Carnival and The TTLB Uber Carnival

Posted by Steve on December 14, 2007 | Comments (6)

December 13, 2007

Birds Caucus in Iowa

I and the Bird #64 is up at Iowa Voice.

Moe has provided a wonderful introduction to the Iowa caucuses and the many feathered participants.

Fly in and share some of your favorite bird food.

Posted by Steve on December 13, 2007

December 12, 2007

Good Commuter; Bad Commuter

Here are a couple commuting statistics from this longer list:

4.5: Percentage of Americans who use public transit to get to work.

88: Percentage of Americans who drive to work alone.

Most days I am a "good commuter" as I join the 4.5 % that use public transit.

Today, though, I am a "bad commuter"; part of the 88 % who drove to work alone.

Am I really good when I ride public transit? Well, I certainly do appreciate the near 80% subsidy I get when riding the bus. It strikes me that a better definition of "good commuter" would one who rides public transportation and pays
the full tab.

Do the folks working in the construction, auto and oil industries consider me bad when I use their services more intensely by driving to work alone?

Probably not.

Good and bad are clearly a reflection of the lenses you are looking through.

NB: I fully support eliminating subsidies for both types of commuters.

Posted by Steve on December 12, 2007 | Comments (1)

December 11, 2007

Get Ready for the Holidays With...

...the family survival kit:

Via Locusts & Honey.

Posted by Steve on December 11, 2007

December 10, 2007

Violence: From Screen to Life

Science Daily reports a bit of evidence that watching violent programs may not be benign:

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center’s Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Research Center have shown that watching violent programs can cause parts of your brain that suppress aggressive behaviors to become less active.
...
“Our findings demonstrate for the first time that watching media depictions of violence does influence processing in parts of the brain that control behaviors like aggression. This is an important finding, and further research should examine very closely how these changes affect real-life behavior.”
What were the depictions of violence?
The violent stimuli depicted acts of physical violence perpetrated by one human on another without mitigating or unrealistic elements; in general, these contained shootings, stabbings, and other kinds of physical assault.
The source article doesn't say but I suspect playing violent video games would elicit the same results. Evaluating this would be an interesting follow up study.

Here is the original research article.

Posted by Steve on December 10, 2007

December 9, 2007

Blogger Pictures Can Suck You In

Have you checked out the Blogger picture player? It has been around since September but I just ran across it:

Blogger Play will show you a never-ending stream of images that were just uploaded to public Blogger blogs. You can click the image to be taken directly to the blog post it was uploaded to, or click “show info” to see an overlay with the post title, a snippet of the body, and some profile information about the blogger who uploaded it.
Give it a try! Beware, though, some NSFW photos will scroll by:
Blogger Play
I found it pretty absorbing.

How long did you get stuck there the first time?

Posted by Steve on December 9, 2007

December 8, 2007

Rest In Peace John

Imagine!

December 8, 2007

I miss you, John. 27 years later, I still wish I could turn back the clock to the Summer of 1980. I remember everything - sharing our morning coffee, walking in the park together on a beautiful day, and seeing your hand stretched to mine - holding it, reassuring me that I shouldn't worry about anything because our life was good.

I had no idea that life was about to teach me the toughest lesson of all. I learned the intense pain of losing a loved one suddenly, without warning, and without having the time for a final hug and the chance to say, "I love you," for the last time. The pain and shock of that sudden loss is with me every moment of every day. When I touched John's side of our bed on the night of December 8th, 1980, I realized that it was still warm. That moment has haunted me for the past 27 years - and will stay with me forever.

Even harder for me is watching what was taken away from our beautiful boy, Sean.
He lives in silent anger over not having his Dad, whom he loved so much, around to share his life with. I know we are not alone. Our pain is one shared by many other families who are suffering as the victims of senseless violence. This pain has to stop.

Let's not waste the lives of those we have lost. Let's, together, make the world a place of love and joy and not a place of fear and anger. This day of John's passing has become more and more important for so many people around the world as the day to remember his message of Peace and Love and to do what each of us can to work on healing this planet we cherish.

Let's: Think Peace, Act Peace, and Spread Peace. John worked for it all his life.
He said, "there's no problem, only solutions." Remember, we are all together.
We can do it, we must. I love you!

Yoko Ono Lennon

Yoko's letter via Scott.

Posted by Steve on December 8, 2007 | Comments (2)

How to Make the World A Better Place

Extend this executive order for a few millennia.

Posted by Steve on December 8, 2007

December 7, 2007

Friday Ark #168

We'll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and....?

Visit all the boarders, Link to the Ark and check back for updates through Sunday afternoon!

You can find out how to board the Friday Ark at the Arkive page.

Cats

Other Vertebrates

Birds

Dogs

Invertebrates

In Memoriam

  • x

Didn't Make It

  • x

Exceptions (inclusion not guaranteed)

Extra, Extra: All Ark boarders are invited to shout out at the Friday Ark Frapper Map.

Dog folks: remember to submit your links to:

Cat folks: remember to submit your links to:

Birders: I and the Bird: A Blog Carnival for Bird Lovers is published every 2 weeks.

For the spineless: Circus of the Spineless. A monthly celebration of Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs, Crustaceans, Worms and most anything else that wiggles.

For other current carnivals check out The Blog Carnival and The TTLB Uber Carnival

Posted by Steve on December 7, 2007 | Comments (6)

December 6, 2007

Hot 2 Terabyte Network Drive From Western Digital

Except I won't be buying one and you probably shouldn't either unless you completely understand what you will and will not be getting!

Let's go directly to what you will not be getting:

*Due to unverifiable media license authentication, the most common audio and video file types cannot be shared with different users using WD Anywhere Access. A list of the non shareable file types can be found here.
It is a long list of just about everything that you would want to share with other users on your home networks except photos and document type files.

A quick look at the user manual (PDF)suggests that up to 5 users can be set up with the same name/pw but does not indicate any deviation from the above sharing exclusion.

Do any of you have experience with this product?

Via boingboing.

Posted by Steve on December 6, 2007

The Banana Proof

Thoreau's giggle is perfectly acceptable:

But why god is a civil engineer from the comments is a better chuckle!

Posted by Steve on December 6, 2007 | Comments (1)

Oh What Fun It Is...

Megan finds DC drivers a bit lacking:

You've never seen anything like the DC reaction to snow. Yesterday, as I walked through the snowy streets, I looked at the drivers inching along and thought "they've never seen snow before". After a while, though, I began to think "they've never seen cars before". It's as if each of those little white flakes was composed of some sort of powerful explosive activated by contact with car tires or shoe leather.

I suspect they are head and shoulders above Seattle.

Posted by Steve on December 6, 2007

December 5, 2007

Chanakuh Blunder

Speaks for itself:

2007_11_yid_ham.jpg

Via Byzantium's Shores.

Posted by Steve on December 5, 2007 | Comments (1)

December 4, 2007

Bad Cookie Monster!

Is Sesame Street good for children?

A paper in Australia reports that DVDs of classic episodes of Sesame Street are being labeled "adult only" because they do not suit the needs of today's preschool children. Cookie Monster is evil for devouring cookies and thus promoting bad habits that lead to obesity.
The needs of today's preschool children???

The show met the needs of preschool children just as poorly during the original screenings: It promoted obesity by encouraging little kids to sit quietly in front of the tube and promoted mental anorexia by encouraging little kids to sit mentally passive in front of the boob tube.

In the linked article

Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist and consultant on children's television production, said a sanitised world was far more dangerous than the whacky world of Sesame Street.

"Unless we expose kids to a diverse range of characters and behaviour they will not be prepared for the real world," he said.

Before tube world kids gathered this experience in...the real world!

Via Karen DeCoster.

Posted by Steve on December 4, 2007 | Comments (1)

Some Safe Sex Education

Short, accurate, humorous and not entirely work safe:

Share it with, well, you know...anyone that might be at risk.

Via Myers.

Posted by Steve on December 4, 2007

December 3, 2007

No More Calling w Chimp

These folks will have to find themselves a different comparison:

Young chimps outperformed university students in memory tests devised by Japanese scientists.

Via

Posted by Steve on December 3, 2007

Squishy, Spineless Goodies

The 27th Circus of the Spineless is up at The Hawk Owl's Nest!

Posted by Steve on December 3, 2007

December 2, 2007

Microsoft License Agreement

Read it and weep!

Posted by Steve on December 2, 2007 | Comments (1)