Not Exactly Holiday Playlist - Code Monkey

Because of the events of today, I've been hitting repeat on this song for the past hour.


Code Monkey… much rather wake up, eat coffee cake, take bath, take nap, this job fulfilling in creative way such a load of crap.

How's your day?

Linkee-poo is going to see the river man, and tell him all about the plan

A first hand account of fencing with epees. (Grokked from someone, sorry, lost the link)

Detroit's Write-A-House.

Twenty-seven holiday traditions explained.

Saladin Ahmed asked on twitter the other day something like "Why does everybody hate bitcoin." Well my answer was a little simplistic (as twitter answers must be), here's Charlie Stross's longer and wise answer. Basically, bit-coin is the pyramid scheme of prime numbers. And reading it, I'm starting to form an opinion that Libertarianism, as professed any Ayn Rand types, is pretty much a long con meant to funnel as much capital up the chain to a few at the head of the beast as quickly as possible. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

A Rainbow of Wavelengths. Our sun in all it's specular refractive glory. Cue the right-wing, whackaloon "Our Guberment is controlled by teh gayz" contingent in 3… 2… 1… (Grokked from Sarah Goslee)

Holy exploding pig shit. Literally. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

The problem well stated, "We’ve never been on a planet with no Arctic ice, and we will hit the average of 400 ppm… within the next couple of years. At that time, we’ll also see the loss of Arctic ice in the summers… This planet has not experienced an ice-free Arctic for at least the last three million years." (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Oh look, a decade on and internet filter software is still crap. "The BBC is reporting that Internet content filters being rolled out by major ISPs in the UK are failing to allow access to acceptable content, such as sex education and sexual abuse advise sites, while also still allowing access to porn." You know, unless blocking education and help sites while still being able to see boobies and cocks was really the secret objective all along. (Grokked from Dan)

"A Republican congressman from Georgia who is hoping to be party’s next Senate nominee said over the weekend that poor children should have to pay or sweep floors if they wanted to eat school lunches." The. FUCK. Didn't we rebrand Newt Gingrich as such a dick when he proposed this in the last presidential campaign so well that he lost every. single. state. What supreme douche bag of a brain can think that child labor is the solution? To anything. That's it, no more Mr. Moderate Nice Guy, it's time to throw the hand-grenades. You, Rep. Jack Kingston, get in the fucking sack. (Grokked from matociquala)

Well, the title of the article is a little misleading. See, you can't really "hack" another computer using sound, but you can create an audio network. This isn't really big news for any of us older kids you used acoustic coupling devices (pre-modem days). (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

However, by listening to your CPU's sounds, you can extract a 4096-bit RSA key in about an hour. Now that is hacking by sound. (Pointed to by Dan)

"So Hobby Lobby’s lawsuit is based on the company’s 'firm, fixed, and sincere' opposition to contraception and abortion. That opposition is such an intrinsic principle that it would be impossible for Hobby Lobby to comply with the law’s mandate for gender equality in preventive health insurance… And yet this firm, fixed, sincere conviction has never hindered Hobby Lobby from building its business on a foundation of goods manufactured in China… To recap then, mandatory birth control in China is of no moral concern for Hobby Lobby, but access to voluntary birth control for American women is something it will fight all the way to the Supreme Court. The company has no conscientious objection to forced abortion in China if such objection would interfere with its ability to get kitschy rooster ornaments for pennies for the dollar. But preventive health insurance for female employees violates it’s deepest purported religious convictions." I wonder if the government's lawyer read the Slactivist?

Tweet of my heart: @KameronHurley If you think there's no stereotypical "affluent white people" behavior, come bask in the horror of this bingo card (WARNING - an Xmas Jammies Holiday Video Card - O.M.G.)

Double dip (because you need one after that) @dailybeckett We spend our life – it's ours – trying to bring together in the same instant a ray of sunshine and a free bench.

Holiday Playlist - Christmas in the Ashram

Another cross-cultural gem.


You can hear a cleaner version here. Or you can listen to Chris Rosser's original version here (on his The Holy Fool album). Singing ohm, hallelujah, hare hare krishnah, in excelsis deo, rama bolo rama bolo, gloria gloria, govinda gopala, oh noel, jaisiyaram, Christmas in the Ashram.

Linkee-poo tells me over and over and over again, my friend, ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

The "self-loathing" thing. Le sigh. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

On the Writer's Alamanc for Wednesday, December 18th, they have a poem by Mary Oliver called The Journey. While it's a great poem about coming into your own life, it also reads well as writing advice. Highly recommended reading. "One day you finally knew / what you had to do, and began, / though the voices around you / kept shouting / their bad advice". Yes, that. First rule of Write Club, writers write. (I haven't written much lately, but the words are still there and have been trickling out.)

"It’s possible that most of the women are incredibly difficult to work with, have no time to answer publishings’ phone calls, or simply refuse to leave empty space for type setting. It’s possible like it’s possible George R.R. Martin will release a book next year… What’s definitely not possible is that these women aren’t capable of doing commercial SF&F work. That’s just bullshit." Justin Landon on gender parity of genre cover illustrators. (Grokked from Tor.com)

How to cook for a hobbit. Or cooking for a Lord of the Rings movie marathon, including recipes. (Grokked from Jay Lake, I believe)

Ad execs in Australia agree to be subject to electrical shocks from the internet to raise money for charity. A real life Milgram Experiment, only with live video feed and for charity instead of "following orders." See, I'd be interested to see what ISPs those commands came from (the call is coming from inside the house). I'm not sure this would work in the US, as the subject may cross over into electro-shock therapy levels of audience participation. (Pointed to by Dan)

"Students who, by lottery, were selected to visit the museum on a field trip demonstrated stronger critical thinking skills, displayed higher levels of social tolerance, exhibited greater historical empathy and developed a taste for art museums and cultural institutions." A new art museum opens in an area that never had museum access to visual art before. This is what is known as a natural experiment, and social scientists took advantage of the opportunity. Turns out, visiting an art museum is highly beneficial both mentally and emotionally. It's not a surprise for those of us who visit museums. If you live in NE Ohio, you also have the benefit of living near a world class art museum, work class orchestra, nationally prominent natural history museum, a good science museum, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Maltz Museum, and a bunch of smaller institutions. Cleveland, we got class, by the butt-load. But, no, seriously, take you kids to the museums. Most art (public) museums are free at least on some days (special exhibits sometimes cost extra). (Grokked from Cat Rambo)

Why I use Apple products (even if I don't have an iPhone). "But once Apple introduced a 64-bit processor, all the other phone-makers wanted one too. 'Apple kicked everybody in the balls with this. It’s being downplayed, but it set off panic in the industry.'" Well, that and this. (Pointed to by Dan)

"'We would prefer to keep our capitol secular… but if the state decides to turn it into an open forum, they have opened the floodgates. We hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to advertise their own viewpoints, no matter how silly.'" I'm sure the whole "open forum" idea sounded great when most people thought it would just be Xmas trees and nativity sets. But now in Wisconsin there's a Flying Spaghetti Monster display and in Florida there's a Festivus Poll. The easiest way to stop the madness is to keep government out of religion and vice-versa.

Oh, and the Satanic Temple Monument. The case ands it's complexity "also sheds light on the very real privileges that Christianity is afforded from our nominally secular government." Yes, that. And if you want to argue that the Satanists don't have historical case (which a savvy lawyer would be able to run through with a stake to the heart), it'll be a lot harder to deny the Hindus on the same grounds. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Just for the silliness of it, the Star Wars Bohemian Rhapsody. (Grokked from Tor.com, I think)

"Defining when an issue is about race and when it isn't can be a tricky dance. And too many people see slapping a racial category on an issue as a way of dismissing it from general consideration — placing the conversation in the realm of unjustified grousing about a marginal idea." On CBS playing Toto's Africa during the photo montage tribute to Nelson Mandela and the recent Fox News faux pas on Santa Claus and Jesus's race. (Grokked from Justine Larbalestier)

"Despite many good intentions and initiatives, gender inequality is still rife in science. Although there are more female than male undergraduate and graduate students in many countries, there are relatively few female full professors, and gender inequalities in hiring, earnings, funding, satisfaction and patenting persist." A worldwide bibliographic research on gender parity in scientific publishing find significant disparity. Go figure. (Grokked from Tor.com)

When cowboys wore pink. Or, in other words, all this genderization of toys and society is a relatively recent phenomenon. Reminds me of the time I used purple for a Catholic Church recruitment poster which went very well until a t-shirt vendor said to the client, "Only gay people like purple." And then we had to redesign to change the purple, which, as you may know, is the color of many saints and the Christ. Sigh. Society has become so screwed up because of some people's fear of teh gayz. Have I ever mentioned some of the comments I would get when I wore a cardigan sweater to work back in the 90s? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Whackaloon. "'I don't care if he's from Lithuania or Laos, I don't care. Santa Claus is white,' Boortz said. 'He's been white for brown, black, white for ages.'… On Monday, while defending Fox News host Megyn Kelly on the issue, Boortz said Santa is white just like 'Martin Luther King is always portrayed as black.'"

"In recent years, increasing numbers of patients worldwide have contracted severe bacterial infections that are untreatable by most available antibiotics. Some of the gravest of these infections are caused by bacteria carrying genes that confer resistance to a broad class of antibiotics called beta-lactams, many of which are treatments of last resort. Now a research team reports that some wastewater treatment plants in China discharge one of these potent resistance genes into the environment." As Bender would say, we're boned. (Pointed to by Dan)

New research shows vitamins don't help you live longer. "Three studies published Monday add to multivitamins' bad rap. One review found no benefit in preventing early death, heart disease or cancer. Another found that taking multivitamins did nothing to stave off cognitive decline with aging. A third found that high-dose multivitamins didn't help people who had had one heart attack avoid another… 'Enough is enough,' declares an editorial accompanying the studies in Annals of Internal Medicine. 'Stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral supplements.'" See the problem there? Okay, some supplement companies have been touting their vitamins and herbals as wonder drugs that will make you fart rainbows and unicorns, but most people don't take vitamins to halt cancer (although I've heard people recommend it, which, don't, people, they just don't and they can cause more problems by altering the effects of the pharmaceuticals you're taking, same with "bombing" your system with super-hyper doses of vitamins) or prevent heart disease, but since research shows vitamins don't help with these scientists are saying "Don't Take Them Evar!". This is one of the problems with science. There is historical precedent for vitamin therapy. Those of us in NE Ohio have a deficit of Vit. D (note, not all Vit. D is the same, do some research). I could go on about just how "minimum" are those "minimum daily dose" recommendations are and what vitamins are good for you and how they work (and why some aren't necessary), but the scientists saying "Don't waste your money" are lying just as much as those supplement producers telling you they can cure cancer. If you eat a balanced diet, if you live on the coast, if you get plenty of sunshine, and if you're in good health, yes, your need to supplement vitamin and mineral intake is very minimal. But how many of us really fall into that category?

Oh looks, another idiot blaming Obamacare for something that isn't in Obamacare (the requirement isn't in Obamacare, as the article states that initiative was started a long time before, but Obamacare and the Stimulus provided funds to help doctors move into the end of the 20th Century). (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Holiday Playlist - The Holly and the Ivy

Kate Rusby's The Holly and the Ivy, actually one of my favorite holiday songs.

Holiday Playlist - Bells Are Ringing

Mary Chapin Caprenter's Bells Are Ringing.


I've always loved her music.

No doorways, no windows, no walls
No shelter here on the ground
No standing and no safe place to fall
Just the promise of this distant sound

What's the game here?

Random strange thought. Google has a satellite. There are those mysterious barges. Multiple barges. Google is attempting to get into our heads with glass. They control a large percentage of search and how people obtain information. And now comes word that Google has been buying up robotics companies, including Boston Dynamic which is fielding the Big Dog (as well as other military robots).

Do no evil, my ass.

Google is Skynet.

Not Exactly the Holiday Playlist - Carol of the Bells Brains

Jim Wright, this one's for you, buddy.


Wish I could remember who I got this link from. Whomever it was, hey, thanks.

Holiday Playlist - The Birthday Party

Another of my all time favorites, Peter Mayer's The Birthday Party.

Weekend Linkee-poo is going to Wichita, leave this opera for ever more

Fifty narrative devices for non-fiction storytellers.

Delilah Dawson on leveling up your writing. Lots of good advice in there. (Grokked from Kelly Swails who will remind you to "gather as much writing advice as you can. Learn it by applying it. But never, ever let advice kill your mojo.")

In the War on Xmas, good thing Santa is actually Odin. Not really, but it's good enough. Hahahaha. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"We have gone from a war on poverty in this country to a war on the poor, in which poor people are routinely demonized and scapegoated and attacked, and conservatives have led the charge." Charles Blow on one of the many reasons I no longer am a Republican. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

"Could your electric blanket be spying on you?" Or running a spambot network? Charlie Stross with some interesting thoughts as we move toward "smart" devices and your electric kettle runs it's own server software which seeks out open wifi networks. Say, did you know most of the stuff sold through Wal-Mart is made in China. This article is so chock full of story bones, I don't even know where to start. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

Imaging snowflakes as they fall. Cool. (Grokked from Jim Hines)

The rich are just like you and… Okay, well, the rich are out of touch and they have no obvious touch points with the people they hire to do the work that makes them rich. McDonald's is back at it with financial advice to their employees. Like how much to tip their au pair this Christmas. Really, I don't think even the shift managers would be able to afford au pairs, personal fitness trainers and pool cleaners.

Speaking of being rich and out of touch, the affluenza defense. It's basically the "insanity" defense, that the person who did the crime didn't have a concept of the right or wrong of their actions. But, and it's a big but, there is a main difference. For the insanity defense the person who was insane was incapable of knowing right from wrong at the moment the crime occurred For the affluenza defense, the person was simply ignorant of right and wrong. Ignorance, as it is said, is no excuse for the law. I'll accept the argument that in this country children of affluence believe they are different and out of contact with reality. I'll give you that because for large minority of them, their adults and media consumption reinforce that perception that they are apart and above (and isn't that another crime). But there is a difference between "bubble" living and being in the world. In this case, this kid has learned that his actions have consequences. Welcome to growing up. Now you go to jail. This really is a travesty of justice and is something that ignites revolutions. What we are saying here is that the rich are really capable of getting away with murder. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

You know back at the beginning of the Tea Party movement, I had a number of friends who talked me off my initial positions of just what the Tea Party was, and for them, I think they were correct. For them it was a disciplined and ethical stand. But I don't think they realized just how easy their movement was going to be subverted by the criminally insane. I mean, the freeze-dried whackaloon brigades. It was a short trip, folks. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

When the idiots, like those mentioned above, like to spout off about how "charity should be the Churches' job, government should get out of the social safety net," they don't fully comprehend the magnitude and extent of the problem. There's a lot more poor people out there than you think. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

TheWashington Doomsday Prophecy. The budget agreement is about the lowest common denominator, not some grand master stroke of diplomacy. Has it really been that long, or has our politics become so poisoned that we've forgotten this used to be an every day event? (Grokked from Jay Lake)

"These provisions have put an end to the days when insurance companies could raise health insurance premiums by double digit percentages with little oversight. Because of rate review, the report released today shows that consumers have saved approximately $1.2 billion over the past year in the individual and small group markets." Given all the blathering about how some people will be paying more for their insurance (most of which have turned out to be exaggerations, people retelling "things they heard", and people not understanding real insurance), it's important to note that Obamacare has been saving us money for the past two years. Also, with all the blathering about how the website doesn't work, look at that somewhat normal adoption curve. (Grokked from the Slactivist)

Chuck Wendig gives us his own experience navigating Obamacare.

“What goes on here is not some occasional violations where most companies are in compliance and a few are not. You have across-the-board systematic, willful noncompliance with straightforward labor law by a large margin in a way that’s very destructive to workers.” Yea, we don't need no stinking regulations because companies always act responsibly and ethically. (Grokked form Jay Lake)

Dear Megyn Kelly, if that was a joke, you really don't know how to tell one. Or, let me just call bullshit on your excuse and save us all the trouble of the next two weeks of this.n You aren't that smart, nor are you that subtle. Although, contrary wise, it does make a whole lot more sense if you think of Fox News as performance art or one long improve comedy sketch. May be that is actually the way to think of the whole Roger Ailes empire. One, long, drawn out bad joke delivered poorly. Maybe a laugh track would help. (Grokked from Jay Lake)

And because, animals with stuffed animals. (Grokked from Jim Hines)

Holiday Playlist - Christmas in Prison

What can you say about John Prine… damn. I wish my stories had that power.


Alternatively, Jesus, the missing years.

Holiday Playlist - Christmas in Paradise

Here's one of those songs that always gets me – fuck that Christmas Shoes song the unimaginative radio playlist creators are in love with. Here's Mary Gauthier's Christmas in Paradise. And once you hear it, whenever that Shoes song comes on you'll curse the radio gods just like I do.


The radio plays Christmas Songs while we get high. And Davey shouts, "Merry Christmas, ya' all," at the cars passing bye.