Linkee-poo is sold by volume, not by weight

The Greater Cleveland Aquarium opening January 21, 2012. It's been a long, damnable wait. And $22 for an 1.5 experience?

Catherine Schaff-Stump shares what she learned this NaNaWriMo. Also demonstrating that just because you write one way one day, doesn't mean you can't mix it up the next. Heck, you may have to.

MiB3. 'nough said.

Nathan would like to share with you some of the lesser known heros of the "War on Christmas". At least I now know where my annual desire to eat potato knishes comes from.

And open letter from (some of) the truck drivers affected by OWS's shutdown yesterday. "We love being behind the wheel. We are proud of the work we do… But we feel humiliated when we receive paychecks that suggest we work part time at a fast-food counter. Especially when we work an average of 60 or more hours a week…" Just simple justice. Also, a nice essay on what happens when you deregulate and allow "the market" to set the terms. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)

Siri fails at family planning. It's one thing to have a missing piece of data, it's a different thing to have specific black holes of information, while providing in-depth information for topics just adjacent (ie. if you know Viagra, you should know Plan B). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Vince shares a video that might upset some of you. NSFW (explicative laden), you are warned. I don't agree totally with it (extenuating circumstances), but from the angle the ranter is coming from, yes.

The epidemic of autism. The the article reports, it's mostly an epidemic of diagnosis. "Indeed, some parents pursue it doggedly… because it can open the door to publicly funded services." It also can create distinct advantages, especially for students. With the mainstreaming of students who used to be relegated to special ed, general ed make allowances for them: special tutoring, longer times to take tests, readers, etc. That second part, longer time frames for test taking, has been extremely attractive to parents (and students). There are a lot of people out there diagnosed with "developmental disabilities" who really don't have them, but their parents bullied doctors into making the diagnosis so they could get those benefits. That's why ADD diagnosis's spiked in the 80s and 90s, and now autism is the flavor of choice. (that is not to say all the increase is because of this, or even a majority of the increase is because of this, but there are some percentage points that fall into the "give my kid a better chance" category). "… cases were concentrated in places where parents were highly educated and had easy access to treatment." You could also link this spike to the same factors that made Lyme disease the horror of the 80s. Basically it was at that time doctors finally realized, "Hey, this might actually be a disease." Some of you might remember that before then, people complaining of Lyme disease were often dismissed with, "It's all in your head." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

As a side note, the true silent epidemic in this country is Hepatitis C.

A graphical representation of the effect of Newt Gingrich's tax plan (or, if you want the data from the Tax Policy Center). Good thing he doesn't believe in redistributing wealth, because then we'd all have to watch our wallets. Welcome to what a regressive tax policy looks like. Not to mention, it'll add $850B to the deficit in the first year (where as Perry's plan would only add $570B). Remember when conservatives were about ending deficit spending? Well, that doesn't count when you can give your friends a few hundred thousand more a year, does it now. (Grokked from Morgan Locke)

And just in case you think I don't want Newt to win, think again. I want Newt for the same reason I wanted Cain. Boy howdy would my side win. "Please, Brair Fox, don't throw me in that briar patch." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Because sunlight is the best disinfectant for political bullshit (Grokked from Jay Lake). Your liberal media at work. Sometimes I just don't understand Log Cabin Republicans. Yes, I know a few personally. They're all about smaller government, lower taxes, etc, all the things the Republicans say they're about. But they've missed that the social conservatives have hijacked the party and flung it deep into ultra-wacky-right-land. And those social conservatives aren't about those things (although they'll mouth the words), they're about the hate for others. They're tired of the world showing them they're wrong, and so they will fight to their last breath denying all of reality. So, to my Log Cabin friends, that party has abandoned you, too. It's time to wake up and smell the closet that the social conservatives just want your money and they don't give a flying fig about you. You might think you've won the war on this issue (also grokked from Jay Lake). Really? How's Roe v. Wade doing these days? This is the conservative theme. They never admit defeat and will keep fighting to make the world they way they perceive it should be, and there's no room in that warped reality for you.