Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Naughty or Nice?

TURKEY!


Above link includes jokes, recipes, and free ringtones...

Headlines below the fold

Good news: Venezuela's Chavez lost election to become a dictator...
Guess he didn't stuff enough ballot boxes. (he refused to have outsider monitor the election)....and Lileks takes a dyspepsic view of how it was reported:

Bold! Like a steak sauce. He’s trying to make himself President for Life, which goes beyond bold, I think, and enters the realm of “Zesty.” ... If Chavez's piquant, bold, zesty, char-seared herb-encrusted "reforms" pass, he’ll be loved no less by his US supporters, who will be so blinded by the idea of enshrining socialism in a country’s constitution they will crack every vertebrae bending backwards to justify the pepetuity of rule and abolition of dissent.


------------
Bad news: Ebola outbreak in Uganda...
-------------
Good news: Don't throw out your 2 year old's mess...sell it as art...

--------------
Confused about what's going on in Pakistan? Stratpage explains the 4 wars of the Apocolypse...
--------------------------

You think your high school cafeteria food was lousy? Wait until the food police finish with it...

Wonder if they are aware that Pizza Hut delivers, and that kids have cellphones....
-----------
Virus warning: Tiamaria emails that "holiday cards"emails might contain viruses....mine are usually Hallmark, but I've seen those emails removed by my spam filter...also you tube emails..

Monday, December 03, 2007

Christians on the Golden Compass

Pullman wrote the Golden Compass as an anti Narnia, and the press will use objections to the film to demonize "christian fundamentalists".

However two good sites to read intelligent writers about the discussion are Hollywood Jesus and IgnatiusPressInsight.


Their consensus: Pullman's "church" is a caricature of Christianity that few Christians could take seriously, but the stories have much positive in them.

Whether they are for children is another problem. Fantasy is powerful, and can imbue ideas in the vulnerable, not only children.

However, like Nietzsche, the idea behind the trilogy is the wish for God to be dead so that humans can have the power to do good.

Ironically, this weeks' encyclical on Hope essentially notices the same thing: That many became athiests because they saw terrible injustices in the world rejected traditional religion to try to spread freedom to the powerless and make utopia, but the end result was the exact opposite.

Hope download

Don't have time to read the German rottweiler's encyclical on Hope?

Well, the CurtJester has it on line...

alas, computer read.

And if you aren't Catholic, just add it to your insomnia collection (see below).

A kinder cuter Death Star


YUM> A deathstar cake...
then there is a Deathstar crochet ball...
headsup TLLT BLOG

The Spoon River Anthology

Now on line...or get it daily by email or rss feed...

(Headsup StingyScholarBlog)

Insomnia? Help is on the way

In the US, often I would put on CSPAN or EWTN to help me go to sleep. We lived too far out to get Art Bell on the radio.
But now I usually listen to podcasts, audiobooks or lectures on my mp3 player in bed. The criteria is that it not be interesting enough to keep one awake, but it should be good enough to listen to if one has insomnia.

Today's link is to Librivox's "Insomnia collection" that includes such exciting lectures as:

Reagents, from A Textbook of Assaying by C. and J.J. Beringer

American Cities. State Flowers. Height of Structures. Age of Trees. Dictionary of Aeronautics. College Colors. Osteopathy. by Joseph Trienens


and don't miss this exciting lesson:
Selections from General Instructions For The Guidance Of Post Office Inspectors In The Dominion Of Canada by Alexander Campbell

If that doesn't put you to sleep, get up and have a beer...and listen to Coast to coast AM, which is now on the internet, and yes, it comes in podcasts.
After all, you don't want to miss such exciting topics as this one:
Ian spoke with author and electronic gaming entrepreneur David Levy about his new book, Love + Sex with Robots, in which he explores how robots may one day participate in emotional relationships with human beings...cont.

Oh no, not my bagpipes

THEY were once outlawed for being used as seditious weapons of war. Now, bagpipes have been blasted as an environmental menace.

Over-intensive logging means that the African wood used to make Scotland's national instrument faces being wiped out.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

World's largest teapot

in Navasota Texas...

Smile

tomorrow's going to be worse

Parchuting Cats into Borneo

Several websites have variations of this urban legend.
There was a malaria outbreak.
They sprayed with DDT.
It killed wasps that kept catepillars from eating the thatched roofs of the local homes.
Roofs fell in.
So the WHO parachuted 14thousand cats to eat the catepillars.

A longer variation of the legend is found here, which says that the cats were sent in to replace the local cats who died from DDT from eating gekkos who ate bugs.
Urban legend, of course. Gekkos would have killed the catepillars, and cats eat gekkos but there are no other reports of DDT killing mammals (the scare was that it weakened bird eggs, leading to a "silent spring".)

But like other "urban legends" it's amusing
(headsup DarkroastedblendBlog)

Good news for the day

Measles deaths plummet...

Lots of hard work behind that fact...and one factor: The Measles song:
. Schoolchildren learn 'measles songs' from their teachers; teachers tell the children to bring their younger siblings to get immunized; children march through the streets in parades, holding up signs and singing to let all households know about the importance of vaccination.

During the November 2001 campaign in Pallisa District, Uganda, one schoolgirl would look sternly at the crowd as she sang the measles song, shaking her finger at them during the verse, "take your child for immunization."


The lyrics to one of the many 'measles songs':

I am measles, killer disease
I am measles, killer disease
I am measles, killer disease

Take your child for immun-I-zation….

November 17
November 18
November 2001

Take the shot for immun-I-zation….

From the age of six months
To the age of five years
Our parents work hard

Take your child for immun-I-zation….

Immun-I-zation everywhere
Immun-I-zation everywhere
Immun-I-zation everywhere

Take your child for immun-I-zation

Robots to care for grandmom


News Release
Overview of the partner robots
Walking
scene1 scene2 scene3
Type : Walking
Main Areas of
Application
: Assistance, elderly care
Features : The walking model walks on two legs similar to a person, making it easy to become accustomed to. It is able to use its hands to carry out a wide variety of tasks.
Height : 120cm
Weight : 35kg
Movie: For 142 seconds
Broad band Narrow band
*Music is unavailable in accordance with copyright protection.

Who is going to take care of grandmom in countries with low birth rates?
Robots, of course,
Or you could just hire a Pinay caretaker....

Whoops...got it wrong again

The "Jesus tomb" controversy took three days before scholars were pointing out they got the evidence wrong.

But the "Judas gospel" was done by the Nat'l Geographic Society, and it took a year before a scholar was given a forum to say: Wait a second you translated the darn thing wrong.

My take at BNN...

Alice demonstrates Global Warming


actually, when I was there in early November, the trees were still turning and it was warm.

but now, winter has arrived.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

For the troops

Hey Luke:

Link is for a free cd of music to download free if you are military or military family.

Site has details
..

Read it and weep

“This is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, worse even than Darfur,” said David Coltart, an opposition MP. “We lose more people a week to preventable illnesses than are lost in Iraq, but because there’s no blood on the streets, little attention is paid to what’s going on here.”

----------------

I usually try to only post "fun" stuff on weekends, but the UKTimes has an article about Zimbabwe...

And to make things worse, it is an entirely man made humanitarian disaster...More info at my Makaipa blog.

Origami fest


Check link to BlueTeaBlog, where she has lots of Origami links and photos....

Start with JosephWu's page, and then check: everything from dinosaurs/bugs to a papercraft house.

Butterfly design at right is from papercrane:

Anthropologists gone amuk

The American Anthropology asso is having a panel discussion if female circumcision is mutilation or "empowerment"...

But there are three forms, and the most common type is barbaric and probably contributes to much of the maternal deaths in Africa.
Above Link is my rant at BNN...caution: graphic language.

You might be a nurse if...

You Might Be a Nurse If...

** You avoid unhealthy looking people in the mall for fear
that they'll drop near you and you'll have to do CPR on
your day off.

** It doesn't bother you to eat a candy bar with one
hand while performing digital stimulation on your patient
with the other hand.

** You've had a patient with a nose ring, a brow ring
and twelve earrings say, "I'm afraid of shots."

** You've ever bet on someone's blood alcohol level.

** You plan your next meal while performing gastric lavage.

** You believe every waiting room should have a Valium
salt lick.

** You have your weekends off planned a year in advance.

** You have ever had a patient control his seizures
when offered food.

** You know it's a full moon without having to look at the sky.


(headsup GrouchyoldcrippleBlog)

Gift item of the day

Six Children Playing...
Traditional Chinese figurines...
But if you look closely at number two, you see the montage has been updated...

Friday, November 30, 2007

Stem cell debate: Bush was right

"A decade ago, Thomson was the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. Last week, he (and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka) announced one of the great scientific breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA: an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells....."

Read the entire editorial by Charles Krauthammer, columnist, psychiatrist, and bioethicist who just happens to be a paraplegic...

Blame Canada!


Study: Canadian Beer Drinkers Threaten Planet

(headsup Instapundit)

Altogether now: SING:

BLAME CANADA....

Quote of the day

Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, worries over rumors that the film has been "watered down" and is not anti-God, anti-Church enough...

What is she talking about? the latest Fantasy film brought to your kids for Christmas...Ignatius press has more....
Here in Asia, they probably won't catch the nuances and will enjoy it.

Family news

The family got home okay from Manila. Joy said they couldn't deliver rice in Makati because the streets were blocked...

The streets here were empty til 5 am: even the Palenke started late.

Today there is a meeting in the hall, so we (and the dogs) are trying to stay out of their way.

Gift item of the day


Earth dog tags...for those who are lost in space....the website states:

In case of alien abduction these dog tags may save
your life. The crucial data an alien will need to get
you back to Earth is die stamped into these dog tags.

History in the headlines

No, it's not a neolithic monument.
It's an Irish Mass Rock

In the 18th century the cruel Penal Laws were passed in Ireland. Priests and bishops were not allowed to say mass. The people gathered together in the open at mass rocks or in safe houses. Some fields in Ireland have the name "Carraig an Aifrinn" or Mass Rock....

"...The custom of placing a lighted candle on the window at Christmas is also said to come from Penal times. It was a signal to the wandering priest that it was a safe house to visit and that the family wanted to receive the sacraments. After the Penal Laws the custom continued but the candle was now used to show the Holy Family the road to Bethlehem and as a welcome to Baby Jesus into the home...."
(headsup RectaratioBlog)

Hmm...sounds like Pinoys in Saudi Arabia today...

-----------------------
the Danish Greenlanders didn't all starve or intermarry, but simply up and left. And the reason for no fish bones? Lutefisk.

(headsup GGG Freeper forum)

----------------------------------------
The NYTimes reports that the last two remains of the Tsar's family have been found in Russia...the son and one daughter, probably Marie.

----------------------------
StrangeMapsBlog has maps and history of the Cherokee nation...

He links to the UnivTexas map collection HERE.which has lots of CIA maps and historical maps.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

family news

The coup is over.
Local TV news crews were arrested, and lots of protests by the media.

Curfew tonite from midnite to 5 am...
the problem is that Chano is setting up for a trade fair, and they usually drive back late; we are hoping they stay there with Joy's sister for the night.

Another day, another coup attempt

But this one seems serious.
Trillianes, who is under indictment for a previous coup attempt but won election as a senator a couple months ago, walked out of a hearing about that coup attempt and was joined by other soldiers, and asked the people to join him to ask the president to resign. Some soldiers then took over a hotel in Makati.


Archbishop Cruz, a firebrand who is always protesting civil rights violations by the government and it's corruption, is backing Trillianes. No reports about the rest of the church or other churches.

A couple days ago, the latest attempt to impeach President Arroyo was blocked by her supporters in the Congress.

summary of ABSCBN etc: The head of the Army denies any major military rebellion; in the meanwhile troops are being sent to the Manila area to reinforce those in Manila (Many Military had been sent to other areas to help with the typhoon related emergencies).
The North and South Luzon expressways, the major highways, are having checkpoints set up and some roads in Makati (a business district) are now blocked by police.

ABS CBN website with updates is HERE.

Right now on TV the government spokesperople are talking about "rule of law"...and the opposition is saying sarcastically that the corruption and civil rights violations by the present government make the claim "rule of law" absurd.

Don't ask me.
I'm a Democrat and support Hillary.

Political bias? Nah

Just a link to my essay on pc at BNN...
---------
In a similar vein, this essay at Spiked denies that art is left wing...: "...It sneers at the idea of meaning, truth, beauty and all that. In that sense, modern art is neither left-wing nor right-wing, because so much of it rejects the notion of truth and meaning, which must inevitably characterise any politics..."

Um, that is a Marxist interpretation of Art.
Aristotle, anyone? anyone?
What do they teach them in school these days?

Fairy Tales to go

Link is a site that has MP3 and text of children's stories to download.

------------------
Or you check this out (headsup Instapundit)

Sounds like an up to date version of THIS... more HERE...

YUM!


Scottish Deep fried Pizza
they also have links to:


Scottish Deep-Fried Candy Bar *** Popular

At last a solution to social security deficits.


Deep-Fried Cheeseburger ***
We have now reached the confines of the Scottish Diet and enter Deep-Frying Hell. Yea who enter here, abandon all hope and come to behold this new wonder - the deep-fried cheeseburger.


Ah yes, But I'd die happy....


(headsup TheDebatableLandBlog via the Corner)

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Ethiopian Arc

check link for history of an arc of the covenant that has been in Ethiopia for a couple thousand years.

Hardy Heron is coming...

I'm just getting used to Gutsy Gibbon, and now Ubuntu is planning to release Hardy heron...coming to a computer to you next April

Attack of the Brussel Sprouts

Your timewaster of the day from MsCellania
who has lots of other links...such as eccentric built castles HERE.

Philippine news

The supertyphoon zipped north, and no longer a problem, but the second typhoon (that had gone thru last week and turned 180 degrees back) is coming. Schools closed in Manila.

And there was a small earthquake yesterday...I only felt some vibrations, like a subway going underneath the ground...
------------
They were out harvesting yesterday...Lolo was at the farm late in the afternoon...finishing the threshing...

Headlines below the fold

Remember the "oil for food (aka palaces) scandal? Neither does the press, but one Texas oilman was just sentenced for taking bribes...and one of these days someone will notice the French ELF connection...
Here's the BBC LINKS to some of the scandal:


---------
Mohammed the Teddy Bear...the boy who named the toy after himself defends the teacher jailed for "insulting Mohammed"...

---------------------
CQBlog discusses the end of the Iraq war...details at the NYSun news paper, since the Times has been weeks behind the blogs in reporting the good news on the ground.
And if the NYTimes is slow, Hollywood is so far behind they may go bankrupt doing "trendy" political films that will be out of date before their release date...

Next step: Afghanistan, which is getting bad again....

----------------------------
I'm anti pollution, but skeptical about the global warming hysteria...
This UN report wants money to help poor people, ignoring that much of it will go to bureaucrats or crooked government politicians...
Of course, you could just give a check to every one who is poor, but they'd just buy motorcycles, handplows, and tv sets with their checks...

But my favorite article is this one:

BRASILIA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Unless the international community agrees to cut carbon emissions by half over the next generation, climate change is likely to cause large-scale human and economic setbacks and irreversible ecological catastrophes, a United Nations report says on Tuesday.


Umm...you don't have to actually do anything, you just have to sign a paper saying you agree, and voila, we've saved the planet....
---------------------

But why worry about all that, when we've already doomed ourselves by simply looking at the universe? Read the ugly details at:
Honey, I've doomed the Universe

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Jetsons take three

Above link is to Nostalgia Manila's website, that links to the Jetson's cartoons...
http://nostalgiamanila.blogspot.com/2007/07/jetsons-rosey-robot-watch-classic.html is the cartoon where Judy gets a slightly used Rosy on a trial offer so that they can entertain George's boss

Jetsons take two


check link for more photos...and here are the artists...Betty and Ron Manolio

Jetsons take one

We all know about Rosie, the Jetson's maid....
Well, welcome Emiew 2...

Unlike Rosy, Emiew 2 has some problems...

The red and white robot, designed to run errands in offices, wasn't prepared for the jam of lunch-break wireless network traffic at the company's research center. Unable to communicate with its handler's laptop, it smashed into the office furniture as reporters gasped.

Oh well, back to the drawing board...

Oh well, that's different

After an international outcry protesting the fact that a Saudi woman raped had been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail, the Saudis now say she has "admitted" having an affair, and was therefore guilty of adultery.
Oh, that's different. Rant moved to BNN

The more efficient days of Christmas

subsidiary.

The partridge will be retained, but the pear tree never turned out to be the cash crop forecasted. It will be replaced by a plastic hanging plant, thus providing considerable savings in maintenance.

The two turtle doves represent a redundancy that is simply not cost-effective. In addition, their romance during working hours could not be condoned. Their positions are therefore eliminated.

The three French hens will remain intact though they will now cluck in English with only the hint of an accent, thus reaching a broader market share audience.

The four calling birds were replaced by an automated voice mail system, with a call-waiting option. An analysis is underway to determine who the birds have been calling, how often, and how long they talked.

The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification into other precious metals as well as a mix of T-Bills and high technology stocks seems to be in order.

The six geese-a-laying constitute a luxury which can no longer be afforded. It has long been felt that the production rate of one egg per goose per day is an example of the decline in productivity. Three geese will be let go, and an upgrading in the selection procedure by personnel will assure management that from now on every goose it gets will be a good one.

The seven swans a-swimming is obviously a number chosen in better times. Their function is primarily decorative. Mechanical swans are in order. The current swans will be retrained to learn some new strokes and, therefore, enhance their outplacement.

As is known, the eight maids-a-milking concept has been under heavy scrutiny by the EEOC. A male/female balance in the workforce is being sought. The more militant maids consider this a dead-end job with no upward mobility. Automation of the process may permit the maids to try a-mending, a-mentoring, or a-mulching.

Nine ladies dancing has always been an odd number. This function will be phased out as these individuals grow older and can no longer do the steps.

Ten lords-a-leaping is overkill. The high cost of lords plus the expense of international air travel prompted the compensation committee to suggest replacing this group with ten out-of-work congressmen. While leaping ability may be somewhat sacrificed, the savings are significant because there is an oversupply of unemployed congressmen this year.

Eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming is a simple case of the band getting too big. A substitution with a string quartet, a cutback on new music, and no uniforms, will produce savings which will drop right down to the bottom line.

We can expect a substantial reduction in the number of assorted people, fowl, animals, and other expenses. Though incomplete, studies indicate that stretching deliveries over twelve days is inefficient. If we can drop-ship in a single day, service levels will be improved.

Action is pending regarding the lawsuit filed by the Attorney's Association seeking expansion to include the legal profession (thirteen lawyers a-suing).

Lastly, it is not beyond consideration that deeper cuts may be necessary in the future to stay competitive. Should that happen, the Board will request management to scrutinize the Snow White Division to see if seven dwarfs is the right number.

(The "Report from the North Pole" was forwarded to me some time ago and was actually written by Professor Victoria L. Sork of the Department of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.)

-------------

your email of the day from Col. UPdraft


Monday, November 26, 2007

Supertyphoon update



Thanks to a high pressure area in Asia, the supertyphoon stayed off the west coast and is heading north. It missed us.

The bad news is that the same high pressure area is pushing last week's typhoon back to the Philippines.


We can't win for losing.

.

Photo of the day


Your cute photo of the day from Tia Maria.

Family news

Yesterday we visited cousin Mading, who broke his hip. He's in Cabanatuan and the family is trying to decide if they can afford surgery or they will let it heal "normally" (impacted fracture of the ball of the hip). Of course, with the latter, it means two months in bed then a wheelchair.

Today we are going to Manila to try to fix my visa...I was permanent, but when we renewed my card, we didn't know we also had to renew the paperwork, so I have to start over.

So no blogging.