Pssst!

Moving off BlogSpot....

hln

Comments!

Comments!

Yes, really. I went and got some because I didn't want to code my own. So, there you have it.

hln

Hey, Wait a Minute

My main page is only showing yesterday and today. I'd suppose that's due to all that posting I've done today.

Still, there's a lot of good stuff from last week and...well, Saturday. So I'll link to it for your ease of use.

hln

Voices - from A Small Victory

This is the post I submitted to Voices, which is Michele's project from A Small Victory

I encourage you to also write something and submit it.

-=-=-=-

As days begin, this was Anyday™. I was running a bit later to work than is usual - no idea why now. I stopped for a bagel at the local grocery, and as I was in my car and exiting the parking lot, KMOX, St. Louis' most popular morning talk radio, interrupted normal programming and reported that a plane had struck a high floor of one of the World Trade Center's towers.

And regular programming recommenced.

A normal, sheltered American, I had a few sad moments of "what a horrible accident," and I continued my drive to work.

Something - I can't recall what - perhaps news from a coworker arriving later than I - prompted me to try to reach CNN.com; I could not. I believe at this time we learned that the "plane" to strike the World Trade Center was not a small, single-engine plane but rather a full-sized passenger jet.

We began to flock toward televisions - there are three large TVs throughout the office. At this point, there was constant coverage of the first attack. I got the news to date and tried to return to work. When the second plane hit the second tower, I believe everyone knew that this was planned. Work was out of the question.

We sat transfixed in the large conference room - transfixed because we had to be, because we were so summarily appalled and shocked that someone, some entity, some group would do such a horrible thing. I called my client, who resides in New Jersey but has many ties in New York. His brother was in one of the towers.

I returned to the large conference room, and, in the course of the next hour, I saw both towers collapse real time. And then, of course, I saw them collapse over and over and over again. Still determined, I tried again to return to work. And then the third plane hit the Pentagon.

At this point, it becomes "what next?" I fully believe that this was nowhere as bad as it could have been. But there was no relief anywhere - none in the faces of the newscasters who must've known they'd see no sleep for quite some time and that they were tasked in serving the horrible truth to the watching masses; none in the faces of my shocked, stunned coworkers, many of whom had young children who would require quite an explanation of certainly inexplicable things; none for me either, for the stories of individuals began to trickle through the news. The man and woman, holding hands, who chose falling to death rather than burning. People who were passengers on each of the doomed planes. Mothers, fathers, children, infants. Dead. Dying.

The rest of the day is a blur of rewind-play-rewind-play of the footage. On the way home, I stopped at the grocery store where I had purchased my bagel breakfast. There were already volunteers collecting money. I gave.

Once home, I, like everyone else, called friends and relatives to ensure we were all living on the same world, and that sanity still existed - something no one would have questioned 12 hours earlier. I spent the rest of the evening flipping through cable news channels as the news started to repeat itself. More rewind-play, but more personal anecdotes as well.

And then the hopeful search for anyone who might have survived in the rubble and aftermath. The days and weeks blur from here. Cantor Fitzgerald. Televised funerals. The pictures of ash. The weekly news magazines and their coverage. Courageous rescue attempts. Clearing of debris. Interviews of the families of the victims. The comparison to Pearl Harbor.

As time passes, September 11, 2001, stands as a day everyone remembers practically hour by hour. My client's brother escaped before the towers fell. I know no one personally who perished in the attacks, but as I talk with varying people, it's very apparent that I'm only separated by a degree at most. The business trip I recently attended highlighted that.

Very briefly, one man mentioned that his wife's best friend was on one of the planes that crashed into the towers. Another man was slated to give a talk on a high floor of one of the towers on September 11th. Shortly before the event, he cancelled due to lack of interest. The people who attended the event are no more.

Most strikingly, though, is the story of a young female Indian database administrator who was listed as missing after the attacks. According to my friend who knew her, months later her husband was convinced she'd be found "anytime now." They had a young child.

Of course, there's the "how dare they" question we all ask of the terrorists. These people who are victims did nothing but merely live their American lives in America; what else would you expect? And then there are the "nostalgia" experts who profit from the tragedy. There are the lawsuits, the criticism of the evacuation misjudgments. But how could anyone have known the true ultimate horrific consequence of these terrorists?

I don't truly believe we know yet.

Life as we know it began to resume. St. Louisans flew their mighty flags and painted them on their cars. Baseball, which was put on quite a hiatus, recommenced. Brian and I had tickets with some of Brian's friends to that evening's Cardinal's game. We sang "America the Beautiful." Jack Buck read a poem.

At Creve Coeur Park, the flag hung half mast for a full month - at work as well. In October, at the St. Louis Blues' opening game, Lee Greenwood sang "God Bless the USA." We attacked Afghanistan; we triumphed. Time passed. We attacked Iraq and deposed its dictator. We slew his evil sons.

The future spreads its threads day by day. The course of American history was irrevocably altered on September 11, 2001. I pray there will be nothing to replace it as the most shocking, course-changing day in American history. I also pray that none of you forgets what this country offers us, as individuals, and that freedom, sadly comes with a price.

We are free.

hln

Tim Blair on Hamas - Appropriately Wry

New Hamas, Now 25% Unfriendlier

His words:

The formerly moderate Palestinian fellowship collective known as Hamas has become radicalised, according to The Guardian:

The death of Abu Shenab has radicalised Hamas.

I guess that’s the end of civilised negotiation, then.

UPDATE. Another Hamas activist has been killed, reports AFP. The War on Activism continues.

So wry. So wry.

hln

Udderly Disgusting

Udderly Disgusting

Carbonated Milk

hln

Netrition

It's Monday night. I want to poke fun at a website. Hmm. Netrition!

Okay. Load it. Read along with me.

RED KAT! Oh, baby. A libido boooooooster. Keeping you busy until the roooooster calls your name. (Okay, it doesn't say THAT).

The effects of Sclaremax, the other ingredient in RED KAT, include its antithrombotic and antidepressant effects, as well as its stimulating effect on luteinizing hormone, via cyclic AMP, resulting in the production of Testosterone (in males).

Is that in English? I recognize "Testosterone." I guess that's what's important. Oh, and antidepressant. I have couth, so I'll save the cat puns for your imagination.
And then what? Skulpt! Topical Fat Loss Spray. Just don't confuse it with Pam! or Mazola! cooking sprays. I shudder to think. What's its description have to say?

Skulpt from Ergopharm is a Topical Fat Loss Spray developed by Patrick Arnold. It contains the best available ingredients and penetration enhancers designed to deliver the active ingredients through the skin and into the subcutaneous adipose (fat) tissue, where they will then act to break down and remove the fat (a process called "lipolysis").

Uh huh. Fat! I know that word. And "remove." Ah, it must work.

I'll skip the CarbSlim Bites - rather innocuous. No, actually, I won't. What are IMPACT carbs? Really, I want to know. Looking for an unbiased source...nope. I can't find a thing that's not pushing a product. I'm going to guess it has to do with perceived sugar in the bloodstream. It's a guess, though.

This stuff just cracks me. I mean, I just want some Luna bars. Really. Where are the Luna bars? These people are pushing "low carb" as nutrition. Fat/carb blockers as "nutrition." I guess if you can sell it, sell it. But, wow.

hln

Posted by hln at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)

Danger!

Danger!

U.S. Pedestrians, Cyclists Tempting Fate -- or Worse
(Both pursuits are much safer in Europe, new research says)

This is a story that begins with a personal anecdote about a dude named John Pucher, who walks everywhere. He's never been injured, but this is surprising since he's been walking everywhere for 29 years.

<scathingOverGeneralization>Because scientists seem to have infinite time and infinte interest in the most banal of things</scathingOverGeneralization>, Pucher and his colleague Lewis Dijkstra of the European Commission in Brussels did a happyfunlittle study.

Pucher and Lewis Dijkstra of the European Commission in Brussels found that cyclists and pedestrians in the United States were two to six times more likely to be killed than their German or Dutch counterparts. Per kilometer traveled, U.S. pedestrians were 23 times more likely to get killed than the occupants of a car, while bicyclists were 12 times more likely to be killed.

In the United States in 2000, 662,000 bicyclists and 191,000 pedestrians ended up in emergency rooms. And 740 of those cyclists and 4,598 pedestrians died.

"The main point of the article is that it is much, much more dangerous here in the United States to walk and cycle than it is in Europe," says Pucher, a professor of urban planning and transportation at Rutgers University in New Jersey. "The conclusion was that there are a lot of things we could do to make walking and cycling safer."

"The results are shocking," says Michael Greenberg, associate editor of the American Journal of Public Health, and an associate dean at Rutgers.

See, mom. I'm safer on da bike than I am in da tennis shoes.

What could we Americans do to address "the problem"?

Americans, who are suffering from an unprecedented obesity epidemic, tend to drive to a destination even though 41 percent of all trips in 2001 were shorter than two miles and 28 percent were less than one mile. While walking and cycling account for less than one-tenth of all urban trips in the United States, they account for one-third of all such trips in Germany and for half the trips in the Netherlands.

And as more Europeans have embraced bicycling and walking, the activities have become safer, with fatalities declining since the mid-1970s.

Not coincidentally, Europeans are also thinner and fitter than their highway-happy American counterparts, with lower rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

What can be done about what the authors call the "appallingly unsafe, unpleasant, and inconvenient conditions faced by pedestrians and bicyclists in most American cities"? A few European-style adjustments, all of them eminently doable, might persuade Americans to leave their cars in the garage more often.

"We could have better sidewalks, auto-free zones, more bike paths," Pucher says. "We could have walking and cycling education programs in the schools. We could introduce driver training programs that make the motorist more sensitive to the dangers involved."

Other options already available in Europe include "traffic calming" of residential neighborhoods (such as speed bumps and curves); extensive auto-free zones in city centers; the introduction of "bicycle streets" where cyclists have the right of way over cars; bike systems that serve practical destinations, not just recreational attractions; and better enforcement of traffic regulations.

And in case you weren't convinced, Mom:

But don't wait for the United States to catch up with Europe before you start walking and pedaling. One study found the health benefits from cycling exceeded the risks 10-to-1. Even though it's far more dangerous to bike or walk in the United States, the probability of getting killed is still exceedingly low.

The probability of "getting killed." Heh. Strange turn of phrase. Like "got pregnant" and "getting/got married." Got born?

Anyway, I made my point (and pretty much quoted the whole article). I should go on to the next topic.

hln

Blogroll Changes, Yet Again I

I can't seem to quit, can I? I've added The Puppy Blender, The Lemon, Suburban Blight, and Meryl Yourish all to the main blogroll today.

Mom, skip Yourish for a week. She has a picture of (and a story about) an S-word. It should be off her front page soon.

I made a second list of blogs from the Alliance. I haven't linked everyone. Discriminating soul that I am, I have only about 60 - 70% of everyone. Main criteria?

1. No unjustified (gratuitous) use of the f-word. Its overuse makes me yawn. We're writing because we're writers and possess a level of skill above Mr. or Ms. Everyday. We should refrain from speaking in those individuals' voices without reason.
2. Good writing style and thought process.
3. Enough/oft-updated content.

So, that's my deal. I made one exception to #1 for the Emperorr. He is, after all, the Emperor. Heh.

hln

The Lemon, Again

Thanks to Harvey of Bad Money for pointing out that The Lemon is yet again updated. Shamus is a riot - he's blogrolled.

I'm a Lemontarian, too.

hln

Cul-de-sac

That's what I'm staring at now - rainy Labor Day Monday. No cycling today. My Esteemed Spouse has a blog entry highlighted by Suburban Blight's Cul-de-sac. I hadn't heard of this, but I see now I have a lot of reading before me.

So should you.

hln

Redesign

Redesign

Yeah, I spent some time on the site finally. I'm probably not done - think the angelweave graphic is just a bit too big, and perhaps the color scheme can be further enhanced. I'm not so good with graphics, so you see the extent of my ability there.

Any suggestions? Please drop me a line.

hln

Ribs!

Ribs!

The Meatriarchy lives up to its name!

This is a lengthy post about Toronto-area (and other) Ribfests. I was hungry when I was done reading.

hln

So Where's the Line?

So Where's the Line?

I think this is a common difficult concept to grasp for everyone on just about every issue. I also think that Eugene Volokh does a nice job of actually examining the spectrum in regard to the Najaf bombing.

hln

The Lemon - August 20, 2003

I found this linked on One Little Victory, and though it took forever to load on my poor dial-up connection, it was well worth the wait.

The Lifecycle of a News Story

hln

Cheese is Addictive!

Scoff! Who knew?

Yeah, another food post. We Americans like our cheese. Even I sprinkle some on my salads so that I can claim I eat a bit o' dairy.

But, please. Cheese. Opiates? Uh, no. I've eaten cheese, and I've had morphine. Never the twain shall meet.

Someone smack this goon doctor, Dr. Neal Barnard. He's obviously a "people are sheep"er just like me. Where we diverage? I say, let 'em be sheep. Or deer in headlights. Their choice. Dr. Barnard's with Physicians (sic) Committee for Responsible Medicine. Read a couple of paragraphs, and whom does this organization remind you of?

hln

Battle Cry!

Battle Cry!

Yeah, I had to jump on the bandwagon. Why on earth would I use boxing gloves instead of brass knuckles, though. Ponder!

What Is Your Battle Cry?

Running on the mini-mall parking lot, attacking with gilded boxing gloves, cometh Heather! And she gives a bloodthirsty cry: "I'm going to brutalize you so heinously, you'll reincarnate as an X-file!!"

Find out! Enter username: Are you a girl, or a guy ?

created by beatings : powered by monkeys

Found...everywhere. I think I saw it on A Small Victory first, though (or possibly Absinthe and Cookies.

My favorite random generator? The Shakespearean insults generator!

And it's hosted by Pangloss, which will be the name of my next cat. I'll give him the proper "Dr. Pangloss" name, though.

hln

Updating the Blogroll

I'm adding four today.

• A Small Victory
• Dean's World
• Absinthe and Cookies
• Physics Geek

Check them out.

hln

Carnival of the Vanities #49

I have two posts on Carnival of the Vanities this week, hosted at Creative Slips.

I haven't quite had a chance to read everything yet, but the collection appears quite good. If you're not visiting me from there, please take a look.

hln

But _I_ Wanted to be Poet Laureate of the Alliance

Undaunted, that mad puppy blender
Insisted that fried dogs be tender
"These dogs should be thinner -
fit for my dinner.
"Pathetic!" (he spat at the vendor.)

(a.) What spawned this post b.) What else spawned this post).

hln

Uniqueness

My blog is unique. I'm being paid (or at least I'd like to be) to tell you this.

Here's how.

1) Who else has random pictures of me gracing a website?
2) My blog lift heavy weights. It doesn't grunt, though.
3) My blog feeds the cats whenever the bowl runs dry.
4) My blog uses words like Boggle. That rhymes with my last name. You don't do that - do you?
5) My blog would like to use this opportunity to act as a public service announcement for the 80's television spots TV Pow and Bowling for Dollars (but not Columbine).

Thank you. That is all.

hln

Updating the Blogroll

Updating the Blogroll

This is long, long overdue (like many of my library books, likely). Please welcome these fine folks to a parked spot on the left-hand side of my humble blog.

• Ryan Stephenson, to whom I alluded yesterday.
• Blackfive - been meaning to do this since the wonderful Music to Blog to post.
• Wince and Nod - again, been in the Blogs to Review favorites pile for a while.
• The Blogger Alliance (of which I am part). Perhaps not the best timing to seek the Instanlanche, but, hey, all's fair in politics.

hln

In Search of the Instalanche

Okay, strangely enough, calling Instapundit "the Puppy Blender" actually seems to work for Frank J.

I think I'll have to resort to something with a different tack.

I challenge Glenn Reynolds to a game of Boggle, Master Boggle (which sometimes masquerades as Big Boggle). No, silly, not that little grid that's four by four. That's so...lame. I mean the five by five - four letter words and higher.

I'm nearly unbeatable. Get the word out, people.

hln

Senioritis - Takin' It To Court

Yes, really. Our friends at Overlawyered have a doozy this evening.

Almost full text:

"Senioritis" victim sues for college admission

Hillsborough, N.C.: "A Guilford County high school graduate who recorded a perfect SAT score is suing UNC Chapel Hill, alleging the school refused to admit him after his grade point average dropped. Mark Edmonson, a National Merit Scholarship finalist, scored a perfect 1,600 on his SAT last year, but his grade point average fell from 3.8 to 3.5 in his senior year at Northwest Guilford High School. ... 'His senior year grades are C's, D's and F's,' Ziko said [Thomas Ziko, a lawyer for the state]." ("Student who aced SAT sues UNC for denying entry", Charlotte Observer, Aug. 20). An earlier acceptance letter from UNC had said, "We expect you to continue to achieve at the same level that enabled us to provide this offer of admission". Edmonson's family is beginning to talk about how the university didn't sufficiently take into account the consequences of his having a disability, attention-deficit disorder (Eric Ferreri, "UNC admission rescission sparks suit", Durham Herald-Sun, Aug. 19) (via "Begging to Differ", Aug. 21; Kimberly Swygert at No. 2 Pencil also comments (Aug. 21)).

I want more. You? Here's the Charlotte Observer link Walter at Overlawyered mentions.

Edmonson said in an affidavit filed in Orange County that university officials backed out of an April letter promising that as long as Edmonson graduated from Northwest, he would be admitted.

Eek - this one could get ugly.

hln

Ryan's Posting!

Ryan's Posting!

My coworker Ryan is updating his weblog regularly. You should check him out.

Now, if only Bryce would do the same? I just might link to him ;)

hln

Responsibility

I'm usually not one of the Bill Whittle raving mad fans; often I won't read a published essay for a few weeks, but this one was a must-read on the day it came out.

It's called Responsibility.

It's also my favorite topic. Bill does it justice.

hln

Because He Says it Better Than I Could

I shall defer to Michael Williams of Master of None who talks about the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Iraq.

This was, of course, not the only bombing today.

This saddens me. I cannot explain it, and I cannot talk rationally about it, so I will simply shake my head, mutter innate depravity, and fail to understand.

hln

Is There a Circle of Hell for Stupidity?

No words. Sorry. Story says it all.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- A Marine received 14 months in a military brig for using a military credit card for an unauthorized six-figure shopping spree that included a car, a motorcycle and breast enhancement surgery.

No, wait. I break my vow of silence. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

hln

% Geek

% Geek

I've seen references to this test on so many blogs that I've forgotten where I most recently saw it. At any rate, I'm 23.4714% - Geek. Just enough to allow me to carry on geek conversations. Phew.

hln

Friendster

Just when you thought you've heard of everything, along comes Friendster.

Thanks, Hans. I always wanted to see a 28-point Arial revelation stating "Hans Is Your Friend"

All doubts erased.

Now there's this little problem of the fact that Hans is my ONLY friend. Hook me up, people.

hln

I'm Back (and Where I Went)

I'm Back (and Where I Went)

I've been gone. You may have noticed. I am back.

I returned last night. I'll replay the dramatic part for you in reverse order. The interesting part began shortly after my plane touched down last evening at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. I got my bags, got to my car, and my cell phone rang while I was driving to my house.

The caller was my mother. She said something to the effect of "Hi, are you all right" or "Hi, where are you?" I said, St. Louis, just leaving the airport. And then she gave me news of the blackout.

I was returning from a business trip in Detroit. I escaped the blackout by, we suspect, about 30 minutes. Phew.

Not so lucky for a European colleague I met at the conference, who was slated to not leave Detroit until today. I hope he made it home to his family.

I was in Detroit for the OAGi's quarterly meeting. It was decided that I would attend on Thursday of last week, so I spent the bulk of the time between then and Monday when I left for Detroit preparing for said conference.

Oh, yeah, and I did that Atari party, drinking, and bike riding thing over last weekend, too. Just not all at once.

So, I have been and gone. I will probably be and go some other times in the future.

Now I just have to get caught up on my reading; the writing part's easy.

hln

Brian in Pure Form

I won't say much - just point you to the link.

Note: if "the link" isn't working, it's probably blogger having issues with its permalinks. You can still reach the article of note by hitting Brian directly - probably near the top - named Experiment Success: The Magazine Rack at APIV.

hln

DDT vs DEET

This is one of the funnier things I've read in weeks. John Cole from Balloon Juice hands this woman her entrails in a small, brown paper bag and says "EAT!" due to her ill-informed letter to the editor about mosquito control - known here in St. Louis as vector control (encompasses the rats, too).

Here's a sample. Go read the whole thing. It's funny enough to read twice.

One of the main reasons the government is as inefficient and ineffetive as it is might be because they have to deal with morons and cretins all day long- in other words, taxpayers are stupid. I offer Ms. Desmond as exhibit A. This letter to the editor is so stupid on so many levels that it made my head hurt.

1.) DDT was banned in the United States on June 14, 1972. No one sprayed DDT on your tomatoes, your cat, or you. What happened to you was part of a Mosquito abatement program, and you probably (I don't know for sure, but you might ask your local authorities- just a thought) got fogged with a synthetic pyrethroid, perhaps Peremethrin, Sumithrin, or Resmethrin. If you click the link, the EPA has deemed these to be safe (and this was done under the Clinton EPA, so even Democrats can feel safe).

Cretins!

hln

From the Readers

I've had three reader e-mails this week; yay! One asked my why I have no comments section. I answered that I'm too busy to code one or find one to incorporate. I've seen some blogger blogs with comments - anybody have recommendations? I'll look into this in September, likely.

Two, Mike Courtney wrote to inform me that blogger was hogging my permalinks. Bad blogger. Blog hog, blogger. My permalinks are STILL not properly rendering, which, given that this is a weekend, is not shocking. Perhaps all will be well tomorrow.

Three, Hans "Is the Party" Gerwitz, whirling dervish bicycle and software geek, wrote thus:

Thought for the day: how is ifeminism, well, feminism? Isn't is oxymoronic to use a gender-loaded term to describe a position that dismisses gender as the basis for rights?

Yes, and no; more soon. Dictionary.com:

Feminism
1) Belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.
2) The movement organized around this belief.

If you take definition one, it doesn't say anything about the collective female voice rallying for acceptance of women as equal to men; rather, this is a blanket statement that, once accepted, hopefully leads one to view people as individuals rather than collectives of men and women (and never the twain shall meet).

But, of course, the word "feminism" elicits a much different view - often with the encouragement of the feminists. If you know me personally, you've probably heard the story of the female realtor at the party who adamantly insisted that ALL women are oppressed. I said, really, I don't FEEL oppressed. I don't see any evidence of oppression; how can I be oppressed? THESE women (those whom I have labelled with the negative connotation of feminism) probably give the movement a bad name, even in my eyes. I don't see any need to band together with other members of my gender to assert the need for something that I believe, in this day and age, at least as far as my life goes, ALREADY EXISTS.

But I digress. Hans, I stand firm on the "social, political, and economic equality of the sexes" (en masse). What's unstated, of course, is that this is typically from a female perspective (as are my thoughts - no escaping that). I'll state the text from the ifeminism post again, just for ease of reading. From the site ifeminism.com:

What is ifeminism?

Individualist feminism, or ifeminism, advocates the equal treatment of men and women as individuals under just law. The core principle of individualist feminism is that all human beings have a moral and legal claim to their own persons and property. It is sometimes called libertarian feminism.

ifeminism: literal, libertarian feminism.

hln

Yo Quiero Tac...I'm HIT!

Rat dogs unite! Stave off the airborne oppressors.

hln

Stay Out of My Cone, by Tresa McBee and ifeminists.com

I read the article entitled "Stay Out of My Cone" today - can't remember where I found it. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it pointed back to this little website called ifeminists.com. This is really a .net, not a .com, and so I am thoroughly confused about that point, but no matter.

I read these words. I decided to read more.

What is ifeminism?

Individualist feminism, or ifeminism, advocates the equal treatment of men and women as individuals under just law. The core principle of individualist feminism is that all human beings have a moral and legal claim to their own persons and property. It is sometimes called libertarian feminism.

You mean, it might actually apply to me?

Sometimes the inequality works to women's advantage, as in affirmative action laws. Do you oppose them as well?

Absolutely. Equality means neither privilege nor oppression. Besides which, it hardly benefits women to have a paternalistic state treat them as children or "lesser" human beings who need state assistance to become equal.

...

Opposing affirmative action and defending property rights is generally associated with conservatives. Isn't ifeminism just conservative feminism?

Many conservatives are uncomfortable with the way ifeminism embraces radical civil liberties. For example, ifeminism calls for the decriminalization of prostitution and pornography. To an ifeminist, there is no schism between economic and civil liberties. They are both expressions of an individual's right to use her own body and property in any peaceful manner she chooses.

Yeah, I'll stick around. I never thought I'd be willing and/or eager to review feminist thought. I'm generally a pretty strong individualist with objectivist leanings and a Christian background (yeah, somebody reconcile THAT into a sane human). Still, expect more posts and commentary with thought originating from this site.

hln

Don't Not Sleep and Drive?

Everyone loves a good double negative. How's this for you: Down with the drowsy driver menace to society

Now, there is a point, I'd suppose, to making note of the dangers of driving while sleepy. But a LAW? Furthermore, this is a LAW that will be quite difficult to test - no breathalyzer here.

Might I refer you lawmakers to a more relevant sanction against drowsy drivers - careless and imprudent driving charge, mayhap?

Coming soon - driving while appearing intoxicated.

hln

Thanks, Mom, for the Dark Room

I meant to get this up here yesterday, but I tried to balance my reading and my writing, so I had to read more (this is usually the opposite scenario).

CNN reported thus:

HUNTINGDON, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A woman who locked her 3-year-old daughter in the trunk of a car while she visited her husband in prison has been charged with endangerment.

Tammy Denise Swittenburg-Edwards, 31, was arrested Saturday at a state prison about 95 miles east of Pittsburgh after prison guards heard crying and yelling from the vehicle and found the girl in the trunk, state police said.

Swittenburg-Edwards apparently locked her in after prison officials refused the child's entry because she wasn't on a visitor's list, state police said.

The girl was in the trunk for about 40 minutes while Swittenburg-Edwards visited her husband, state police said. The child wasn't injured.

Wow - poor kid. Dad's in prison, and mom's obviously missing a few brain cells. Hope you got all the good genes.

hln

Aging, Anyone?

Aging, Anyone?

I'd say news is slow today at CNN, but I'll disprove that here with numerous postings (as time allows).

I frequent the CNN Health section; probably doesn't surprise anyone. Today, there's an article proclaiming the effort of da Boomers to stave off the outward appearance of getting older.

Me, I'm an Xer. So I can poke fun at the Boomers.

Doctors say boomers, who range from 38 to 56 years of age, increasingly ask for procedures to reduce other telltale signs of aging such as spider and varicose veins on the legs, brown spots on the hands and chest and wrinkled necks. As boomers stay in the work force longer, and many find themselves dating again, they want every part of their body to project an image of vitality.

"I think boomers have a basic dread of aging. They just want to be young forever," said Dr. Robert Weiss, an assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine.

Vitality! Image!

"These procedures can really help how people feel about themselves," Weiss said.

Ah, there it is. Take a big bite outta the "how you look is who you are" cookie. And fork over that 20 grand for the face lift. All better now?

Beverly Ross, another patient, agrees that the procedures are worth the cost although she might have to skimp on other areas such as vacations. The 50-year-old, who works for the city of San Diego, has two incentives for looking her best -- her job requires her to be in and out of meetings, and she's single and dating. She has augmented work done on her face with procedures such as liposuction and spider vein removal on other parts of her body.

Ross says in a perfect world, looks wouldn't matter, but "the real world doesn't work that way." She adds, "You have to be happy in your own skin so it is worth the money I spend."

<mystique>Sure, plastic surgery has its place. (I have to mention this lest I be called a hypocrite).</mystique> But, I can't imagine a world in one's own head where happiness comes ONLY from the way he/she looks.

Still, thank you for stimulating the economy. You may have to troll a while, though, Beverly, for the proper 24 year-old boyfriend.

hln

What I Learned/Did This Weekend

1) I did NOT blog. Sorry.

2) I learned the lychees are to be feared. I had never heard of lychees, but, after dinner at Adam's House of Grillin' last evening, my friend Paul made it his personal mission for me to try his canned lychees (in heavy syrup!). Uh, no thanks. They were white and looked like pear entrails.

3) I need a new computer. It's sad to finally recognize this because this computer has served me very well for a very long time. Perhaps around Christmas I can get the parts together and make it happen. (It's so bad my clock is losing time).

4) Columbia, MO is hilly. I should have noticed that when I lived there, but, no. I am certain I will notice it when I am riding around it for the MS 150.

5) Frank J. of IMAO has updated his Peace Gallery. Brian and I are both modeling the famous Nuke the Moon t-shirt.

6) I spent 91.75 miles on the bike this weekend - 25.5 yesterday and 66.25 today - so that's where I've been. The new sleeveless jersey (of which I now own two) should help even out the crazy "tan."

7) Michael Williams of Master of None has a good post about language.

8) So much time on the bike leaves one tired enough to be in bed by 9 p.m. on a Sunday.

9) News and commentary will wait until tomorrow because of said tiredness.

hln

Okay, I'll Do the Friday Five

These seem easy enough (from http://www.fridayfive.org)

1. What time do you wake up weekday mornings
On disciplined days, 5. Other, not-so-disciplined days, 6.

2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late?
Everything's relative. Yes, I do. I'm usually up between 6 and 8 on weekends, depending on planned morning activities (the bike).

3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the morning.
Stretch.

4. How long does it take to get ready for your day?
Counting personal hygiene, about 45 minutes. Adding in food preparation for the day, an hour total.

5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast?
I don't like to "go" anywhere for breakfast. I eat the same thing 29 out of 30 days in a month - 1 cup of Kashi, .38 - .5 oz dates, about 10 almonds, and a cup or so of fresh fruit on top of the concoction. Mmmm.

See, I'm dull.

hln

Ugh

Overlawyered mentions today a woman and her husband who are SUING the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp for failing to exclude her from casinos.

Uh...(full story)

There we go again "social responsibility" versus "personal responsibility." Someone cue the music.

Child.

hln

New to the "Blogroll" Wow

New to the "Blogroll"

Wow - no creative spirit. Sorry. I'll take a few minutes to point out the new blogs on my left-hand panel and then likely call it a night. My PETA link doesn't seem to want to give me the story I'm so desperately craving.

My most recent add is The Spoons Experience. I've been following this blog intermittently for a couple of weeks, sometimes even commenting, and, well, it's just time to give it some permanence.

Prior to that, I found Master of None, although I don't remember how. I read it, liked it, linked to it, and, amazingly, it linked back. Nice! Share the hits!

Earlier still, The Meatriarchy found one of my esteemed spouse's posts, and I sent a self plug and somehow got us both blogrolled. Nice, eh? She shoots; she scores.

Adam (in the spirit of Ogden Nash's poem, Fleas) is my former roommate (Amanda to my grandmother). Gotta link to Adam. He and his wife are also kind enough to let me crash at their home for the evenings before and during the MS 150.

Advanced Combo Tricks, Jen's History and Stuff, and Mike Courtney are all bloggers I found from IMAO. I have a boatload of other blogs to review from the same posting, but it's not going anywhere; I'm just awaiting the time to do the research/reading.

And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen. My list of blogs is young and fresh. Many thanks to the few of you who've added me to yours. (I now have greater than three readers (so proud, so proud)).

Good night.

hln

What's in a Name?

Ask the man formerly named Prince. Ask anyone named Spike. And I'd suggest you not use Cher and Madonna - precautionary.

But Tony Twist?

Okay, it's illiterative. But, that alone and its use in a bad light in a comic book shouldn't make it worth TWENTY-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS, should it? The judge in the lawsuit(0) didn't think so, either. I mean, that's a lotta Macaroni and Cheese!

But, now that the lawsuit is not centered in Twist's beloved St. Louis, where he crashes his motorcyle and supports the Gateway Locomotives, perhaps the thing will go from ridiculous to merely a short post on Overlawyered.com

hln

Has No One Figured This Out?

Three weeks ago, Kraft Foods decided to throw its imaginary gauntlet into the ring of the War on Fat.

My beloved had one humorous thought about it. I have one more.

You know that little nutrition label on every package of processed food? Yeah - the one that says there are four or however many servings in the frozen pizza. Well, Billy, with our magic ink, we can make that same-sized pizza pie (or less, as Brian points out) into SIX lovely servings by using the tools of 4th grade math! Yes, indeed. Lower the ounces/grams in a serving, and you lower the calories.

Nice, eh? We'll all be eating things by the 3/4 ounce now.

hln

Oracle - in the Dark?

Oracle - in the Dark?

I found this article about Oracle and sexual harrassment especially interesting. I'll just give you the high points; you can read the whole thing.

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) - An Indian programmer at Oracle Corp. (ORCL.O) has sued her Indian male supervisor and the world's No. 2 software maker for sexual harassment, claiming the man forced her into sex by telling her she needed to "learn the art of pleasing the American manager."

Hmm, I just turn my work in on time.

In the lawsuit filed July 18 in California's Alameda County Superior Court, the plaintiff charged that her supervisor, Mahesh Anand, forced her to perform oral sex in Oracle's San Mateo, California offices, in his car and at her home when her husband was away. Anand has since left the company.

Wow, that's at least three occasions, no?

And the kicker.

The lawsuit said that Oracle knew or should have known of the different cultural and legal context in which Anand was used to working in India, where managers can often exert unfettered power over their female subordinates.

Um, no. What could Oracle have done, anyway? If it, as an entity, was unaware of said manager's particular behavior, what could it have done?

Oh, I get it. Predict the future and stop it from happening. Oracle...yeah.

My bad.

hln

Look, Ma (er, Hans), Hand-Built RSS

So, Blogger, you think you're so smart, eh? No RSS feeds for the masses. Well, I have ten fingers, and I can type (could code this into an automatic thing, too, if I were not so lazy and hosted this elsewhere). Behold the Clunky RSS!

My boss made me do it. Really.

hln

About the Kobe Bryant Thing

I give you lyrics from Dog's Eye View, a song called Bulletproof and Bleeding:

Everybody loves the man on a cliff
Some hope for heroes
Most of us beg for blood

We all stay to see if he falls
No one stays to pick him up
Much too busy for his rapture
We can catch it on the news tonight instead, yea

So, now, do all you hypocritical adulterers feel better about yourselves? Surveys state there are a large number of you.

Part two:

More lyrics - just for fun. Harry Connick, Jr. Also fitting. From Last Payday:

That line about luck just can`t be bought
You`re always lucky `til you get caught
Trouble will find you, no need to look
And luck won`t help when they close the book

It's all about the consequences, man, personal and financial. Shoulda thought of that; everything carries a price.

hln

Oooh, More, More, More on

Oooh, More, More, More on the TVC

Now it's a SCANDAL. I missed this afternoon update yesterday from the NRO on the pharmaceutical bill, but I just found it, so I'll be a nice human and share.

<cackle>Scurrilous!<cackle>

hln

But Is He Really Dead?

You can never be too cautious, but the missing arms expert's body's been found near London.

Hmm.

hln

No More Programming in France,

Okay, so the French nixed the word e-mail. Silly as can be, but okay. If they want to spend their citizens' money to find proper "terms" for the language, I really have no beef with that.

But what's next? Are the French going to discover/create a new programming language? Last I checked (being a web developer), all of the software languages I use are chock full o' lovely English words.

Hmmm. Lots of assembly code. Ick.

hln

You Can Have Your Cake

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American children are fatter than ever before, but they are far less violent and far less likely to get pregnant than most people think, according to a government report issued on Friday.

Yahoo and CNN both have stories about our portly youth and their tendencies.

And what else do you get when you research kids and obesity? Video games and television. Here's what I've concluded from these three articles(just for fun). It may be true; it's most likely heinous fallacy. Aren't statistics great?

1) America's children are more concerned with food than sex. (Teen pregnancy down; weight up).
2) Video games decrease both actual sex and actual violence in our children's lives.
3) Kids are still drinking an alarming amount of alcohol (but only while playing video games), but the smoking rate has declined. This is probably because they have to go outside to perform this activity, but drinking can take place around the console.
4) Violent crime is down because children never leave their homes, and they're more knowledgeable about firearms (because of video games?) that they don't accidentally shoot themselves (or others) with the family gun(s).

Everybody! Buy six copies of Vice City, and shove those kids toward the console! Fat's in vogue, don't you know? I saw a man last night at Old Spaghetti Factory who sported a t-shirt proclaiming his pride in his body size. Your kid could be THAT GUY!

I'll probably expand this after work...

hln

Traditional Values Coalition, meet the

Todd Akin, Jo Ann Davis, Randy Forbes, Virgil Goode, Jim Demint, John Shadegg, Pat Toomey, Tom Tancredo: All of these congressmen had 100-percent ratings from the National Right to Life Committee for the last Congress. They have something else in common, too: They're the targets of a direct-mail campaign by the Traditional Values Coalition that questions their commitment to the unborn. That campaign has other social conservatives questioning the TVC's motives.

Brian read the NRO today before I did, and he pointed this out to me for review and further commentary.

The TVC is target more than Uncle Todd, I see. I blogged about this a few days ago, having received the mailing. Ponnuru obviously spent more time on his piece than I on my basic surface criticism, and it's quite a good read.

hln

Now That We've Given Up

Now that we've given up cable, there's this.

Figures.

hln

Pat Robertson and Prayer Wow,

Wow, Pat Robertson must know something the rest of us mere mortals do not. He's delivered some pretty specific prayer requests to God, and, I'm sure will become very critical if he does not receive the answers he desires.

"We ask for miracles in regard to the Supreme Court," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club."

Robertson has launched a 21-day "prayer offensive" directed at the Supreme Court in the wake of its 6-3 June vote that decriminalized sodomy. Robertson said in a letter on the CBN Web site that the ruling "has opened the door to homosexual marriage, bigamy, legalized prostitution and even incest."

Woohoo! Prayer Wars.

And, wary public, rest not your vigilant watch, lest this public prayer trend become a weekly feature for CNN. Soon, soon, I say, Reverend Robertson will need to beseech the Lord to put an end to Jerry Springer's senate campaign.

And, if he asks for a Segway (new or used), I'm going to have to decry him some more.

I'll keep my prayers private, thanks.

hln

Scrappleface says it better I

I got an "URGH!" from reading this, (the "bad-blood-shrug-it-off murderer") so I set it aside at lunch to blog about it later.

But that Scott Ott of Scrappleface does a far better job than my ugly rant, so I'll read more this evening and write less.

hln

No Rant

I've been ranting too much of late. Yesterday, I checked myself - almost blogged about crazy Susan Smith and her desire for prison pen pals. I refrained. Good Heather. I guess I could've varied my style and written her an open letter, but I'll save that for someone worth my time.

A couple of reflections here today, that's all.

One, have you noticed how often conjoined twins are in the news now? I swear, they're EVERYWHERE. While it's obviously very sad that Laleh and Ladan lost their battle to live separate lives (and life at all), now conjoined twins are all the rage. We've got a new pair in Greece. And before that we had an interview with other conjoined twins - joined at the stomach- who would not attempt separation surgery. We have doctors in Dallas readying themselves to separate another pair.

I'm certain there have always been conjoined twins and surgeries - but Ladan and Laleh's journey in adulthood to lead separate lives seems to really have led the media to near frenzy about this topic. And, truly, it is fascinating. It's something most of us will never see or come into contact with without he media. And we humans are certainly fascinated by things we do not understand.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yeah, go Lance. It's almost anticlimactic, isn't it? I mean, in the background of the Tour de France, behind Lance and all of the hubbub, you have Tyler Hamilton, who is riding nearly the entire race with a FRACTURED COLLARBONE. Everyone, as a chorus, please exclaim, "OUCH!" and shudder in horror.

If you have not been on a bike lately, I'd like to remind you of a few biking things. One, your hands FEEL the road - every pothole, every pebble, every bit of gravel - they all jar the bike. If your hands feel the road, and you're on the bike for several hours a day, I can assure you, your collarbone FEELS the road.

This man has grit. What's the press say? I searched CNN for him. Nada. Piffle. I'll not bother with all that - what's he have to say?

You can always leave him a note.

hln

The consequences are threatening

The consequences are threatening

So says the one-page glossy sent to me from Traditional Values Coalition. Actually, it was sent to my address but listed a person named "King" as its intended recipient. Not me.

No website on the mailing, but, being the deviously clever human I am with Google access and a bit of deductive reasoning, I soon found it.

The subject of the mailing? Stop Todd Akin from voting for H.R. 2427. (Your mission, should you choose to accept it...).

The sideshows? Baby chewing on toy looking like, well, a baby; young woman eyeing a pack of pills as though she has a difficult decision to make. Baby in white light. Woman in brown light. Caption? "If H.R. 2427 becomes law, RU-486, the "abortion pill," may become as easy to get as aspirin.

Ooh, not shocking. This is a religious right (read faaaaaaaaaaaar right) organization that has the audacity to quote Jerry Falwell on its mailing as an expert about prescription drugs? I think that's like a walrus endorsing Frosted Flakes, no? Oh, goody, and my friend Tommy Thompson, the most rational human in the government health sector. His argument?

Opening our borders to reimported drugs potentially could increase the flow of conterfeit drugs, cheap foreign copies of FDA approved drugs, expired and contaminated drugs, and drugs stored under inappropriate and unsafe conditions.

Could not you people find someone who could proffer an argument stronger that "potentially could?"

And Falwell.

Drug importation is about much more than getting cheap prescriptions. It's also partially about easing access to abortion drugs like RU-486, euthanasia drugs, and "life extension" drugs of questionable merit and potentially harmful effect.

And what's this bill about really, you ask? Its true name is the Pharmaceutal Market Access Act of 2003. Funny, on a full-text search of the bill, the only time I see the letters "ru" are contained within the word drug.

The bill is not exceptionally interesting, as bills go. I read it all.

The far right scares me about as much as the far left. Both seem far too interested in saving Americans from themselves, vast conspiracies for or against [insert cause here] and achieving their agendas through means other than reason. And I just don't buy in.

hln

Obligatory Link to IMAO, July 9, 2003

Yes, here it is, just as requested.

Please visit IMAO today. It's Frank J's one-year anniversary of posting. I can only hope to be a quarter as popular as he on my one-year...not that I know when it is...

hln

A Love Story

Since I'm getting a lot of hits from my husband's post on IMAO about dating, I thought I'd share this with the curious.

This is how I found him.

I liked the poem, and, since I posted quite a bit on rec.arts.poems back in the day, I ran across this poem a few days after it was posted. (The day I found it happened to be Brian's 25th birthday). I saw the stlbrianj@aol.com (now defunct, btw - so go ahead and spam it), and I sent him an e-mail asking about reading poetry in St. Louis, something in which I was interested at the time. I signed it hli, my initials at the time. The e-mail address from which it originated was c674496@missouri.edu, so it was hardly a pick-up e-mail, not divulging my gender.

And he wrote back! It was a nice, witty, lengthy piece answering exactly what I asked. And I wrote back a thank you, and, well, you get the picture.

He printed and saved all of these e-mails.

We were friends. And then we were more, and then we married on May 22, 1999.

So, there it is. Not Internet dating on purpose, but certainly a good story with a happy ending. We lived in our separate cities for just over a year after beginning dating, and eventually we decided it'd be best for me to move from Columbia, MO to St. Louis because the job opportunities were much greater. During that year in separate cities, though, Brian was working in O'Fallon, MO as a printer, and this was on the way to Columbia. So, on Wednesdays, he'd pop into town and we'd spend some time together. I fixed him lunch for the next day and made rhubarb pies (my favorite - so selfish) and left napkins with little love notes in his lunch.

He saved these.

Anecdotal: I have a spouse who can beat me at Scrabble pretty handily. (We keep all of our scores...how...geeky!). I believe his high score is over 500, and mine a paltry 470 or some such (not the same game). If ever I need to restore my self-esteem from a Scrabble beating, well, there's always Boggle.

Where he doesn't stand a chance. Buhahahahah.

hln

I'd like Prison for Life for $1400, Plesae, Alex

Wow. Nobody likes a wife-beater (even an alleged one), but there's extreme, and then there's EXTREME.

While the article does note the action was not Mr. Marquez's first offense, whoop-di-damned-do. Please note the word "possibility" in the first paragraph.

I'd hate to see what they'd have done to him if he'd sneezed.

hln

Ah, So THAT's what it is

CNN today told me about Octopus Giganteus. Tim Blair has identified it more quickly than the Chilean scientists, though.

hln

Guess They're Still Gonna Play Play...

The US today took its ball and went home. The game rages on, though, as no 11th hour exemption came down the wires.

I always hated the failure of that tactic when I was six.

Our bluff: called.

hln

Marathon -> Snickers With a Large Price Tag and Small Nutrition

I think that pretty much says it all. Show me the nutrition info, and maybe I'll buy one. After all, who doesn't like chocolate, peanuts, and caramel?

Here's the link, courtesy of my friendly hometown newspaper.

hln

Linking to Others to Avoid Writing Contest

Here's what I read worthy of note today:

The Great Debate by BigArmWoman

If they can be stupid... - phobia.com and its addendum by my esteemed spouse.

Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota lyrics - just because it came on the MP3 player.

A helpful guide to the Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Change Vending - I don't even remember my high school sporting vending machines with junk.

hln

A Challenge from The Master

I'm too brain drained to tackle these this evening, but I thought perhaps some of you might wish to do so.

hln

PETA - People for Evil Taping of Animals

Wow, this is the top story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today. I guess news is a bit thin around here (for which we should not complain). I read the whole thing (in paper form), and I shook my head.

I consider myself an animal activist (low level). I do what I can, typically volunteer time to raise money to help with controlling the feral cat population. PETA makes animal activists look like left-wing insano nut jobs. It saddens me.

The "spy," in my opinion, didn't find much. I felt a twinge in my heart for the dog with the hurt paw, but the other bullet-point facts in this article caused me to utter a few audible "so?"s.

Gotta fisk it!

The videotape — mostly of Iams, Menu Foods and Isto study-related animals — was whittled down to snippets of riveting scenes:


• A beagle clawing maniacally at the metal bars of its cage; a dog circling wildly in its cage, another cowering quietly in back; and a meowing cat pacing back and forth inside its cage. PETA claims these are signs of distressed and bored animals.

Animals get restless, you know? Ever seen a restless human? Sometimes those are put on Ritalin. But, this is similar behavior to the animals I have seen in the Humane Society. Why isn't PETA banging down their doors and demanding that the animals be let free? I mean, really. I have skittish cats. You should see their behavior when it's vet time...

• A group of at least 10 beagles, slowly awakening from anesthesia, lined up on the floor of an exam room after having their bone density measured by an X-ray densitometer. PETA claims such unsterile conditions are unsafe. Bouchard said that the floor was clean and that beagles were placed close together to conserve body heat.

I have no authority by which to comment on this one. But, have you ever laid on the floor? I laid down on the grass to stretch after the Watermelon Ride today. I must be unsterile. I have to stop here, though - not sure what the test does or if it's invasive.

• A dog, asleep from anesthesia, strapped on its back during an X-ray. "When the dog is done, make sure they're breathing," an off-camera worker says, moving his hand over the prone animal's stomach. "When you see they've stopped breathing, give them (this)," the worker says, pantomiming a slap at the dog.

So, tell me, can you tell the difference between a slap and a tap by reading about it? Hmm, I sure can't. What would PETA have said if the advice is to laugh maniacally at and insult the mother of the the not-breathing dog? Pleh.

• A pig in distress, convulsing on its side in a cage. A worker tells the spy that the pig almost died, perhaps from the position of a heart catheter, but they managed to resuscitate the animal.

Wow - this stuff never happens, does it? Some unknown condition surfaces during some medical procedure, and the doctors (or veterinarians) have to take drastic measures to safe the life of the person/animal? Sorry, not enough info. No substance; only sand.

• Employees discussing their work with sheep, saying that surgeries were rushed and that there were problems with the medical equipment.

Again, problems arise, even in the medical field. (I think I covered this point quite adequately in the message above.

• Dogs walking gingerly on metal-slotted cage floors, the bars too narrow for their paws. In one scene, a beagle has its leg stuck in the slotted bottom. The dog is obviously in pain and can't move. Another dog is later shown after being rescued from having its leg caught. As the animal holds its left hind leg off the ground because of the pain, the camera zooms in on a severe red and green wound.

Okay, this one got me. I was upset. Score one for PETA.

But that's as good as it gets, baby. Riveting? Hardly. I was more offended by the fact that a cat yesterday that was hit (and killed) by a car remained in the road (and was likely hit by many other cars post mortem) was not removed by my municipality or a kind citizen.

The article was worth reading, and it carried the story around the allegations, so it held my interest, but, in the end, in all good conscience, I really have to stop using those PETA address labels they send while soliciting (ignored) donations.

Sigh, driven to that.

hln

Why No New Posts Since Thursday (Blame Super Metroid)

It's been a busy weekend in the Noggle household. Friday, I was faced with the I-have-time-off-but-not-much funk, which, for some reason, is sometimes more difficult to parse into something productive than a workday.

I solved this by digging out my Super Nintendo and casting myself in Samus Aran's shoes in Super Metroid. Ooh, ahh - Brinstar, Norfair, Maradia! The Wrecked Ship. Yes, good idea indeed. But it spelled no blog for Friday. (Wouldja look at the shoulders on that chick???)

Saturday was chore day, with anticipation of Sunday being a shot day with my plans to do the short route on the Watermelon Ride. Also, we had some social time with some friends - lunch at South City Diner. I spent a couple of hours digging in the dirt and placing about 60 flowering plants. And then, of course, I finished the chore list at about 8 p.m., and Super Metroid called my name louder than the blog, so, well, you can guess the outcome of that.

And today until now? More chores, more, ahem, Super Metroid, and that little Watermelon Ride thingee, that actually took 2/3 of my day. It's somewhat strange to drive 37.2 miles to ride 22.6 and the 37.2 miles back again. Guess I'll have to ride more to justify it.

That being said, the Watermelon Ride was my first organized ride, and I am pleased to report that I seem to be getting the hang of this bike thing, but I'm still behind where I want to be. About 8 miles of this ride was against some ugly wind (though, thankfully, no hills on this point), so my average speed for the whole ride was probably only about 10 mph. Ugh - that must improve. I'm doing Tour de Cure next Sunday. (No, this isn't a shameless attempt to raise more money - really, um, no, really, um, okay), just the 25 mile, and then I have to start seriously increasing the mileage in preparation for the MS150, held in Columbia, MO in early September.

So, am I forgiven? I got all personal - it ought to be worth something.

Oh, and I have about 10 things in my inbox with a subject of "Blog", so there'll be more...

hln

Be Wary, Potential Time Travellers!

It's always good to be wary of spam. It's even better to have twisted fun with it.

hln

Ask and ye shall receive

I feel safe again thanks to Frank J's post about monkey pox.

hln

Benton Harbor, MI

Benton Harbor is a mostly black American city located in Michigan. It's not an especially large city, possessing a population of 11,182. Situated very near is St. Joseph, a predominantly white (and affluent) community of 22,984. Race issues have raged between the two for longer than I have been alive.

My father was born and raised in Benton Harbor. My grandfather worked his career for Whirlpool, which maintained headquarters there. My grandmother spent her days at Bendix. My mother relocated to Benton Harbor in the late 60's to teach at Hull School, an educational facility already sporting metal detectors in attempts to curb violent school-based acts committed with metal objects.

So, when I read this post on CNN, (how does Benton Harbor grab CNN's news attention in 2003?) I had to stop and sigh and get more of the story.

Here is Benton Harbor's Herald-Palladium with its take on the events.

The riots. We are a violent nation. Sometimes the microcosm - this community as a good example - serves as a good reminder of unchecked, uncivilized human nature. Though race appears to not be at the forefront of these riots, you can rest assured it resides sure and true somewhere as a supporting cast. In 30 plus years, this event in this area serves as a throwback, at least I hope, to the ailments of bigotry and lawlessness. Obviously, I'm not talking about Los Angeles. How does a community of 11,000 people chronicle such a storied history of violence and hate?

I leave you with these documented acts of violence and woe for the community of Benton Harbor.

1. A book, The Other Side of the River: A Story of Two Towns, a Death, and America's Dilemma, written by Alex Kotlowitz in 1999.

2. "The war I didn't worry about" - an account by William Newmiller.

3. A look at Benton Harbor and St. Joseph (and their disparities).

hln

Intelligent Seats

Lazy me, I didn't blog this yesterday when it was fresh news, but...here we have the CNN article about Intelligent Seats in passenger airplanes.

Since it's not wise to take things at face value, here's how I see the things really being used in 10 years.

1) You're a nervous flyer, so that auto injection of liquid Valium dispensed to only medicate you through the remainder of the flight - godsend.

2) Person in seat 14A forgot his deodorant. Oh, no hassle for the Smart Seat. Genitalia sensor will ensure the stinky ladies are dispensed a feminine scent and the men receive a masculine version to mask the offense.

3) Flight crews dispense electric shocks for malicious entertainment on long flights and create "personal turbulence."

4) The top two sensors, at brain level, read your every thought and record it on a CD for your personal flight memoir (and sell it to you for $19.99).

5) Real terrorist threats and immediately isolated by bulletproof glass. The rest of the cabin is properly pressurized, and purported threat is ejected through the bottom of the plane. If it's a domestic flight, the seat is equipped with a parachute. International, well...

Careful of those blood clots, too. Don't sit too long.

hln

Fat: A New Vice

Hey, check out these silly Brits.

Hamburgers, soft drinks and cakes could be hit with a "fat-tax" in a bid to combat Britain's growing levels of obesity, doctors said Monday.

Hmm, first, soft drinks are full of sugar, not fat. This is important because of a later quote.

But Breach said the tax would hit food manufacturers hard and have little effect on the poor.

"A fat-tax will remove food manufacturers' incentive to pump food full of fat. Instead they will fill processed foods with healthier ingredients and better selections of meat," he said.

"Fat is a cheap by-product of the meat processing industry -- they have mountains of the stuff and are desperate to use it, so they use it as cheap padding in foodstuffs," he added.

Fat's cheap? You betcha. Try comparing potato chips to Soy Crisps (Genisoy), candy bars to fresh fruit. You bet it's cheap. But what's the goal here (and forgive me, I know I have little room to criticise (proper spelling for the argument) the British government, not being a Brit and all)? It sounds like a nice, happy American scheme we all know as the vice tax.

Problem is: we all have to eat. We don't all have to drink, and we certainly don't have to smoke.

So, British government, perhaps I should send you a nice big package of Oreos. Your people still have free will, and if they, like many Americans, want to eat their way into larger sizes, there really is precious little you can (read: should) do. Oh, you could borrow a page from tobacco control and refuse to sell food to minors.

Perhaps you should move all your citizens to Colorado? Knock 'em down (er, or, up) to the rest of the states' level.

hln

Drooling Fools, Indeeed, Muhahahah Stay

Stay out of it, Hans!

Men.

hln

Oh Baby

I meant to get this up here yesterday, but life sometimes dictates other plans.

I originally read this story on USA Today, but I couldn't find it there today. I'd like to point out that this article refers to the unborn child of Laci Peterson as "the baby" all throughout the article. Technically, of course, a baby can be a fetus - 2nd definition on Dictionary.com

You'd think the liberal media would be a little more selective with its nomenclature. After all, abortion is legal, and we (read: women) don't abort babies, right? We abort fetuses. We abort unborn children.

Yet, in this case, which for some mind-boggling reason has captured the entire nation (perhaps life after war is boring?) an unborn child is an "infant son" and a "baby." And, obviously, this will inspire more public outrage.

Amazing.

hln

Rapid Detox, baby

I read the USA Today article about Rapid Detox today. It was interesting in and of its own right, but, as is often the case, a certain paragraph struck me funny.

That paragraph is:

"I have detoxed attorneys and doctors on a Friday and they are back at work on a Monday and seeing patients or clients on Tuesday," says Dr. Rick Sponaugle, chief of anesthesiology at Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs, Fla. and director of Florida Detox, located in the hospital. "We take them through the detox in a more humane way and what I believe is a less dangerous way."

"A more humane way."

Are we killing these people? Are they animals? Humane, according to dictionary.com, is defined as "Characterized by kindness, mercy, or compassion." Well, that's nice. I can see the corner clinics now. You've got your Walgreen's, your 7-11, your McDonald's, and your detox clinic. Will this work for smokers?

Anesthesia and drugs to combat other drugs, more cultural panacea. I mean, obviously - weekend detox is the thing, and then back to work.

hln

Stratify

Yesterday and today I have been ravaging through cubbyholes, file cabinets, and under-the-bed boxes stuffed with paper and other mementos trying to determine the difference between detritis and keepsake. It's been a good time and a half attempt at spring cleaning, and I'm still nowhere near done, but here's the gist of it all.

An online friend recently informed me he was throwing away his life. On the surface, this is a pretty strange comment, but he meant it quite literally - throwing out/ridding himself of everything that doesn't fit in a midsize car in preparation for a long move by said car.

Immediately this set me to thinking. First, I'm established in a house - been here over three years, as a matter of fact. I sit writing in my office, and I'm fairly certain I could not fit this room's contents into my automobile. Still, I tossed the thought through my head and brought it forward as a dinner topic last evening and then set about trying to mentally stratify the things that're important to me - the female Noggle hierarchy of needs, if you will.

So here they are.

1) Brian. Obviously, I'd go nowhere without him, though this would make the task a slightly cheating one - Brian has a truck, so we'd have two automobiles to fill. But, if I could only fulfill one "need," it'd be him.

2) The cats. Plural. All of 'em. They're a collective entity because I cannot further classify the cats into taking this one and leaving that. So, all five cats and Brian in one automobile - that'd be about all she wrote. I cannot fathom a long trip with 5 cats, though. Some of us would not survive, I'm sure.

3) All of the small things that I consider sentimental. Most of these things fit in two save-it boxes (my mother's terminology) that fit under the bed. I could probably compress the really, really important things into one box. I'll talk a little about these things.

• We have a 23 year-old book mark award that says "you've read 25 books." The grape scratch and sniff component of the bookmark still works.
• A crayon-colored and torn piece of notebook paper that says "Notice! If you want to be a cat club member, call Heather Igert at 648-4894."
• Report cards from junior high, high school, and college.
• My father's, grandfather's, and grandmother's obituaries.
• A copy of my wedding invitation.
• A card from my parents, in my father's handwriting (this is rare) indicating pride and a $50 reward for all As.
• The rules of dancing, as I so aptly illustrated on a napkin to Brian when we were first dating. They include such gems as "No clapping, no snapping fingers, and no one-finger thing."
• My A+++ on "Which Did More to Shape The Development of Democracy, the American War for Independence, or the English Revolutions of the 17th Century?" Incidentally, I gave credit to the British. The whole chicken and egg thing. What else is a 15 year-old to do on this subject?
• My 9th grade spelling bee word list, containing such beauties as bilboquet, brachygraphy, casuistry, catastasis, dehiscence, fricassee, glogg, insouciance, potpourri, schipperke, tagraggery, and zaibatsu.

4) The computer. Sigh, sad, eh? The computer means I'd have the capacity to work and to communicate, though, so it is a simple choice.

5) All - the vast and volumonous quantity - of our books. It'd break down here. There's no way all of our books would fit in a vehicle, even if it were devoid of humans and felines. But books are to be kept, and, in our definition, that often means on bookcases stuffed two books deep.

6) Clothing - yeah, this doesn't seem to practical, but clothes can be replaced, or, actually, I'd probably cheat and ship them because it's cheaper than shipping books.

7) Anything else - CDs, DVDs, the various material things that are nice but not necessary.

So, there's my thought for the day and a large chunk of my weekend's activity; my recycle bin out back is a very full and bustling place.

hln

Tsk, Tsk, Fitness magazine I

I think Fitness magazine will only be a one-year subscription for me. It's trying to be Shape and Muscle & Fitness Hers, but it just can't put enough meat on the sandwich.

And it does things like this.

In the July, 2003 issue, we have the usual - lose weight, tone bikini body, conquer emotional eating, blah blah blah. On page 39, there's a "success story" of a woman who's 5'10 and 165 pounds. She's got a hearty build, and she looks fine. Of course, she used to weigh 310 pounds, so this 165, normal-looking, non-chunky weight, is good. We knew this - yay, go team. Then, on page 90, there's another woman's picture and her story. She's 5'1 and has dropped down to 135 pounds and appears quite fit. Just for comparison, add 5 pounds for every inch of height. I'm 5'8, so at her build elongated, I'd be about 170, which is a bit hefty, but, if you're fit and appear fit, Fitness will endorse you, obviously. Go Fitness.

Now, on pages 94 - 98, lurks the article "The Face of Fitness." The magazine selected three young women who "epitomize our mind/body/spirit philosophy." Oh, I need to mention, too, they're all STICK THIN. Specs: 5'9 and 120, 5'8 and 122, 5'8 and 115. The first one has some muscle to her - nice shoulders at least.

Ectomorphs! Ladies on pages 39 and 90, take heed! You need to lose weight in order to be a sleek fly-away female. I'm trying to imagine myself at 120, and I think my hip bones would cause pain to anything with which they had contact. "Don't run into that Heather chick in the elevator - she'll hurtcha." Who wants to see your hip bones anyway? Sir Mix-a-lot is puking, I'm sure. Is that a NuvaRing, or is that your waist?

Fitness, you bad scaly dog, you. Pick an ectomorph, a mesomorph, and an endomorph, please. This is not the ideal against which all women should aspire.

hln

The verdict, positive

I checked on May 17th, but I didn't find anything definitive. I've been gone all week, but in the St. Lous Post-Dispatch today, there was a small article about the defeat of Missouri SB 668, the bill that would make it a Class D felony to photograph animal facilities without prior consent.

Here's the info from the Humane Society. hln

Terror Alerts

Ah, it was so confusing, but now it is so much clearer.

hln

Scientific Study Proves

Or something like that. I'm outta here until Friday - out of town. Required reading? Rachel Lucas

I sent her this e-mail this morning, not agreeing with her post about guns. This is odd - usually I agree with just about everything Rachel says, but this seems over the top. My e-mail to her:

Rachel,

First, I read this yesterday. Post Dispatch Story about Escaped Rapist

Briefly, it's an article about a woman who was raped in 1975 by a particularly vindictive man (purported to be highly intelligent). For the most part, it doesn't portray her as kooky (only move in that direction is when they mention she has gun in every room of the house), so the media gets some credit for that.

When I read your blog entry, your post reminded me of that woman. I'd like to offer a few paragraphs about guns from a different perspective. Gun ownership/usage is a choice.

I grew up with guns in the home. They were not toys - they were my father's deer hunting rifles, and they were kept under the bed, and I was not allowed near "under the bed." Obviously, they were not loaded with a child in the home, but there was this instilled respect for the guns. There are pictures of me as a child standing next to hanging newly shot deer in the garage. (Oh, and my father the biologist ensured we ate every edible inch of the deer).

Somehow, some way, though, perhaps because I am a girl, I never learned to shoot. When my father died, my mother gave me one of my father's shotguns, and I keep it in the closet (no ammunition in the house because I don't know how to shoot - don't ever want the possibility of the gun being a weapon AGAINST me) until such time that it strikes me it's time to learn.

My uncle collects civil war guns.

For your sister, hopefully she is right. And, looking at most people's lives, she is. Most people, thankfully, do NOT need guns. For me, someday the time will be right to learn to shoot. Until then, I have my stature (both attitude/general demeanor and physical size) and craftiness to deter would-be attackers to find simpler prey before the attack point.

Thanks for writing. I enjoy reading.

hln

(This exercise is also known is a two-fer. Running lowwwww on time).

Back Friday.

hln

Perspicacity - Absent

I read about this for the first time today and immediately tagged <blog>it</blog>. First, a small summary, lest the entire article in its full journalistic glorified simplicity not beckon your attention. Two people were killed when the two defendents were "drag racing" on a public street and struck a Geo Storm at high speed. From another article, I discerned that the deceased driver was attempting to make a left turn across traffic - the drag racers being the traffic. It also states "the men were crusing down a city avenue." Because I must sleep soon, however, I'll pick only a snippet and comment (read: rant) about it. And it won't be the most obvious piece. I feed you this paragon of paragraphs:

The defendants, who are seeking manslaughter convictions, which carry terms ranging from probation to about 12 years in prison, testified earlier this week that they were totally unaware that illegal street racing posed a deadly risk to others and could not have anticipated the accident.

Okay. Let us begin with the very simple automobile. This machine often zooms along major roadways in speeds, often condoned by the government, of, roughly, 60 - 70 mph. Such pavement is typically called an interstate highway, and cars can only access said highway at certain points; this situation is very controlled. The defendents were purportedly traveling at speeds "reaching" 87 mph on a city road. Danger? You betcha. In my research of defending my "you dolts" stance, I offer this nugget wherein the author states:

Using data from actual road crashes, scientists at the University of Adelaide estimated the relative risk of a car becoming involved in a casualty crash – a car crash in which people are killed or hospitalised – for cars travelling at or above 60 kilometres/hour. They found that the risk doubled for every 5 kilometres/hour above 60 kilometres/hour. Thus, a car travelling at 65 kilometres/hour was twice as likely to be involved in a casualty crash as one travelling at 60. For a car travelling at 70 kilometres/hour, the risk increased fourfold.

And, remember, these Aussies are talking kilometers. While the defendants may or may not be scholars of physics (I'll posit that they are not), a few other simple facts remain. I'll enumerate. 1) In response to, "could not have anticipated this accident" - oh puhleeez. Has neither of these gentlemen ever been rear-ended on the front end by a Lexus SUV backing into them in a parking lot? Oh, I guess that happens only to me. Accidents happen for many reasons - carelessness of one or another driver, driving conditions, averting other, more serious accidents - a full gamut of reasons, and some of them are rational. Don't begin to feign that you are not worthy of the label of "human" by purporting to be so ignorant of death and destruction that can happen when automobiles collide in an unplanned fashion. Outright dismissal of the danger is only a full-handed slap in the faces of the loved ones left to grieve. Do you know the danger now, I have to ask? 2) A public street? You know, there are some of those in your neighborhoods. Some have multiple lanes, probably speed limits of 30 - 40 mph but everyone drives 50, sometimes 60, and that's not really a big deal because there are intersections and controls and some modicum of control from driver to driver. As you make your left turn across traffic to complete your commute to the dry cleaner (in whose parking lot you'd BEST NOT PARK IN THE FIRE LANE - 'cause I'll getcha), do you expect to be confronted with screaming metal whizzing by? No! And, as a driver, are you not always, at least subconsciously alert for childrendogspedestriansrabbitsbirdsbicyclistsstudentdrivers? Yes, those things occur in nature. As far as the murder/manslaughter continuum, my head and heart collide. My heart wants the stronger charge, but my head calmly states that there's no intent to kill here. Rationally, there's no paper/rocks/scissors with this decision. Head's always got to win the argument, and, I believe the 2nd degree murder charge will not prevail. In my world, though, these two should never drive again. hln

Talking Smack

I read this article twice, chuckling, and thought: I must narrate this. And so we go...

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Nintendo Co. Ltd., whose portable Game Boy video game player has dominated that market since the 1980s, shrugged off Sony Corp.'s plans to unveil a rival device and instead focused its efforts on new games.

Sony has already raced past Nintendo to the top of the game console market since launching its PlayStation franchise nearly 10 years ago. Sony now wants to take on the handheld market with its new "PSP" handheld device that will debut by the end of 2004.

"The fact that they are putting a lot of features into it (PSP) is very Sony-like, but at the moment we dominate the handheld market and there is no need for us to be overly concerned right now," Iwata said Tuesday at a press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video game industry trade show. "We will continue to do what we do best."

Nintendo's new Game Boy Advance SP handheld was released in March, and the $99 device has been hailed as Nintendo's best yet. Sony did not offer a price for the PSP but said it would be available in the fourth quarter of 2004. Iwata said Nintendo would continue to focus on creativity in games, especially those that link the Game Boy and its GameCube console, which has struggled in the market after Microsoft Corp. launched its competing Xbox game console 18 months ago. The GameCube, a major disappointment in the last fiscal year, trails both Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft' Xbox.

Both Sony and Microsoft announced major hardware upgrades to their consoles this week, but Nintendo instead focused its efforts on new gaming titles and "connectivity" between the Game Boy and GameCube. Aiming to bolster the console's sales, Nintendo showed a number of new games at its news conference, including a revival of the arcade classic Pac Man, a multi-player affair that will let one player act as the little yellow pellet-muncher and three other players serve as the ghosts that chase him.

Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Nintendo's hugely popular Mario Brothers games, previewed an upcoming version of the Legend of Zelda series that will let four Game Boy players interact in the same Zelda game using their own screens as well as with a GameCube console hooked up to a TV.

"Make no mistake .... This time we will not give our competitors a head start," Iwata said.

At any rate, a little lighter this evening.

hln

Brains, in absentia If this

Brains, in absentia

If this article were about the French, we wouldn't bother to read it because it's just stating the obvious. Oops, these were British, though, and not living people.

hln

Missouri Federation of Animal Owners

Missouri Federation of Animal Owners

Following up on Sunday's post, I visited the website of a group whose lobbyist spoke on behalf of the bill to make photographing animal facilities without prior written consent a felony.

I was greeted with some annoying music and bad web design, but, yes, you're allowed to call me on that ad hominem attack that it is. In scrolling text (at least it wasn't blinking), the site reminded me that:

"One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils of this world are to be cured by legislation." Thomas B. Reed (1886).

Amen.

THEN WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING?

This is my second attempt to try to post this. Blogger ate the first post, so you get my truncated morning view instead of my prolonged evening view. The evening view contained a paragraph-long preachy rant about people, animals, responsibility, and people and their responsibility to their chosen companion animals. I'll skip that for now, but if anyone is unclear about the number of healthy animals that are put to death because they are unwanted (basic supply and demand, folks), I am more than willing to put together a post on that.

hln

The Universe, explained Yes, really.

The Universe, explained

Yes, really.

hln

The Bike

Well, not much time this evening due to procrastination and reading of others' thoughts, but, here's the bike and its specs. The bike gets a new seat tomorrow, as that thing that's currently attached to it does not house my rear in a comfortable fashion for five miles, let alone 150. Change is imminent. I had something heady planned for this evening, a rant even, but it shall wait until the weekend. Giant OCR 3 - a nice bike indeed.

hln