There's a whole lotta foodie talk going on. But in the age of the supermarket, it's really bogus. In Germany they still have food "seasons." Although, at least so far, I've never bought watermelon on the winter (although I like having tomatoes throughout the year, so yea for international commerce). And just in case you think dwarves have it bad, that article ends with "While Germans delight in as much asparagus as possible over a period of eight weeks, barley is one crop they are happy to consume — in its preserved, liquid form — all year round." Although, don't we all know Germans like their beer? (See links later on about being carefully taught)
The next breakthrough in batteries will be in production, not in technology innovation. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
The least unhealthy food choices at fast food restaurants. Just in case you need it. Note that most fast food is highly processed (which means low in vitamins and other good things for you, high in processed/simple carb and proteins, not to mention added fat and sodium). (Grokked from Dan)
"Don't let them tell you it's all in your head." Delilah Dawson and her experiences with the healthcare system. Points, yes, this. And you don't actually have to be taking anti-depressants for this to happen. Yep, seen that (on the receiving end and on the giving end, although I tried to fight). Doctors (and nurses and everyone else) are quick to grasp the easiest solution, and when your problem doesn't fit that solution, it's obviously in your head. Also the result of differential diagnosis. That is, if what you're describe is 95% this one disease, we will check you first for that disease using the least invasive test until we have something that makes sense to your healthcare givers. Unfortunately for a lot of doctors that means if you're female it's all in your head. (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
The Onion weighs in on Gamer Gate/Fanboys and the insistence of sticking to the "staying true to the material" meme. Slow clap. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
I wonder if TEA Party activists would be upset at this tax (on "sanitary products") if we had this in the US? I'm not entirely sure which direction they'd go. But apparently SNAP (or food stamps) can't be used for these products, and many states charge sales tax on them. So, TEA Party, where's your position paper? (Grokked from the Slactivist)
Thought it would actually be good for practice shooting whomp rats in Beggar's Canyon, but no. Instead you "can experience the excitement of standing on the launch pad beneath NASA's massive new rocket, the Space Launch System or SLS…" Um, isn't that what happened to Jimmy Hoffa? Maybe I can stand over there, instead. Like a safe distance away. (Grokked from George Takei)
While it may be hard to say that conservative presidential aspirants support white supremacists views, it is clear whom those white supremacists support. Must have been all those dog whistles. Ben Carson stand alone in calling out the obvious racism of Dylan Roof's shooting. Considering he was actually polling quite well before this, it'll be interesting to see where his numbers go concerning "the base." But then, the polling is becoming increasingly less actuate (see: 2012 election and Nate Silver's rise to prominence). (Grokked from Dan)
Many people are wondering where people like Dylann Roof get their ideology and twisted sense of reality. If only we knew how people become racists and how racism spreads. You have got to be carefully taught. The same way sexism continues in the culture.
The C of CC says, Dylann Roof was a monster for shooting people, but he wasn't wrong. "However, the council stands unshakably behind the facts on its website, and points out the dangers of denying the extent of black-on-white crime." And yes, I did pull that Bill Maher quote.
You know eventually, Bill O'Reilly, you'll realize the problem is you. I don't expect it soon, because of the narcissism, but eventually.
Oh thank God there's another ISIS whackaloon and the conservative shout-o-sphere can go back to talking about "the real threat to Americans." Although "Justin Nojan Sullivan" doesn't have the right ring to it. So maybe we need another, someone with "al" and a whole bunch of "ck"s and "ch"s in their name.
Just going to drop this here. A "Fox & Friends co-anchor" goes rouge and tries to throw an axe into a target, misses, hits West Point drummer. You can't really blame them. At Fox, you don't need any real talent for anything, and the whole organization is a classic example of the Dunning-Kruger effect. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Monday, June 22, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Three things make a post, plus one
There's lots going on in the private life, but about 99% of it the same old boring, "work-school-sleep" that it's not worth mentioning or writing about.
Last week, though, I was week and had some regular Coke for lunch. At work we have a big project so they're providing lunch most days (we'll see if that continues this week as well, I'd guess not), and while I've been over eating (stress eater, hi, that's me) I've been able to avoid most of the bad things (when I can). But on Wednesday I succumbed and poured a cup of Coke. Man I miss that rush. My brain felt more awake and hitting on all cylinders than it has for almost two years now. And I admit, I had another cup (they were small plastic cups). And then another on Friday (Thursdays I'm at the hospital doing clinical, where strangely enough, I don't overeat or feel the need to get caffeinated all the time). Hopefully with the weekend I can break out of that cycle. But I miss that feeling. I remember why I used to do a lot more writing and experimental writing when I was drinking pop regularly.
Clinicals have ground to a halt. That is logging in several comps a day has stopped. For the CT licensure we need 125 comps from certain categories (types of studies). I have about 70 or so. This is a little different than X-ray school. So I'm hitting up against several problems. One, I think the people I work with believe I'm much farther along than I am because they treat me like, "Oh, you know how to do this, just do it", we've also been very busy so there hasn't been time for me to ask questions and say "I want to do this" when the exams are complicated. Take my attempt at doing PEs (pulmonary embolism study). Now, I've done about 20 of these (and they're a little tricky). But the basic thing is you take a scanogram (planogram, scout, whatever they want to call it) and then set up the study including the locator/tracker on the pulmonary artery. It's easy to find, just set the tracker line at the carina (where your bronchus divides to fill the left and right lungs, it's mostly easy to see). That's where the pulmonary artery rises from your right ventricle, travels over the heart and divides into the left and right branch. It looks like a very thick, upside-down Y. Except the first two patients I said, "I want to comp this" had abnormal anatomy. One's pulmonary artery was about 2" down from the carina (needing 2 extra scans for me to find) and the other's pulmonary artery branched almost right above the pulmonary valve and took strange courses to the lungs. Sigh. The third patient? The ER didn't secure the connector to his IV catheter correctly and we blew contrast and saline all over the place ("fortunately" not enough made it into the veins of the patient that we could try again). So, yea, no PE comps for me, yet. We also don't see many extremities and one of our radiologists is very particular on how he wants the multiplanar reconstructions made. But I think I have that down now that I had a little practice over the weekend. I really don't want to have to continue clinicals into the Fall, but that might be necessary. Sigh.
And then there's the not having time for anything else problem. This is really starting to tick me off. The only benefit is I no longer panic when my RSS feed is over 600 articles. But that also means I'm not able to bring you all some good content I know is out there, but I just never get to it. And I know I'm in big-D again. There isn't much mental time to crawl out of it either. So I hobble along the best I can, showing a different face to the world (at least at the day thing and clinicals). I remember having a life at one point. I really wish I could get back to having one. And now "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" is playing in my head. Thanks, Brain. Gee, do you think the Wizard will give me Prozac?
And it was Fathers' Day. I made the mistake of looking at Facebook today. I remember with Mothers' Day several people mentioned that not all mothers were the most loving, but apparently most people don't know that not all dads were the best either. Thanks to all the people who made up for it, especially my grandfather. He taught me what it meant to be a man and I miss him terribly.
Last week, though, I was week and had some regular Coke for lunch. At work we have a big project so they're providing lunch most days (we'll see if that continues this week as well, I'd guess not), and while I've been over eating (stress eater, hi, that's me) I've been able to avoid most of the bad things (when I can). But on Wednesday I succumbed and poured a cup of Coke. Man I miss that rush. My brain felt more awake and hitting on all cylinders than it has for almost two years now. And I admit, I had another cup (they were small plastic cups). And then another on Friday (Thursdays I'm at the hospital doing clinical, where strangely enough, I don't overeat or feel the need to get caffeinated all the time). Hopefully with the weekend I can break out of that cycle. But I miss that feeling. I remember why I used to do a lot more writing and experimental writing when I was drinking pop regularly.
Clinicals have ground to a halt. That is logging in several comps a day has stopped. For the CT licensure we need 125 comps from certain categories (types of studies). I have about 70 or so. This is a little different than X-ray school. So I'm hitting up against several problems. One, I think the people I work with believe I'm much farther along than I am because they treat me like, "Oh, you know how to do this, just do it", we've also been very busy so there hasn't been time for me to ask questions and say "I want to do this" when the exams are complicated. Take my attempt at doing PEs (pulmonary embolism study). Now, I've done about 20 of these (and they're a little tricky). But the basic thing is you take a scanogram (planogram, scout, whatever they want to call it) and then set up the study including the locator/tracker on the pulmonary artery. It's easy to find, just set the tracker line at the carina (where your bronchus divides to fill the left and right lungs, it's mostly easy to see). That's where the pulmonary artery rises from your right ventricle, travels over the heart and divides into the left and right branch. It looks like a very thick, upside-down Y. Except the first two patients I said, "I want to comp this" had abnormal anatomy. One's pulmonary artery was about 2" down from the carina (needing 2 extra scans for me to find) and the other's pulmonary artery branched almost right above the pulmonary valve and took strange courses to the lungs. Sigh. The third patient? The ER didn't secure the connector to his IV catheter correctly and we blew contrast and saline all over the place ("fortunately" not enough made it into the veins of the patient that we could try again). So, yea, no PE comps for me, yet. We also don't see many extremities and one of our radiologists is very particular on how he wants the multiplanar reconstructions made. But I think I have that down now that I had a little practice over the weekend. I really don't want to have to continue clinicals into the Fall, but that might be necessary. Sigh.
And then there's the not having time for anything else problem. This is really starting to tick me off. The only benefit is I no longer panic when my RSS feed is over 600 articles. But that also means I'm not able to bring you all some good content I know is out there, but I just never get to it. And I know I'm in big-D again. There isn't much mental time to crawl out of it either. So I hobble along the best I can, showing a different face to the world (at least at the day thing and clinicals). I remember having a life at one point. I really wish I could get back to having one. And now "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" is playing in my head. Thanks, Brain. Gee, do you think the Wizard will give me Prozac?
And it was Fathers' Day. I made the mistake of looking at Facebook today. I remember with Mothers' Day several people mentioned that not all mothers were the most loving, but apparently most people don't know that not all dads were the best either. Thanks to all the people who made up for it, especially my grandfather. He taught me what it meant to be a man and I miss him terribly.
Linkee-poo has a case of the "don'twannas"
"She thanks all donors for their 'relentless gay support, relentlessly.'" Followup to that story about the rainbow-colored jars and neighbors threatening to call the cops unless the widowed mother of 4 stopped her "relentless gay support." (Grokked from Dan)
The problem of airplane stowaways. Many die on the journey because they hitch rides in un-pressurized and unheated compartments. Of course part of me thinks, "Wait, wasn't this a plot point in Sherlock?"
The most interesting man in the world. I don't often like the commercials he stars in, but him, he seems to be interesting.
"(I)t is beyond dispute that critical thinking has been abandoned as a cultural value. Our failure as a society to connect the dots, to see that such anti-intellectualism comes with a huge price, could eventually be our downfall." While I agree that there is a common societal thread to embrace anti-intellectualism and a pride that comes along with that action, I disagree (and the article contradicts) the assertion that anti-intellectualism is the root of racism. It allows racism to flourish and grow, but prejudice is the root of racism. "Indeed, these corporate interests encourage anti-intellectualism, conditioning Americans into conformity and passive acceptance of institutional dominance. They are the ones who stand to gain from the absurd levels of fear and nationalism that result in militaristic foreign policy and absurdly high levels of military spending (link is external). They are the ones who stand to gain from consumers who spend money they don’t have on goods and services they don’t need. They are the ones who want a public that is largely uninformed and distracted, thus allowing government policy to be crafted by corporate lawyers and lobbyists. They are the ones who stand to gain from a prison-industrial complex that generates the highest rates of incarceration in the developed world. They are the ones who stand to gain from unregulated securities markets." Yes, that. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Getting the synthetic estrogens out of our water. While the report talks mostly about spillover from birth control pills, most of the synthetic estrogen (and estrogen like compounds) are industrial wastes. While there's been a lot of concern about spillover (antidepressants, estrogens, viagra, etc), not much attention has been given to these "micro-pollutants" that are the result of industrial processes.
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says his chamber will vote on legislation banning most late-term abortions." Well of course they will. Once conservatives gain power, they always vote to ban abortions and hurt women.
"The report says repealing the Affordable Care Act's spending cuts and tax increases would add $137 billion to the deficit over the next ten years, and the number of people with health insurance would drop from 90 percent of the population to 82 percent." Yea, that would be a problem if you were fiscal conservative.
Waterloo. It's more than an Abba song.
Why are so many people trollish? Because some trolls make a lot of money. At this point, it would be hard to argue that Ann Coulter is anything but a troll.
The problem of airplane stowaways. Many die on the journey because they hitch rides in un-pressurized and unheated compartments. Of course part of me thinks, "Wait, wasn't this a plot point in Sherlock?"
The most interesting man in the world. I don't often like the commercials he stars in, but him, he seems to be interesting.
"(I)t is beyond dispute that critical thinking has been abandoned as a cultural value. Our failure as a society to connect the dots, to see that such anti-intellectualism comes with a huge price, could eventually be our downfall." While I agree that there is a common societal thread to embrace anti-intellectualism and a pride that comes along with that action, I disagree (and the article contradicts) the assertion that anti-intellectualism is the root of racism. It allows racism to flourish and grow, but prejudice is the root of racism. "Indeed, these corporate interests encourage anti-intellectualism, conditioning Americans into conformity and passive acceptance of institutional dominance. They are the ones who stand to gain from the absurd levels of fear and nationalism that result in militaristic foreign policy and absurdly high levels of military spending (link is external). They are the ones who stand to gain from consumers who spend money they don’t have on goods and services they don’t need. They are the ones who want a public that is largely uninformed and distracted, thus allowing government policy to be crafted by corporate lawyers and lobbyists. They are the ones who stand to gain from a prison-industrial complex that generates the highest rates of incarceration in the developed world. They are the ones who stand to gain from unregulated securities markets." Yes, that. (Grokked from Cat Rambo)
Getting the synthetic estrogens out of our water. While the report talks mostly about spillover from birth control pills, most of the synthetic estrogen (and estrogen like compounds) are industrial wastes. While there's been a lot of concern about spillover (antidepressants, estrogens, viagra, etc), not much attention has been given to these "micro-pollutants" that are the result of industrial processes.
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says his chamber will vote on legislation banning most late-term abortions." Well of course they will. Once conservatives gain power, they always vote to ban abortions and hurt women.
"The report says repealing the Affordable Care Act's spending cuts and tax increases would add $137 billion to the deficit over the next ten years, and the number of people with health insurance would drop from 90 percent of the population to 82 percent." Yea, that would be a problem if you were fiscal conservative.
Waterloo. It's more than an Abba song.
Why are so many people trollish? Because some trolls make a lot of money. At this point, it would be hard to argue that Ann Coulter is anything but a troll.
Friday, June 19, 2015
Linkee-poo, to everything there is a season
The Emanuel AME Church website with a donate button. (Grokked from just about everybody)
The problem, the WSJ editorial board believes "institutionalized racism" doesn't exist anymore. "'What causes young men such as Dylann Roof to erupt in homicidal rage, whatever their motivation, is a problem that defies explanation beyond the reality that evil still stalks humanity,' the editorial stated. 'It is no small solace that in committing such an act today, he stands alone.'" Only, he doesn't stand alone. Leading (mostly conservative) politicians also don't get it, but then that's because they would have to acknowledge their complicity. And that's not going to happen as long as conservatives need to troops their dog whistling brings to the polls to win. They would also have to piss off the NRA. And that isn't going to happen for exactly the same reasons.
There's this thing in medicine where we address the symptoms of a disease, but not the disease or root cause directly. It's easier to do that, and we have solutions ready to go. Unfortunately, it means the symptoms keep returning, and there's the uncomfortable fact that because we can treat this symptom for this disease doesn't mean that treatment will actually work for the same symptom from a different disease. We just say, "well, that should be working" and don't go further and think we've solved the problem. Meanwhile, the patient is still in pain/distress and eventually dies. There are social construct parallels here.
Don't worry, next week it'll be off the front page. Again.
Ah, I guess the relentless gay agenda includes colorful water in mason jars. They're insidious. Also, to the idiot who wrote the letter of complaint, please, call the cops. Tell you what, since the Supreme Court may rule any day now, you'll wanna call 911.
Okay ad kiddies, don't do this. How many times does Samsung have to make the mistake of attempting social media campaigns for the Galaxy phones only to have it outed those campaigns were run/launched from iOS (Apple) products? Learn the lesson. This doesn't even reach adfail. This is shooting yourself in the food. Hell, even Microsoft could learn this after the 3rd incident. You have to eat your own dog food.
Insurance companies involved with Medicare Advantage overfilling the government? Shocked, shocked we are… Say, who's idea was it to privatize part of Medicare and give our tax dollars to a private company middleman? And didn't they promise us major savings because magical Private Enterprise? Gee, what else could the be wrong about?
How to do social media right. Airport security finds boy's custom made Hobbes, takes Hobbes on tour of airport, presents boy with book of photos and the tiger when he came back through the airport. Win. (Grokked from Kelly Swails)
How Rand Paul's tax scheme works. The VAT, I'm not sure that's what Neil Diamond was singing about in "Coming to America." "(F)ormer Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers once quipped that conservatives oppose a VAT because it is a money machine and liberals oppose it because it is regressive (that is, people with lower incomes pay a larger share of their income in tax, because they consume a higher fraction of their income). Mr. Summers said we would get a VAT when conservatives realize it’s regressive and liberals realize it’s a money machine. And indeed, while conservatives have historically been uneasy about VATs, Senator Paul would use his to replace revenue lost from two progressive taxes conservatives hate: corporate income tax and graduated taxes on high personal incomes." There's that word again.
The problem, the WSJ editorial board believes "institutionalized racism" doesn't exist anymore. "'What causes young men such as Dylann Roof to erupt in homicidal rage, whatever their motivation, is a problem that defies explanation beyond the reality that evil still stalks humanity,' the editorial stated. 'It is no small solace that in committing such an act today, he stands alone.'" Only, he doesn't stand alone. Leading (mostly conservative) politicians also don't get it, but then that's because they would have to acknowledge their complicity. And that's not going to happen as long as conservatives need to troops their dog whistling brings to the polls to win. They would also have to piss off the NRA. And that isn't going to happen for exactly the same reasons.
There's this thing in medicine where we address the symptoms of a disease, but not the disease or root cause directly. It's easier to do that, and we have solutions ready to go. Unfortunately, it means the symptoms keep returning, and there's the uncomfortable fact that because we can treat this symptom for this disease doesn't mean that treatment will actually work for the same symptom from a different disease. We just say, "well, that should be working" and don't go further and think we've solved the problem. Meanwhile, the patient is still in pain/distress and eventually dies. There are social construct parallels here.
Don't worry, next week it'll be off the front page. Again.
Ah, I guess the relentless gay agenda includes colorful water in mason jars. They're insidious. Also, to the idiot who wrote the letter of complaint, please, call the cops. Tell you what, since the Supreme Court may rule any day now, you'll wanna call 911.
Okay ad kiddies, don't do this. How many times does Samsung have to make the mistake of attempting social media campaigns for the Galaxy phones only to have it outed those campaigns were run/launched from iOS (Apple) products? Learn the lesson. This doesn't even reach adfail. This is shooting yourself in the food. Hell, even Microsoft could learn this after the 3rd incident. You have to eat your own dog food.
Insurance companies involved with Medicare Advantage overfilling the government? Shocked, shocked we are… Say, who's idea was it to privatize part of Medicare and give our tax dollars to a private company middleman? And didn't they promise us major savings because magical Private Enterprise? Gee, what else could the be wrong about?
How to do social media right. Airport security finds boy's custom made Hobbes, takes Hobbes on tour of airport, presents boy with book of photos and the tiger when he came back through the airport. Win. (Grokked from Kelly Swails)
How Rand Paul's tax scheme works. The VAT, I'm not sure that's what Neil Diamond was singing about in "Coming to America." "(F)ormer Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers once quipped that conservatives oppose a VAT because it is a money machine and liberals oppose it because it is regressive (that is, people with lower incomes pay a larger share of their income in tax, because they consume a higher fraction of their income). Mr. Summers said we would get a VAT when conservatives realize it’s regressive and liberals realize it’s a money machine. And indeed, while conservatives have historically been uneasy about VATs, Senator Paul would use his to replace revenue lost from two progressive taxes conservatives hate: corporate income tax and graduated taxes on high personal incomes." There's that word again.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Linkee-poo is rockin' in the free world, Canada
First we have "Santorum", whom you don't want to google, and now "FuckFace Von ClownStick". Who's next? Crazy-eyed McGee?
OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!, Starz has greenlit "American Gods." Damn, now I got squee all over me. And so begins the inevitable handwringing hoping FreemantleMedia doesn't screw it up (please don't whitewash, please don't whitewash).
Yet another social media site, but this one will be "secure." You know, until they need money. (Grokked from John)
Philae is back, baby!
Using an electron microscope to visualize reading analog media. Okay, I'm a total geek, but keel! In case you ever wanted to see what the surface of a DVD or CD-ROM looked like. (Grokked from Dan)
As a nation, we waste up to 40% of our food. This should be a crime. Also note that this is mostly a middleman problem, they don't think you'll buy less than perfect produce (or that it needs to be packaged and so must conform to a certain size). And yet, when there are programs that take this "ugly" produce, it sells (probably because they sell it at a discount). Which is fine. What we really need is consumer education (that yellow cauliflower isn't rotten, because it doesn't show the signs of rotting). This is really a crime, especially when people go hungry every single day.
On why regulation happens. So, they might kill a few people with the marijuana before we get there, but what's a few people? And actually, that's how regulation happens. Like the new trans fats rule.
Remember that solar sales pitch yesterday? Perfect Power Now. That certainly looks like them (although the website doesn't have the conservative panic sidebars). And hey, if you can't trust a high-tech firm that looks like they designed their website on GeoCities, who can you trust? Their parent company is a little more modern, but with selling a DVD on "A Crash Course on the Constitution", there's that conservative panic mode. Seems the Amazon people don't quite think highly of them. "You can buy these items separately for much less", yes, that. Plus, it's only a 90W solar panel. Well, I guess they're going where the money is 9and they're target audience isn't all that savvy in alternative energy). Just a hint, you can get most of what they're selling for about $2000 for less than $200. All except the battery and wheels. (Grokked from John)
There's this thing about equal rights and women having control over their bodies. Want examples? Okay, how about the lack of "women's hygiene" products in the developing world leading to girls dropping out of schools and missing economic opportunities. 'Nough said?
Whoa there, Sparky, "Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said Tuesday that Kansas isn't really increasing taxes even though the state will raise its sales and cigarette taxes to balance the budget." Because those aren't real taxes. Well, actually because they won't impact real tax payers, just the poor. Not like they voted for Brownback anyway. "The analysis posted online said the poorest 20 percent of the state's residents will pay 1.5 percent more in taxes than they did in 2012, or an average of $197 a year. Meanwhile, the wealthiest 1 percent will pay 1.9 percent less, or an average of about $24,600, the group said." It's called "regressive". Just so you have that word ready to go (we're going to need it a lot).
Five lies conservative "Christians" tell about themselves. I really want to make a bumper sticker that says, "The way you talk about your God makes him out to be some kinda dick." (Grokked from Janiece)
Ah Texas. Home of the batshit crazy politician. Now they want to "repatriate" Texas' gold (they really don't have any) and set up their own gold bullion repository bank. We, Jasper, there's a few laws that you might transgress here (like not being able to mint your own money, that was a part of why we have the Constitution, BTW). But even though, in their law, they state no one (like those stinking Feds) can seize the assets. Hahahaha. Say, remember how laws work? Also, don't miss some of the wonderful conservative lunacy such as, "…some 4,200 gold bars bought in 2011 by the University of Texas’s endowment fund… are stored in the basement vault of HSBC’s headquarters… For the last four years, the endowment has paid an estimated $1 million per year to store their gold there. (If it had been at the New York Fed the cost would have totaled about $15,400 over that period)." Wot a deal! Also, "(Capriglione) dismissed a suggestion that a building known as a the 'Texas Bullion Depository' will attract criminal masterminds…Rushed for time, Capriglione cut short his interview before he could be asked if he had ever seen the films 'Heist,' 'Goldfinger,' 'Ocean’s Eleven,' or 'Die Hard 3.'" Hahahaha. (Grokked from Dan)
Remember when the conservatives in Congress shut down that Homeland Security Report that said white Christian extremists were more of a domestic threat than other groups? Good times. Good times.
OMG!OMG!OMG!OMG!, Starz has greenlit "American Gods." Damn, now I got squee all over me. And so begins the inevitable handwringing hoping FreemantleMedia doesn't screw it up (please don't whitewash, please don't whitewash).
Yet another social media site, but this one will be "secure." You know, until they need money. (Grokked from John)
Philae is back, baby!
Using an electron microscope to visualize reading analog media. Okay, I'm a total geek, but keel! In case you ever wanted to see what the surface of a DVD or CD-ROM looked like. (Grokked from Dan)
As a nation, we waste up to 40% of our food. This should be a crime. Also note that this is mostly a middleman problem, they don't think you'll buy less than perfect produce (or that it needs to be packaged and so must conform to a certain size). And yet, when there are programs that take this "ugly" produce, it sells (probably because they sell it at a discount). Which is fine. What we really need is consumer education (that yellow cauliflower isn't rotten, because it doesn't show the signs of rotting). This is really a crime, especially when people go hungry every single day.
On why regulation happens. So, they might kill a few people with the marijuana before we get there, but what's a few people? And actually, that's how regulation happens. Like the new trans fats rule.
Remember that solar sales pitch yesterday? Perfect Power Now. That certainly looks like them (although the website doesn't have the conservative panic sidebars). And hey, if you can't trust a high-tech firm that looks like they designed their website on GeoCities, who can you trust? Their parent company is a little more modern, but with selling a DVD on "A Crash Course on the Constitution", there's that conservative panic mode. Seems the Amazon people don't quite think highly of them. "You can buy these items separately for much less", yes, that. Plus, it's only a 90W solar panel. Well, I guess they're going where the money is 9and they're target audience isn't all that savvy in alternative energy). Just a hint, you can get most of what they're selling for about $2000 for less than $200. All except the battery and wheels. (Grokked from John)
There's this thing about equal rights and women having control over their bodies. Want examples? Okay, how about the lack of "women's hygiene" products in the developing world leading to girls dropping out of schools and missing economic opportunities. 'Nough said?
Whoa there, Sparky, "Republican Gov. Sam Brownback said Tuesday that Kansas isn't really increasing taxes even though the state will raise its sales and cigarette taxes to balance the budget." Because those aren't real taxes. Well, actually because they won't impact real tax payers, just the poor. Not like they voted for Brownback anyway. "The analysis posted online said the poorest 20 percent of the state's residents will pay 1.5 percent more in taxes than they did in 2012, or an average of $197 a year. Meanwhile, the wealthiest 1 percent will pay 1.9 percent less, or an average of about $24,600, the group said." It's called "regressive". Just so you have that word ready to go (we're going to need it a lot).
Five lies conservative "Christians" tell about themselves. I really want to make a bumper sticker that says, "The way you talk about your God makes him out to be some kinda dick." (Grokked from Janiece)
Ah Texas. Home of the batshit crazy politician. Now they want to "repatriate" Texas' gold (they really don't have any) and set up their own gold bullion repository bank. We, Jasper, there's a few laws that you might transgress here (like not being able to mint your own money, that was a part of why we have the Constitution, BTW). But even though, in their law, they state no one (like those stinking Feds) can seize the assets. Hahahaha. Say, remember how laws work? Also, don't miss some of the wonderful conservative lunacy such as, "…some 4,200 gold bars bought in 2011 by the University of Texas’s endowment fund… are stored in the basement vault of HSBC’s headquarters… For the last four years, the endowment has paid an estimated $1 million per year to store their gold there. (If it had been at the New York Fed the cost would have totaled about $15,400 over that period)." Wot a deal! Also, "(Capriglione) dismissed a suggestion that a building known as a the 'Texas Bullion Depository' will attract criminal masterminds…Rushed for time, Capriglione cut short his interview before he could be asked if he had ever seen the films 'Heist,' 'Goldfinger,' 'Ocean’s Eleven,' or 'Die Hard 3.'" Hahahaha. (Grokked from Dan)
Remember when the conservatives in Congress shut down that Homeland Security Report that said white Christian extremists were more of a domestic threat than other groups? Good times. Good times.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Linkee-poo has been waiting for this moment for all my life
Donald Trump runs for president, again. But this time for reals. And the comedians of the world rejoice. This will work out well until he realizes that nobody is going to buy his book and he doesn't have a chance in hell to win. At that point, he's choose to drop out and claim victory. I suspect it'll be a few days before Iowa.
"Fifty hospitals in the United States are charging uninsured consumers more than 10 times the actual cost of patient care, according to research published Monday." I'm sure they have a good reason, like wanting to hire another friend down on their luck as a Vice President. "By comparison, the researchers said, a typical U.S. hospital charges 3.4 times the cost of patient care." (Grokked from Julie)
"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it." - Admiral Josh Painter, Hunt for Red October. I may be nostalgic for the Cold War, but I really didn't miss it that much.
It's just like Obamacare, but with electricity. Hurry, conservatives, buy your solar cells before the president's socialism causes a world collapse of electricity. But wait there's more, order now to get your survival seed bank! He doesn't say if you can for this system with your gold Krugerrands or silver dollars that you probably got last week. (Also, even at $1000, it's overpriced)
I'm beginning to think there's a revenge issue in the Bush family. First we get Junior, who decides to invade Iraq to get back at the man who shot at his Daddy, and now the "smart" brother (the one whom everyone thought would run in 2000) wants a do over of the Bush/Clinton matchup. Seriously, it's called therapy, fellas. Although, actually, if Jeb weren't already running to center (for the GOP), he might actually be a contender. But, by the time the GOP comes to grip with reality and will try their best to nominate the guy (wither Carly Fiorina?) that has the best chance to win, I have a feeling it'll be too late for the primary electoral math. But I've been wrong before. Remember in 2000 all the jokes about getting "the stupid brother"? Ding ding ding, round two.
"At the same time, Democrats seem finally to have taken on board something political scientists have been telling us for years: adopting 'centrist' positions in an attempt to attract swing voters is a mug’s game, because such voters don’t exist. Most supposed independents are in fact strongly aligned with one party or the other, and the handful who aren’t are mainly just confused. So you might as well take a stand for what you believe in." Paul Krugman on Democrats being Democrats. We can only hope it sticks this time. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
"Fifty hospitals in the United States are charging uninsured consumers more than 10 times the actual cost of patient care, according to research published Monday." I'm sure they have a good reason, like wanting to hire another friend down on their luck as a Vice President. "By comparison, the researchers said, a typical U.S. hospital charges 3.4 times the cost of patient care." (Grokked from Julie)
"This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it." - Admiral Josh Painter, Hunt for Red October. I may be nostalgic for the Cold War, but I really didn't miss it that much.
It's just like Obamacare, but with electricity. Hurry, conservatives, buy your solar cells before the president's socialism causes a world collapse of electricity. But wait there's more, order now to get your survival seed bank! He doesn't say if you can for this system with your gold Krugerrands or silver dollars that you probably got last week. (Also, even at $1000, it's overpriced)
I'm beginning to think there's a revenge issue in the Bush family. First we get Junior, who decides to invade Iraq to get back at the man who shot at his Daddy, and now the "smart" brother (the one whom everyone thought would run in 2000) wants a do over of the Bush/Clinton matchup. Seriously, it's called therapy, fellas. Although, actually, if Jeb weren't already running to center (for the GOP), he might actually be a contender. But, by the time the GOP comes to grip with reality and will try their best to nominate the guy (wither Carly Fiorina?) that has the best chance to win, I have a feeling it'll be too late for the primary electoral math. But I've been wrong before. Remember in 2000 all the jokes about getting "the stupid brother"? Ding ding ding, round two.
"At the same time, Democrats seem finally to have taken on board something political scientists have been telling us for years: adopting 'centrist' positions in an attempt to attract swing voters is a mug’s game, because such voters don’t exist. Most supposed independents are in fact strongly aligned with one party or the other, and the handful who aren’t are mainly just confused. So you might as well take a stand for what you believe in." Paul Krugman on Democrats being Democrats. We can only hope it sticks this time. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
Monday, June 15, 2015
Linkee-poo is drowning in a whiskey river, bathing my memories mind in the wetness of its soul
Okay, so is it just me or has Supreme Court deviation (need better catch phrase) replaced Kremlinology in the social zeitgeist?
The She Guardian. Sleep well internets. (Grokked from Geoff Landis)
Ah, whales, thosegentile gentle giants of the deep. Well, most fights in the animal kingdom are for show and intimidation, not to kill or harm the opponents. But, yea, stuck between two school buses that are being aggressive toward each other, not where I'd want to be. (Grokked from Vince O'Connor)
On the cover of the Rolling Stone! Rush finally makes the big time, just as they're about to say goodbye to touring. (Grokked from Ken McConnell)
The cultural differences on why the Chinese don't say thank you. Viva la difference. (Grokked from Eric)
Just what the hell this dashboard lights mean. Or, in other words, design fail (icons are meant to be instantaneously recognizable and understandable, granted most have a learning curve, but if you only see these every 6 years that won't work). (Grokked from Dan)
Just in case you still have hope that man can solve the climate crisis. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
The rich and the wet. I love how people think that because they don't know where something comes from, they ascribe it to magic. You all live in a desert. Time to realize this. Also, just in case you think rich people are nice, understand they're saying, "we can afford it, screw everyone else." I wonder what they'll do when all the poor people need to move away? Who will mow their lawns, walk their dog, nanny their children? (Grokked from Julie)
"(A)gencies such as Planned Parenthood and the Hawaii Youth Services Network believe that changes in the state’s sex education policies have played a role in reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and the abortions that sometimes follow. 'There was, starting in 2010, a lot of new teen pregnancy education going on in both school and non-school settings using evidence-based curricula,' said Judith Clark, executive director of Hawaii Youth Services Network." Reality based sex-ed actually works to reduce teen-pregnancy and abortion rates? Who knew? And since it worked, of course the conservative members of the Hawaii State Government want to change it all. Again, that's because the "pro-life" movement isn't actually about ending abortions. It's about rolling back the sexual revolution. (Grokked from George Takei)
"When it comes to family arrangements, the United States has a North-South divide. Children growing up across much of the northern part of the country are much more likely to grow up with two parents than children across the South." You mean in the Bible-belt, there are more children in "broken" households than in the liberal North. Why I do declare.
Jim Wright on what's keeping Reince Priebus awake at night. They just might win the battle, only to lose the war of relevancy.
Your money or your life. On the debate of defaulting on student loans. I've seen this argument from the side lines (all our student loans are paid off, thanks to the monetary finesse of my wife, however I didn't own my own home until late in my 30s and we're still struggling with savings) and kept thinking, "wait, but student loan debt can't be discharged by bankruptcy." "There is another danger: Employers who can legally check your credit before hiring you may have questions about your character if you’ve defaulted on a student loan." Yea, and the Federal Government can also garnish your Social Security payments. Can't we all agree this experiment in paying for higher education has failed and work on the solution… finally.
Yea, we kinda knew that part. A new report can't find any evidence of the police officer shouting at Tamir Rice to drop the gun and raise his hands.
"The Dominican government recently opened seven deportation centers near the Haitian border, and gave them the Orwellian name of 'welcome centers'" And it goes down from there. Maybe it's easier to see racism in others, so to everyone who wants to deport all those "illegals", do you see the parallels here? Yea, probably not. (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
The She Guardian. Sleep well internets. (Grokked from Geoff Landis)
Ah, whales, those
On the cover of the Rolling Stone! Rush finally makes the big time, just as they're about to say goodbye to touring. (Grokked from Ken McConnell)
The cultural differences on why the Chinese don't say thank you. Viva la difference. (Grokked from Eric)
Just what the hell this dashboard lights mean. Or, in other words, design fail (icons are meant to be instantaneously recognizable and understandable, granted most have a learning curve, but if you only see these every 6 years that won't work). (Grokked from Dan)
Just in case you still have hope that man can solve the climate crisis. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
The rich and the wet. I love how people think that because they don't know where something comes from, they ascribe it to magic. You all live in a desert. Time to realize this. Also, just in case you think rich people are nice, understand they're saying, "we can afford it, screw everyone else." I wonder what they'll do when all the poor people need to move away? Who will mow their lawns, walk their dog, nanny their children? (Grokked from Julie)
"(A)gencies such as Planned Parenthood and the Hawaii Youth Services Network believe that changes in the state’s sex education policies have played a role in reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies and the abortions that sometimes follow. 'There was, starting in 2010, a lot of new teen pregnancy education going on in both school and non-school settings using evidence-based curricula,' said Judith Clark, executive director of Hawaii Youth Services Network." Reality based sex-ed actually works to reduce teen-pregnancy and abortion rates? Who knew? And since it worked, of course the conservative members of the Hawaii State Government want to change it all. Again, that's because the "pro-life" movement isn't actually about ending abortions. It's about rolling back the sexual revolution. (Grokked from George Takei)
"When it comes to family arrangements, the United States has a North-South divide. Children growing up across much of the northern part of the country are much more likely to grow up with two parents than children across the South." You mean in the Bible-belt, there are more children in "broken" households than in the liberal North. Why I do declare.
Jim Wright on what's keeping Reince Priebus awake at night. They just might win the battle, only to lose the war of relevancy.
Your money or your life. On the debate of defaulting on student loans. I've seen this argument from the side lines (all our student loans are paid off, thanks to the monetary finesse of my wife, however I didn't own my own home until late in my 30s and we're still struggling with savings) and kept thinking, "wait, but student loan debt can't be discharged by bankruptcy." "There is another danger: Employers who can legally check your credit before hiring you may have questions about your character if you’ve defaulted on a student loan." Yea, and the Federal Government can also garnish your Social Security payments. Can't we all agree this experiment in paying for higher education has failed and work on the solution… finally.
Yea, we kinda knew that part. A new report can't find any evidence of the police officer shouting at Tamir Rice to drop the gun and raise his hands.
"The Dominican government recently opened seven deportation centers near the Haitian border, and gave them the Orwellian name of 'welcome centers'" And it goes down from there. Maybe it's easier to see racism in others, so to everyone who wants to deport all those "illegals", do you see the parallels here? Yea, probably not. (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
Friday, June 12, 2015
Linkee-poo's soul writes me, my soul plays me, my soul sings me
Situation at day thing is tense. Trying to figure out why they insist that "using people" is the same as "respect." This week I have a stronger feeling that in corporate communications I live at the Ministry of Truth. Plus lots of clinical stuff. Too much to mention (also, some of it covered by HIPAA, so no cookies for you).
Reader retention rates. Numbers! Okay, I have to admit I haven't read this, yet. This is mostly so I don't forget to. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
Some more thoughts on the letter from Tom Doherty which does a better job of outlining some of the issues I saw with it. (Grokked from someone, sorry)
Eric Flint goes once more to the well in a response to the Sad Puppies "woe is me" attitude. Shorter version of the post, "suck it up, buttercup." (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"'He came into the call out of control, and as the video shows, was out of control during the incident. I had 12 officers on the scene, and 11 of them performed according to their training,' Police Chief Greg Conley said…" And that's why he resigned. With a resignation there's a chance of him being able to work in law enforcement or security again. Being fired, not so much.
The new math. Or how to fake the numbers to get a higher graduation rate without doing very much education at all.
Sex, God, and rock and roll. A little local (to me) history. Trigger warnings. Just in case someone is trying to tell you how safe and simple life in the country is. Also note, these people are the only local cultists. We had some bad ones in Kirkland and Jefferson. Also, as a part of the Census, yea, there's a number of other "compounds" in the area.
"'It’s just jibber-jabber. You just get out there, you say things, you talk, and no one’s listening.' He pauses and looks at Gethard. 'Except for you.'" On meeting the internet troll. "Travis repeatedly noted that he and other trolls are just having a good time and that his online comments don’t reflect any real emotion. He also said that he’s less likely to troll people online if he knows them personally, even if they’re only acquaintances — because he doesn’t want to hurt someone he knows." I believe that's the definition of psychopathy. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
You know how Science Fiction isn't so much about the future, but vehicle to deal with the issues we face today by pushing the issue out to where people have no personal stake and can think about these things rationally? Okay, same thing works we we talk about foreign countries and foreigners. So, can we can a discussion on the idiocy of this Aussie couple who vow to divorce if same-sex marriage is legalized in Australia? Can we look at this and say, "Wow, are they fucking brain dead?" Or will the world-wide social conservatives have finally found one heterosexual marriage that has been ruined because of gay marriage? (Grokked from BoingBoing)
Since this will be coming to a head in many states in the coming years, New Jersey shows exactly why public pensions are going to be a big battleground. See, NJ (like many municipalities and states) continually underfunded their pensions both not living up to legal agreements they signed, or keeping faith with their employees and the taxpayers of the state (yes, the government failed EVERYBODY here, because by underfunding they explicitly decided to screw both the employees who benefited from the fund AND the taxpayers who will have to make up the difference later on). So, NJ and the unions came to an agreement wherein the employees took cuts and older retirement ages while the state would make up some of the shortfall. Only then, NJ got into a budget crisis and again stiffed the pension funds (this is the first and easiest way to "balance" a budget). So when you hear your local and state politicians talk about "unsustainable pension liabilities" know that the unions upheld their part of the legal arrangement, and the states and municipalities played loose with your tax dollars by consistently cutting payments and underfunding their liabilities. This isn't the union or workers' fault. They're requests were not unreasonable. It's that the politicians didn't care and thought they could skate fast enough no one would notice. Well, the bill is coming due.
Well, it's really early, but this doesn't bode well for my prediction of Ricky being the GOP nominee. Then again, there's a whole baseball team of candidates roaming Iowa… and it's still early.
Because that's what Jon Ritzheimer needs, moar guns. When will the nice, young men in their clean, white coats come to take him away? Oh, wait. I'm sure he'll announce someone hacked his Craig's List account in a few days.
How do you admit you've lost the political argument? "Kanas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation that would eliminate funding for the state’s courts if they overturn a contentious law passed last year…" That's one way. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"If he's elected president, Republican 2016 presidential Ben Carson said he might set up a 'covert division' of government employees to monitor coworkers in order to make government more efficient." Well, at least he'd expand the work force. Doubt he understands he'll need more revenue to pay for them. Also, what a dick move.
Reader retention rates. Numbers! Okay, I have to admit I haven't read this, yet. This is mostly so I don't forget to. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
Some more thoughts on the letter from Tom Doherty which does a better job of outlining some of the issues I saw with it. (Grokked from someone, sorry)
Eric Flint goes once more to the well in a response to the Sad Puppies "woe is me" attitude. Shorter version of the post, "suck it up, buttercup." (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"'He came into the call out of control, and as the video shows, was out of control during the incident. I had 12 officers on the scene, and 11 of them performed according to their training,' Police Chief Greg Conley said…" And that's why he resigned. With a resignation there's a chance of him being able to work in law enforcement or security again. Being fired, not so much.
The new math. Or how to fake the numbers to get a higher graduation rate without doing very much education at all.
Sex, God, and rock and roll. A little local (to me) history. Trigger warnings. Just in case someone is trying to tell you how safe and simple life in the country is. Also note, these people are the only local cultists. We had some bad ones in Kirkland and Jefferson. Also, as a part of the Census, yea, there's a number of other "compounds" in the area.
"'It’s just jibber-jabber. You just get out there, you say things, you talk, and no one’s listening.' He pauses and looks at Gethard. 'Except for you.'" On meeting the internet troll. "Travis repeatedly noted that he and other trolls are just having a good time and that his online comments don’t reflect any real emotion. He also said that he’s less likely to troll people online if he knows them personally, even if they’re only acquaintances — because he doesn’t want to hurt someone he knows." I believe that's the definition of psychopathy. (Grokked from Kameron Hurley)
You know how Science Fiction isn't so much about the future, but vehicle to deal with the issues we face today by pushing the issue out to where people have no personal stake and can think about these things rationally? Okay, same thing works we we talk about foreign countries and foreigners. So, can we can a discussion on the idiocy of this Aussie couple who vow to divorce if same-sex marriage is legalized in Australia? Can we look at this and say, "Wow, are they fucking brain dead?" Or will the world-wide social conservatives have finally found one heterosexual marriage that has been ruined because of gay marriage? (Grokked from BoingBoing)
Since this will be coming to a head in many states in the coming years, New Jersey shows exactly why public pensions are going to be a big battleground. See, NJ (like many municipalities and states) continually underfunded their pensions both not living up to legal agreements they signed, or keeping faith with their employees and the taxpayers of the state (yes, the government failed EVERYBODY here, because by underfunding they explicitly decided to screw both the employees who benefited from the fund AND the taxpayers who will have to make up the difference later on). So, NJ and the unions came to an agreement wherein the employees took cuts and older retirement ages while the state would make up some of the shortfall. Only then, NJ got into a budget crisis and again stiffed the pension funds (this is the first and easiest way to "balance" a budget). So when you hear your local and state politicians talk about "unsustainable pension liabilities" know that the unions upheld their part of the legal arrangement, and the states and municipalities played loose with your tax dollars by consistently cutting payments and underfunding their liabilities. This isn't the union or workers' fault. They're requests were not unreasonable. It's that the politicians didn't care and thought they could skate fast enough no one would notice. Well, the bill is coming due.
Well, it's really early, but this doesn't bode well for my prediction of Ricky being the GOP nominee. Then again, there's a whole baseball team of candidates roaming Iowa… and it's still early.
Because that's what Jon Ritzheimer needs, moar guns. When will the nice, young men in their clean, white coats come to take him away? Oh, wait. I'm sure he'll announce someone hacked his Craig's List account in a few days.
How do you admit you've lost the political argument? "Kanas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation that would eliminate funding for the state’s courts if they overturn a contentious law passed last year…" That's one way. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"If he's elected president, Republican 2016 presidential Ben Carson said he might set up a 'covert division' of government employees to monitor coworkers in order to make government more efficient." Well, at least he'd expand the work force. Doubt he understands he'll need more revenue to pay for them. Also, what a dick move.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Linkee-poo, they turned our power down, but we went right on with the show
Chuck Wendig, standing with Irene Gallo. It's not a good day when people need to take sides, but then instead of a general note of, "Ms Gallo was speaking for herself, and not for Tor Books" and letting it stay there, someone went farther. I understand where Mr. Doherty is coming from in a corporate sense. I haven't looked at Ms Gallo's Facebook page, so I don't know how far a distance she's placed between herself and Tor there (note my own disclaimer to the right)… okay, I've rectified that. As a part of her profile information she identifies Tor as her employer, and many of her posts are work related (covers, photos of meetings, etc). So there could be some confusion (I don't see her page as Tor Endorsed or as a Tor Endorsement, but then I'm pretty savvy and have a working brain, most days). BUT, Mr. Doherty went beyond what was needed from a corporate standard: "Tor’s views or mine", a small defense of the Rabid/Sad Puppies slate and activity, "Let me reiterate: the views expressed by Ms. Gallo are not those of Tor as an organization and are not my own views." With that, IMHO, Mr. Doherty stepped over the line needed (from a corporate stand point, the line needed drawing, but that need was much less than what he put in the letter - "Ms Gallo does not speak as a representative of Tor on her personal Facebook page. Her views expressed there are not those of Tor. We have clarified with our employees the policies of Tor regarding personal blogs and social media usage." QED). That he added statements basically saying Ms Gallo was a naughty, naughty girl for her post lead me to agree with Chuck. Also, there have been other matters that should have been addressed, but on which Mr. Doherty, as the lead of Tor, has been silent. And those, sir, are more damning and damaging of the Tor brand than Ms Gallo's comment. For the record, Ms Gallo's friend list is full, but (while I normally don't do this) I was happy to add her to my feed on Facebook as a sign of support. If you've read this blog long enough, you know I have the utmost respect for her Art Directorship.
Someone got played, someone got injured. And the Sad/Rapid Puppies continue to giggle.
Not sure if I linked this before, but think it's relevant again in any case. Jim Hines' the Puppies in their own words.
Wither the for-profit online college?
"Ilyse… Hogue became president of NARAL in 2013 and married husband John Neffinger just four months later. She told the Post that her pregnancy is proving confusing to people who argue with her for a living…" That's because pro-life groups aren't really about anti-abortion and they can't believe the other side, the pro-choice side, is actually about the women having the choice about if she should continue with the pregnancy. Considering the pro-life groups are bashing her for using fertility treatments to conceive her twins, why are they also confused that she would actually, you know, want to have the babies. Next, I'm sure, the pro-life groups will claim her pregnancy is a false flag operation. (Grokked from Ferret Steinmetz)
Meet the Duggars. "This is what purity culture does. More than anything else, it silences victims."
A man, a cello, and a mission. From a personal story of just having missed being killed, and having friends being killed by car bombs in Iraq, the conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, Karim Wasfi, is on a mission to reclaim bombed sites in Iraq. This, friends, is what non-violence bravery and dedication looks like. You go, maestro.
Oh sweet Mother of God we're still in the same fucking place when it comes to police brutality as we were a year ago. The black teen thrown to the ground "was no saint." Just don't go there, Megyn Kelly, just don't. If that officer wasn't wearing a uniform this would be a clear case of battery and intimidation. At the very worst this incident was a "public disturbance" (and there is good reason to believe the kids weren't the ones to start it), there is no fucking reasonable excuse for this officer's actions. Except that he's a crappy officer who thinks his uniform means he can cowboy around (pulling his side arm on this kids? fuck him, he escalated the situation by his actions).
Someone got played, someone got injured. And the Sad/Rapid Puppies continue to giggle.
Not sure if I linked this before, but think it's relevant again in any case. Jim Hines' the Puppies in their own words.
Wither the for-profit online college?
"Ilyse… Hogue became president of NARAL in 2013 and married husband John Neffinger just four months later. She told the Post that her pregnancy is proving confusing to people who argue with her for a living…" That's because pro-life groups aren't really about anti-abortion and they can't believe the other side, the pro-choice side, is actually about the women having the choice about if she should continue with the pregnancy. Considering the pro-life groups are bashing her for using fertility treatments to conceive her twins, why are they also confused that she would actually, you know, want to have the babies. Next, I'm sure, the pro-life groups will claim her pregnancy is a false flag operation. (Grokked from Ferret Steinmetz)
Meet the Duggars. "This is what purity culture does. More than anything else, it silences victims."
A man, a cello, and a mission. From a personal story of just having missed being killed, and having friends being killed by car bombs in Iraq, the conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, Karim Wasfi, is on a mission to reclaim bombed sites in Iraq. This, friends, is what non-violence bravery and dedication looks like. You go, maestro.
Oh sweet Mother of God we're still in the same fucking place when it comes to police brutality as we were a year ago. The black teen thrown to the ground "was no saint." Just don't go there, Megyn Kelly, just don't. If that officer wasn't wearing a uniform this would be a clear case of battery and intimidation. At the very worst this incident was a "public disturbance" (and there is good reason to believe the kids weren't the ones to start it), there is no fucking reasonable excuse for this officer's actions. Except that he's a crappy officer who thinks his uniform means he can cowboy around (pulling his side arm on this kids? fuck him, he escalated the situation by his actions).
Monday, June 8, 2015
Linkee-poo stumbles into a Monday and stubs its toes
There's a theory that various laws are intended to enforce segregation and that the police continue to function that way. In case you doubt that theory. Yes, I'm sure those kids deserved to be chased away from the pool because the white people felt threatened, or something. Here's the thing, with real policing, it's important to determine the actual facts on the ground before you begin handcuffing people. I'm sure it'll take a few "unlawful imprisonment" lawsuits before someone gets it. (Updated, apparently the officer has been fired. For those of you who don't understand this, that means he will never work as a copy again. Ever. Mall security, however, he might be. UPDATED I guess the officer is currently just on administrative leave, despite earlier reports.) (Grokked from Julie)
They don't make them like they used to. The astrolabe, computer of the ancients. They're beautiful, but I wonder if you can play Candy Crush on them? (Grokked from Mer Haskell)
It's just flyover country, if that country were Ceres, the dwarf planet. That's a NASA 3d model reconstruction of Ceres, based on actual photos. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
The Duggars' lie about just what happened as their son molested their daughters? Shocked, shocked I am… Do we really need to have this conversation, again. Okay peoples, take notes this time because I really didn't like going through it the last time. Also, I may be turning off the news media for a while as people relearn what co-dependency and disfunction really mean. Also, as a society we relearn that Freud's first theorem regarding neurosis was based on the sexual molestation of the children. Yea, the psychological societies tossed him out on his ear until he recanted and developed the Oedipus and Electra complexes. Great Cthulhu, that's a hell I really didn't want to have to slog through again.
"'Everybody wants to be politically correct, everybody wants to be loved by the media and loved by the left and loved by the elitists,' (Mike Huckabee) said (about his "shower with the girls comment"). 'But, you know, I know I’m not going to be, so let’s just get it over with.'" Okay, Mikee. You're a jerk, Huckabee. A complete knee-biter.
"The hole in U.S. surveillance capabilities was not mentioned during the recent congressional battle over the National Security Agency's bulk collection of U.S. landline and cellphone data. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to scale back that program because of concerns it violated Americans' privacy… FBI officials now want Congress to expand their authority to tap into messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Kik, as well as data-destroying apps such as Wickr and Surespot, that hundreds of millions of people — and apparently some militants — have embraced precisely because they guarantee security and anonymity." I'm sure it'll be fine and they won't abuse the authority. Again. For the umpteenth time. The FBI is hoping nobody involved understands exactly how the internet works, or how they gather the data, to make sure they continue to have unfettered access to all data, everywhere, anytime. (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)
I know some of you may think I'm being mean to the GOP when I label them as the "Screw you, got mine" party. Okay, how's this for an example. Some GOP congress members think because less than 2% of their constituents use subsidies, they don't have to try and fist Obamacare in case the Supreme Court get's dicky in the Burwell case. Based on that logic, Texas after the storms? Screw you. Wait until we all have to deal with major flooding before we approve emergency spending on you.
"'My life has been shattered and I am being dropped to my knees asking for guidance and support,' (Jon '(F)orever be a Patriot and an Oath Keeper') Ritzheimer wrote. 'My message was peaceful from the start and if I truly wanted more bloodshed I could have easily had it that night. But as A Marine who has been to war, I assure you that I only want peace. Islam claims to have the same intentions but only peace through submission. The spartan in me won’t let that happen!'" Let's see if you can spot all the contradictions in that. You remember Jon. He was the guy who set up the $10m GoFundMe campaign (since suspended) to keep his family safe and maybe run against John McCain. The guy who organized this peaceful protest at an Arizona mosque. You know, this one. Only now he says his Facebook account was hacked and that GoFundMe was totally bogus. Sure, Jon. Sure.
They don't make them like they used to. The astrolabe, computer of the ancients. They're beautiful, but I wonder if you can play Candy Crush on them? (Grokked from Mer Haskell)
It's just flyover country, if that country were Ceres, the dwarf planet. That's a NASA 3d model reconstruction of Ceres, based on actual photos. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
The Duggars' lie about just what happened as their son molested their daughters? Shocked, shocked I am… Do we really need to have this conversation, again. Okay peoples, take notes this time because I really didn't like going through it the last time. Also, I may be turning off the news media for a while as people relearn what co-dependency and disfunction really mean. Also, as a society we relearn that Freud's first theorem regarding neurosis was based on the sexual molestation of the children. Yea, the psychological societies tossed him out on his ear until he recanted and developed the Oedipus and Electra complexes. Great Cthulhu, that's a hell I really didn't want to have to slog through again.
"'Everybody wants to be politically correct, everybody wants to be loved by the media and loved by the left and loved by the elitists,' (Mike Huckabee) said (about his "shower with the girls comment"). 'But, you know, I know I’m not going to be, so let’s just get it over with.'" Okay, Mikee. You're a jerk, Huckabee. A complete knee-biter.
"The hole in U.S. surveillance capabilities was not mentioned during the recent congressional battle over the National Security Agency's bulk collection of U.S. landline and cellphone data. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to scale back that program because of concerns it violated Americans' privacy… FBI officials now want Congress to expand their authority to tap into messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Kik, as well as data-destroying apps such as Wickr and Surespot, that hundreds of millions of people — and apparently some militants — have embraced precisely because they guarantee security and anonymity." I'm sure it'll be fine and they won't abuse the authority. Again. For the umpteenth time. The FBI is hoping nobody involved understands exactly how the internet works, or how they gather the data, to make sure they continue to have unfettered access to all data, everywhere, anytime. (Grokked from Saladin Ahmed)
I know some of you may think I'm being mean to the GOP when I label them as the "Screw you, got mine" party. Okay, how's this for an example. Some GOP congress members think because less than 2% of their constituents use subsidies, they don't have to try and fist Obamacare in case the Supreme Court get's dicky in the Burwell case. Based on that logic, Texas after the storms? Screw you. Wait until we all have to deal with major flooding before we approve emergency spending on you.
"'My life has been shattered and I am being dropped to my knees asking for guidance and support,' (Jon '(F)orever be a Patriot and an Oath Keeper') Ritzheimer wrote. 'My message was peaceful from the start and if I truly wanted more bloodshed I could have easily had it that night. But as A Marine who has been to war, I assure you that I only want peace. Islam claims to have the same intentions but only peace through submission. The spartan in me won’t let that happen!'" Let's see if you can spot all the contradictions in that. You remember Jon. He was the guy who set up the $10m GoFundMe campaign (since suspended) to keep his family safe and maybe run against John McCain. The guy who organized this peaceful protest at an Arizona mosque. You know, this one. Only now he says his Facebook account was hacked and that GoFundMe was totally bogus. Sure, Jon. Sure.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Linkee-poo, baby needs some protection, but I'm a kid like everyone else
Tie a yellow ribbon round the old, oak tree. I wonder if all those people and all their yellow (and now purple) ribbons realize they're continuing a long held pagan ritual? Probably not.
John Scalzi wants your happy puppy… photos. And for every one posted to his blog, he'll donate a $1 to Con-or-Bust up to $1000. Good cause, good fun.
"As part of a photo series by employment law firm Thomas Mansfield, university graduates were asked to reveal the weirdest and most offensive questions they’ve been asked while interviewing for jobs. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the women’s responses proved just how prevalent gender discrimination in the workplace continues to be." (Grokked from Janiece)
"In papers published last month in Physics of Plasmas and Nature Communications, the Tri Alpha team reveals how fast ions, edge biasing, and other improvements have enabled them to produce FRCs lasting 5 milliseconds, a more than 10-fold improvement in lifetime, and reduced heat loss." Fusion, baby! (Grokked from Dan)
In search of the Red Cross's $500 million in Haiti relief. Hmm, not here. Not over there. I wonder where it did go?
The "Malice of Alice" collection. Using cosplay and photography to help bond a new family, and work through issues. You go, girl! Oh and screw the detractors. They just don't want you to remind them that life for little girls isn't all peaches and cream (and it makes them uncomfortable because they never faced those problems in their own lives if they've lived through it themselves, or never even had exposure to them). (Grokked from Janiece)
Screw transplants of foreign tissue or robotic arms, we'll grow you a brand new limb that is made of you. Okay, anyone else digging the Frankenstein vibe of this? (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
Days of future past, the 'risto'. (Grokked from John)
"To be fair, European companies have more restrictions on how much they can give than U.S.-based companies do. But not only are the biggest U.S. companies spending far more to influence U.S. politics, their money is going to politicians who are actively fighting efforts to price carbon in the United States." Some perspective on the oil companies' letter asking for a carbon-tax. Also note, a carbon tax allows the companies to drill and burn as much as they want, they just have to pay a little bit of the true costs (decreased health, air pollution, etc). This is different from a cap-and-trade deal which would limit the amount of carbon being put into the atmosphere. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
"(A) new paper has been published showing that the global warming 'hiatus' or 'pause' or whatever you want to call it doesn’t exist." This is how science works (when it works well). "Oh, you think this is true, okay, I don't. Let's check the actual data." That's the difference between wild-ass speculation and actual fucking-science. This is what science gets right. Oh, and we're boned. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
It's like Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo has anger management issues. Who could have known?
"When feelings become more important than issues" in higher education. Just in case you thought I was being hyperbolic in my response to that "open letter to my freshman class" I linked to earlier. Note that the fear this professor is telling you about is exactly the problem that tenure was meant to address (also, why teacher unions have strict rules on how and whom can be fired and for what reasons, every time I hear a conservative, or liberal, talk about how we need to remove those rules I always come back to this argument, they just want to get rid of the teachers the students and their parents find troubling because they're being made to think). Also note that this is actually an article on political discourse of which Stephen Colbert so ability demonstrated in the character he played in his now defunct show (no, I don't expect that character will be the one that replaces Letterman, which will disappoint a large percentage of his followers), where "truthiness" and his feeling something is right was more important that actual facts. "Teachers and academics are the best candidates to foster this discussion, but most of us are too scared and economically disempowered to say anything." As the left adopts this strategy of the right, this doesn't do us any credit or any good. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
A liberal professor responds to that other liberal professor and outlines what the problem really is. (Note it's not liberalism) (Grokked from N. K. Jemisin)
John Scalzi wants your happy puppy… photos. And for every one posted to his blog, he'll donate a $1 to Con-or-Bust up to $1000. Good cause, good fun.
"As part of a photo series by employment law firm Thomas Mansfield, university graduates were asked to reveal the weirdest and most offensive questions they’ve been asked while interviewing for jobs. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the women’s responses proved just how prevalent gender discrimination in the workplace continues to be." (Grokked from Janiece)
"In papers published last month in Physics of Plasmas and Nature Communications, the Tri Alpha team reveals how fast ions, edge biasing, and other improvements have enabled them to produce FRCs lasting 5 milliseconds, a more than 10-fold improvement in lifetime, and reduced heat loss." Fusion, baby! (Grokked from Dan)
In search of the Red Cross's $500 million in Haiti relief. Hmm, not here. Not over there. I wonder where it did go?
The "Malice of Alice" collection. Using cosplay and photography to help bond a new family, and work through issues. You go, girl! Oh and screw the detractors. They just don't want you to remind them that life for little girls isn't all peaches and cream (and it makes them uncomfortable because they never faced those problems in their own lives if they've lived through it themselves, or never even had exposure to them). (Grokked from Janiece)
Screw transplants of foreign tissue or robotic arms, we'll grow you a brand new limb that is made of you. Okay, anyone else digging the Frankenstein vibe of this? (Grokked from Chuck Wendig)
Days of future past, the 'risto'. (Grokked from John)
"To be fair, European companies have more restrictions on how much they can give than U.S.-based companies do. But not only are the biggest U.S. companies spending far more to influence U.S. politics, their money is going to politicians who are actively fighting efforts to price carbon in the United States." Some perspective on the oil companies' letter asking for a carbon-tax. Also note, a carbon tax allows the companies to drill and burn as much as they want, they just have to pay a little bit of the true costs (decreased health, air pollution, etc). This is different from a cap-and-trade deal which would limit the amount of carbon being put into the atmosphere. (Grokked from Paolo Bacigalupi)
"(A) new paper has been published showing that the global warming 'hiatus' or 'pause' or whatever you want to call it doesn’t exist." This is how science works (when it works well). "Oh, you think this is true, okay, I don't. Let's check the actual data." That's the difference between wild-ass speculation and actual fucking-science. This is what science gets right. Oh, and we're boned. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
It's like Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo has anger management issues. Who could have known?
"When feelings become more important than issues" in higher education. Just in case you thought I was being hyperbolic in my response to that "open letter to my freshman class" I linked to earlier. Note that the fear this professor is telling you about is exactly the problem that tenure was meant to address (also, why teacher unions have strict rules on how and whom can be fired and for what reasons, every time I hear a conservative, or liberal, talk about how we need to remove those rules I always come back to this argument, they just want to get rid of the teachers the students and their parents find troubling because they're being made to think). Also note that this is actually an article on political discourse of which Stephen Colbert so ability demonstrated in the character he played in his now defunct show (no, I don't expect that character will be the one that replaces Letterman, which will disappoint a large percentage of his followers), where "truthiness" and his feeling something is right was more important that actual facts. "Teachers and academics are the best candidates to foster this discussion, but most of us are too scared and economically disempowered to say anything." As the left adopts this strategy of the right, this doesn't do us any credit or any good. (Grokked from Ferrett Steinmetz)
A liberal professor responds to that other liberal professor and outlines what the problem really is. (Note it's not liberalism) (Grokked from N. K. Jemisin)
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Linkee-poo doesn't wanna be a part of your parade, everyone deserves a chance to walk with everyone else
"There are a lot of ways for a novelist to create suspense, but also really only two: one a trick, one an art." (Grokked from Joe Hill)
Why diets fail.
The Troll Farm. Or, the modern disinformation campaign in the internet social media age and who does it and how they do it. Apparently there's big money (for Russian salaries) in trolling.
So, you may know about the toxic algal bloom in Lake Erie last summer, which was the result of nitrogen run-off (the argument persist on if it was farm or residential use). But, did you know overuse of nitrogen also can affect our rain? It's raining Nitrogen (sung to the tune of "It's Raining Men").
A live graphic representation of our Deep Space Network activity. Okay, I think it's cool. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
The islands of misfit toys. Or, where did we send "the wretched refuse of your teeming shore" when we didn't exactly want them either. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Ah, something new has been added. Scientist discover a link between the brain and the lymphatic/immune system. People seemed shocked we're still discovering things about the human body. They obviously haven't been paying attention to the Human Microbiome Project, the President's Initiative to Map the Brain, Cancer Research… all of which have been discovering new connections and interactions in the body. Also, you know how we think cells work? Much of that is still implied, not directly observed. Also they probably have never encountered the subject of Differential Diagnosis. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
On the pain pill abuse epidemic's last refuge, the emergency room. And, yes, we can somewhat spot just who is jonesing and who is in real pain. We're not always correct, but in most cases we are (note, yes, we do remember frequent fliers). But as it was stated in the story, even if you're an abuser, if you've broken your leg or arm, you still need medication for the pain. What is most frustrating in this is that the restrictions being put on opiates (which not all really are opiates) harms the people who really need them. If you've been prescribed pain meds in the past five years for any condition, you know what I mean. Also part of the problem, individual pain medications may not work for a patient, so after getting one prescription they may need another right away for a different medication. That sends up red flags and doctors are loath to do it (leaving the patient in pain which is uncontrolled, this is bad on all sorts of levels not the least of which is the patient is in pain when they don't need to be).
"In a stunning reversal of years of obstructionism to creating a global framework to deal with climate change, CEOs from global oil and gas behemoths Shell, BP, Total, Statoil, Eni and the BG Group have signaled that they’re ready for a price on carbon." BWA! Well, what they really want is a national (or international) standard that can't be overridden by local (state and municipality) laws. Plus, it'll be cheaper for them to game the national/international lawmakers than it would be to fight individual states. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
It's fire season in Alaska. Wait, what? (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"The idea that U.S. presidents look out for the wealthy and powerful over the mass of ordinary Americans is nothing new. But a new study claims to confirm that assumption with hard data while seeking to spur a conversation over the flagging health of American democracy." As someone commented in the 2000 election, "all they're fighting over is who's hand is in who's pocket." And no, it's not going to change with any of the candidates so far declared or proposed (with the possible exception of Elizabeth Warren, and the Draft Warren movement just folded tents). So, when I say "lesser of two evils" I'm really picking who's hand is in the pocket. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
So, Texas, that bastion ofinsanity fierce liberty, who will valiantly watch the US Military exercises to make sure that the US isn't trying to take over the State (hint, too late, fellas), now wants Federal moneys to help clean up after all the storms. That's Robert Reich on the cognitive dissonance going on down there. Don't do it, Texas. FEMA are the people who run the re-education camps, don'tchaknow. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
Say, GOP, how's that 2014 plan on "not talking about the women stuff" working out for you? Oh, right, never mind. Good thing the general public isn't paying attention yet. You all might want to get it out of your system now.
Why diets fail.
The Troll Farm. Or, the modern disinformation campaign in the internet social media age and who does it and how they do it. Apparently there's big money (for Russian salaries) in trolling.
So, you may know about the toxic algal bloom in Lake Erie last summer, which was the result of nitrogen run-off (the argument persist on if it was farm or residential use). But, did you know overuse of nitrogen also can affect our rain? It's raining Nitrogen (sung to the tune of "It's Raining Men").
A live graphic representation of our Deep Space Network activity. Okay, I think it's cool. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
The islands of misfit toys. Or, where did we send "the wretched refuse of your teeming shore" when we didn't exactly want them either. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)
Ah, something new has been added. Scientist discover a link between the brain and the lymphatic/immune system. People seemed shocked we're still discovering things about the human body. They obviously haven't been paying attention to the Human Microbiome Project, the President's Initiative to Map the Brain, Cancer Research… all of which have been discovering new connections and interactions in the body. Also, you know how we think cells work? Much of that is still implied, not directly observed. Also they probably have never encountered the subject of Differential Diagnosis. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
On the pain pill abuse epidemic's last refuge, the emergency room. And, yes, we can somewhat spot just who is jonesing and who is in real pain. We're not always correct, but in most cases we are (note, yes, we do remember frequent fliers). But as it was stated in the story, even if you're an abuser, if you've broken your leg or arm, you still need medication for the pain. What is most frustrating in this is that the restrictions being put on opiates (which not all really are opiates) harms the people who really need them. If you've been prescribed pain meds in the past five years for any condition, you know what I mean. Also part of the problem, individual pain medications may not work for a patient, so after getting one prescription they may need another right away for a different medication. That sends up red flags and doctors are loath to do it (leaving the patient in pain which is uncontrolled, this is bad on all sorts of levels not the least of which is the patient is in pain when they don't need to be).
"In a stunning reversal of years of obstructionism to creating a global framework to deal with climate change, CEOs from global oil and gas behemoths Shell, BP, Total, Statoil, Eni and the BG Group have signaled that they’re ready for a price on carbon." BWA! Well, what they really want is a national (or international) standard that can't be overridden by local (state and municipality) laws. Plus, it'll be cheaper for them to game the national/international lawmakers than it would be to fight individual states. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
It's fire season in Alaska. Wait, what? (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)
"The idea that U.S. presidents look out for the wealthy and powerful over the mass of ordinary Americans is nothing new. But a new study claims to confirm that assumption with hard data while seeking to spur a conversation over the flagging health of American democracy." As someone commented in the 2000 election, "all they're fighting over is who's hand is in who's pocket." And no, it's not going to change with any of the candidates so far declared or proposed (with the possible exception of Elizabeth Warren, and the Draft Warren movement just folded tents). So, when I say "lesser of two evils" I'm really picking who's hand is in the pocket. (Grokked from Morgan J Locke)
So, Texas, that bastion of
Say, GOP, how's that 2014 plan on "not talking about the women stuff" working out for you? Oh, right, never mind. Good thing the general public isn't paying attention yet. You all might want to get it out of your system now.
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