Incompetence
I have to give this guy credit. At least he has the right idea about wanting to get out of the gene pool. From the NPS Morning Report:
Colorado NM (CO) - Attempted Suicide
Rangers received a report of a vehicle in a canyon between Highland View
and Artist Point overlooks on the afternoon of May 20th. They found a white
sedan occupied by a 19-year-old man from Grand Junction, who admitted that
he'd deliberately driven off the road in an attempt to commit suicide. It
also appeared that he'd attempted to ignite the gas in the vehicle's tank
by lighting a rag in the gas port. A broken belt was found hanging in a
nearby tree, where it appeared that he'd attempted to hang himself after
the crash - a fact he confirmed later when talking with medical staff. He
also said that he'd attempted to electrocute himself a week earlier, but
without luck. He sustained numerous lacerations and contusions in the
accident and was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where he is being held until
a psychological review can be completed.
May 30, 2002
May 10, 2002
Holy Crap Dude! It's Coffee!!!
I don't know why I'm surprised. There's a blog devoted to coffee.
http://www.bloggle.com/coffee/
ABsolutely Fabulous
FTC Charges Three Top-selling Electronic Abdominal Exercise Belts with Making False Claims
Alleges Electronic Abdominal Gadgets Won't Provide Six-Pack Abs
"Now you can get rock hard abs with no sweat"
"Lose 4 Inches in 30 Days Guaranteed"
"30% More Effective Than Normal Exercise"
"10 Minutes = 600 Sit-Ups"
These are the types of claims the Federal Trade Commission has challenged in complaints filed in federal district courts against three widely advertised electronic abdominal exercise belts - AB Energizer, AbTronic, and Fast Abs. The FTC alleges that the marketers of the devices, which use electronic muscle stimulation (EMS), have falsely advertised that users will get "six pack" or "washboard" abs without exercise.
"For years, marketers of diet and exercise products have been preying on overweight, out-of-shape consumers by hawking false hope in a pill, false hope in a bottle, and, now, in a belt," said FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris. "Unfortunately, there are no magic pills, potions, or pulsators for losing weight and getting into shape. The only winning combination is changing your diet and exercise."
Full FTC story at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/05/projectabsurd.htm
I don't know why I'm surprised. There's a blog devoted to coffee.
http://www.bloggle.com/coffee/
ABsolutely Fabulous
FTC Charges Three Top-selling Electronic Abdominal Exercise Belts with Making False Claims
Alleges Electronic Abdominal Gadgets Won't Provide Six-Pack Abs
"Now you can get rock hard abs with no sweat"
"Lose 4 Inches in 30 Days Guaranteed"
"30% More Effective Than Normal Exercise"
"10 Minutes = 600 Sit-Ups"
These are the types of claims the Federal Trade Commission has challenged in complaints filed in federal district courts against three widely advertised electronic abdominal exercise belts - AB Energizer, AbTronic, and Fast Abs. The FTC alleges that the marketers of the devices, which use electronic muscle stimulation (EMS), have falsely advertised that users will get "six pack" or "washboard" abs without exercise.
"For years, marketers of diet and exercise products have been preying on overweight, out-of-shape consumers by hawking false hope in a pill, false hope in a bottle, and, now, in a belt," said FTC Chairman Timothy J. Muris. "Unfortunately, there are no magic pills, potions, or pulsators for losing weight and getting into shape. The only winning combination is changing your diet and exercise."
Full FTC story at: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/05/projectabsurd.htm
May 02, 2002
Utah License Plates
Saw a UT license plate at lunch: ITSREDS
The plastic plate frame said: Redheads do what blondes only dream of
As a vastly depressing counterpoint, the plate frame on a huge, older model Cadillac containing the appropriately ancient couple read:
Life's not lack'n when you're Cadillac'n
Saw a UT license plate at lunch: ITSREDS
The plastic plate frame said: Redheads do what blondes only dream of
As a vastly depressing counterpoint, the plate frame on a huge, older model Cadillac containing the appropriately ancient couple read:
Life's not lack'n when you're Cadillac'n
May 01, 2002
New "Eagan's Law" Passed in NJ
Under a new law designed to protect minors, local police departments will now be required to inform residents any time a known Roman Catholic priest or bishop moves into their neighborhood. The law also mandates that Catholic priests register with authorities, wear electronic monitoring devices, and be prohibited from moving to within a half-mile radius of a school.
A follow-up to Megan's Law, enacted by New Jersey in 1994, the so-called "Egan's Law" is named for Cardinal Edward Egan of New York and Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, who are both accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests under their authority. Like Megan's Law, Egan's Law is expected to spread quickly to other states.
Creed Tour Cancelled
In a related incident, Cristian rock act Creed was forced to cancel the remainder of their North American tour because of a car accident involving lead singer Scott Stapp. According to a band spokesman, the singer is suffering from back and neck pain after Stapp's SUV was hit in the rear by another car on Interstate 4 near Orlando, Florida on Friday, April 19th. According to Orlando police, no injuries were reported at the time of the accident. It is uncertain at this time if Stapp was rear-ended by a priest.
Major Advancement in User Interface Technology
A new glass is able to tell bar or waitstaff when it is empty and needs refilling. Developed by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the intelligent glass is fitted with a radio-frequency coil in its base and emits a signal to a receiver set in the table when it's empty, New Scientist magazine reported last week.
The iGlassware system works by coating each glass with a transparent conductive film and embedding a microchip and a thin radio-frequency coil in its base. The conducting material makes the glass behave like a capacitor, a device that stores an electrical charge between two conductive plates separated by an insulator. In this case the glass's base and sides are the conductive plates, while the drink is the insulator. As the level of drink falls, so does the insulation, and this progressively raises the charge that goes through to the microchip in the glass's base. When the microchip receives the "full" charge, that means the glass is empty, so it sends a top-up signal to the waiters' station via a small radio coil built into the table, using a frequency similar to those used by mobile phones. Every glass has its own ID, and its charge is provided by a radio frequency signal also provided by the table coil.
The downside to iGlassware is that it is intrusive - the restaurant knows what you have ordered and how fast you have drunk it. However, iGlassware is bound to be a hit, says Ronald Cole, an expert in hotel and restaurant management at the University of Delaware, .
"Our studies show that if there is a long delay between beverage order time and fill and subsequent refill, customers tend to feel less satisfied about the entire dining experience," he told New Scientist.
This is user-centered design at its best.
Under a new law designed to protect minors, local police departments will now be required to inform residents any time a known Roman Catholic priest or bishop moves into their neighborhood. The law also mandates that Catholic priests register with authorities, wear electronic monitoring devices, and be prohibited from moving to within a half-mile radius of a school.
A follow-up to Megan's Law, enacted by New Jersey in 1994, the so-called "Egan's Law" is named for Cardinal Edward Egan of New York and Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, who are both accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests under their authority. Like Megan's Law, Egan's Law is expected to spread quickly to other states.
Creed Tour Cancelled
In a related incident, Cristian rock act Creed was forced to cancel the remainder of their North American tour because of a car accident involving lead singer Scott Stapp. According to a band spokesman, the singer is suffering from back and neck pain after Stapp's SUV was hit in the rear by another car on Interstate 4 near Orlando, Florida on Friday, April 19th. According to Orlando police, no injuries were reported at the time of the accident. It is uncertain at this time if Stapp was rear-ended by a priest.
Major Advancement in User Interface Technology
A new glass is able to tell bar or waitstaff when it is empty and needs refilling. Developed by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the intelligent glass is fitted with a radio-frequency coil in its base and emits a signal to a receiver set in the table when it's empty, New Scientist magazine reported last week.
The iGlassware system works by coating each glass with a transparent conductive film and embedding a microchip and a thin radio-frequency coil in its base. The conducting material makes the glass behave like a capacitor, a device that stores an electrical charge between two conductive plates separated by an insulator. In this case the glass's base and sides are the conductive plates, while the drink is the insulator. As the level of drink falls, so does the insulation, and this progressively raises the charge that goes through to the microchip in the glass's base. When the microchip receives the "full" charge, that means the glass is empty, so it sends a top-up signal to the waiters' station via a small radio coil built into the table, using a frequency similar to those used by mobile phones. Every glass has its own ID, and its charge is provided by a radio frequency signal also provided by the table coil.
The downside to iGlassware is that it is intrusive - the restaurant knows what you have ordered and how fast you have drunk it. However, iGlassware is bound to be a hit, says Ronald Cole, an expert in hotel and restaurant management at the University of Delaware, .
"Our studies show that if there is a long delay between beverage order time and fill and subsequent refill, customers tend to feel less satisfied about the entire dining experience," he told New Scientist.
This is user-centered design at its best.
April 29, 2002
A "new" church policy
In the tragicomedy that the Catholic church has become, a policy has been announced after the meeting of the cardinals:
>>
The American church leaders said they would recommend a special process to defrock any priest who has become "notorious and is guilty of the serial, predatory sexual abuse of minors." In cases that are "not notorious" they would leave it up to the local bishop to decide if such a priest is a threat to children and should be defrocked.
<<
Read that carefully. That word notorious is the key. What this means is that if the local bishop can somehow keep cases of abuse quiet, then the priest in question gets to stay in the Church, but if it hits the newspapers, then he's out. Isn't this the same policy the Church has been following for the last twenty years which got them into this mess?
This is ludicrous. This is beyond rationality. It really is saying that the church will continue to try to cover up evidence of criminal behavior and try to avoid involvement of civil law enforcement authorities. Priests of the church are not above the law, and if bishops try to cover up the crimes of priests, then the bishops are committing a felony. If the Pope supports this, then he's just as much a pedophile and just as guilty of accessory felony. This doesn't make any sense from either a legal or religious perspective. Why should notoriety be a factor in a decision of whether a priest has committed a mortal sin, or violated a law? It's time to start handing out jail terms, folks. Extradite the Pope to answer charges, too.
Once again, a real-life affirmation of my decision to avoid all involvement with any organized religion.
In the tragicomedy that the Catholic church has become, a policy has been announced after the meeting of the cardinals:
>>
The American church leaders said they would recommend a special process to defrock any priest who has become "notorious and is guilty of the serial, predatory sexual abuse of minors." In cases that are "not notorious" they would leave it up to the local bishop to decide if such a priest is a threat to children and should be defrocked.
<<
Read that carefully. That word notorious is the key. What this means is that if the local bishop can somehow keep cases of abuse quiet, then the priest in question gets to stay in the Church, but if it hits the newspapers, then he's out. Isn't this the same policy the Church has been following for the last twenty years which got them into this mess?
This is ludicrous. This is beyond rationality. It really is saying that the church will continue to try to cover up evidence of criminal behavior and try to avoid involvement of civil law enforcement authorities. Priests of the church are not above the law, and if bishops try to cover up the crimes of priests, then the bishops are committing a felony. If the Pope supports this, then he's just as much a pedophile and just as guilty of accessory felony. This doesn't make any sense from either a legal or religious perspective. Why should notoriety be a factor in a decision of whether a priest has committed a mortal sin, or violated a law? It's time to start handing out jail terms, folks. Extradite the Pope to answer charges, too.
Once again, a real-life affirmation of my decision to avoid all involvement with any organized religion.
April 19, 2002
NE Snow Depth
This graph says almost all about how dismal a ski season it was in the Northeast. What it doesn't tell you about are all the rain/freeze cycles that reduced what little snow there was to truely dismal conditions. Once again, I'm soooooo happy to be in the Wasatch.
This graph says almost all about how dismal a ski season it was in the Northeast. What it doesn't tell you about are all the rain/freeze cycles that reduced what little snow there was to truely dismal conditions. Once again, I'm soooooo happy to be in the Wasatch.
April 18, 2002
Mud Rain!
Storm total at Alta/Snowbird since Monday is 20", with more today.
On Wednesday it was 36F at 10am, ceiling down to 5500', strong winds, black clouds over the Wasatch and the east benches (but the Salt Lake is in sunshine), still 16,000 without power from Monday's storm....and a foot of new snow in Little Cottonwood Canyon with more expected.
Monday was intensely strange. Mid 60's and really strong winds coming up from the south, with gusts to 75mph, stirred up more and more desert dust - visibility dropped all day till it looked like thick fog at 5p. Then it started to rain. After 1-1/2 years here I've seen some strange weather, including the ever freaky ice fog, but this was my first experience with mud rain. There was so much dust in the air that it collected on/in the raindrops, each one leaving a tan, muddy splat where it hit. It looked like we had all driven through multiple mud puddles.
Sunday was Alta's last day of daily operation. Started cloudy with gusty winds then went to partly sunny and 55F. Legs turned to unresponsive rubber by about 2:00 since it was my third day of turning in heavy corn.
Finally!"-- Rush has announced summer tour dates in support of its forthcoming album, Vapor Trails. The road stint starts June 28 at the Meadows Music Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and runs through August 21 at the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque, New Mexico. More tour dates will be announced at a later time."
Alas no SLC date yet, if ever. May have to travel for this one. Full article...
Good news!
Reuters News tells us:
" "Ally McBeal," the quirky, critically acclaimed show about a yuppie lawyer that helped Fox gain a reputation as a serious TV network, will end its run in May after five seasons due to low ratings, the network said on Thursday.
The move marks the second major cancellation of a big Fox show following the network's announcement in January that its popular series "The X Files" would also be canceled in May."
Both of these should have been put out to pasture a couple of years ago. It's nice to see a burst of sanity among TV execs every now and then
A new drinking game:
Grab a bottle of your favorite spirt and a shot glass.
Watch The X-Files.
Each time Scuzzy,...uh, Sculley, says "...my baby...", drink a shot.
Each time she says the infrequent "...my child...", drink two shots.
If she utters the extraordinarily rare "...my boy...", guzzle directly from the bottle.
My guess is that on average you'll be drunk on single shots by the third commercial break
Storm total at Alta/Snowbird since Monday is 20", with more today.
On Wednesday it was 36F at 10am, ceiling down to 5500', strong winds, black clouds over the Wasatch and the east benches (but the Salt Lake is in sunshine), still 16,000 without power from Monday's storm....and a foot of new snow in Little Cottonwood Canyon with more expected.
Monday was intensely strange. Mid 60's and really strong winds coming up from the south, with gusts to 75mph, stirred up more and more desert dust - visibility dropped all day till it looked like thick fog at 5p. Then it started to rain. After 1-1/2 years here I've seen some strange weather, including the ever freaky ice fog, but this was my first experience with mud rain. There was so much dust in the air that it collected on/in the raindrops, each one leaving a tan, muddy splat where it hit. It looked like we had all driven through multiple mud puddles.
Sunday was Alta's last day of daily operation. Started cloudy with gusty winds then went to partly sunny and 55F. Legs turned to unresponsive rubber by about 2:00 since it was my third day of turning in heavy corn.
Finally!"-- Rush has announced summer tour dates in support of its forthcoming album, Vapor Trails. The road stint starts June 28 at the Meadows Music Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and runs through August 21 at the Journal Pavilion in Albuquerque, New Mexico. More tour dates will be announced at a later time."
Alas no SLC date yet, if ever. May have to travel for this one. Full article...
Good news!
Reuters News tells us:
" "Ally McBeal," the quirky, critically acclaimed show about a yuppie lawyer that helped Fox gain a reputation as a serious TV network, will end its run in May after five seasons due to low ratings, the network said on Thursday.
The move marks the second major cancellation of a big Fox show following the network's announcement in January that its popular series "The X Files" would also be canceled in May."
Both of these should have been put out to pasture a couple of years ago. It's nice to see a burst of sanity among TV execs every now and then
A new drinking game:
Grab a bottle of your favorite spirt and a shot glass.
Watch The X-Files.
Each time Scuzzy,...uh, Sculley, says "...my baby...", drink a shot.
Each time she says the infrequent "...my child...", drink two shots.
If she utters the extraordinarily rare "...my boy...", guzzle directly from the bottle.
My guess is that on average you'll be drunk on single shots by the third commercial break
April 05, 2002
The poets have been remarkably silent on the subject of cheese.
Sony has included software that will crash your computer if you try to play certain CDs on your PC:
"The CD will probably cause a system to crash, but it will not alter anything," the spokeswoman said. "And it won't eject properly, but that's just because the computer has crashed."
[Thanks to: Signal vs Noise]
Apparently this is currently restricted to certain CDs sold in Europe, (and the article references a Celine Dion CD, as if anyone should care) but I'm trying to understand something here. Isn't Sony the same company that advertises their MP3 players and how you can copy music from your PC onto your Sony MP3 device and take it "anywhere you go"?
Megadeath is breaking up. Why do things like this seem to happen 10 or 20 years too late?
Finally, a physio-chemical explanation of why condiments go bad in your refigerator.
Sony has included software that will crash your computer if you try to play certain CDs on your PC:
"The CD will probably cause a system to crash, but it will not alter anything," the spokeswoman said. "And it won't eject properly, but that's just because the computer has crashed."
[Thanks to: Signal vs Noise]
Apparently this is currently restricted to certain CDs sold in Europe, (and the article references a Celine Dion CD, as if anyone should care) but I'm trying to understand something here. Isn't Sony the same company that advertises their MP3 players and how you can copy music from your PC onto your Sony MP3 device and take it "anywhere you go"?
Megadeath is breaking up. Why do things like this seem to happen 10 or 20 years too late?
Finally, a physio-chemical explanation of why condiments go bad in your refigerator.
April 02, 2002
OH NO! Britney Spears has the same birthday as me.
I suppose I should see Amelie as it's received great reviews from the professional critics as well as from blog folk (who I suppose would be amateur critics). I see two problems with this:
1) It qualifies as an art film. I've yet to remain awake through a single art film. I don't attend screenings of films, I don't go to a cinema - I go to a movie theater to watch a movie.
2) Many of the same blogs that are agog over Amelie also just love Radiohead. I interpret this as a distinct warning, if not a sign of the coming apocalypse. I just don't get Radiohead. Kid A and OK Computer - two back to back discs of pure, undiluted shit. Does crap actually become art if you claim it's art often enough?
From Signal vs. Noise: A court in Sweden has ruled that a man who donated sperm for artificial insemination, enabling a lesbian couple to have three children, must pay child support after the two women separated, a Swedish newspaper reported on Sunday.
What?!
Originally at: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011209/od/life_sweden_sperm_dc_2.html ...but that has "expired" according to Yahoo.
I suppose I should see Amelie as it's received great reviews from the professional critics as well as from blog folk (who I suppose would be amateur critics). I see two problems with this:
1) It qualifies as an art film. I've yet to remain awake through a single art film. I don't attend screenings of films, I don't go to a cinema - I go to a movie theater to watch a movie.
2) Many of the same blogs that are agog over Amelie also just love Radiohead. I interpret this as a distinct warning, if not a sign of the coming apocalypse. I just don't get Radiohead. Kid A and OK Computer - two back to back discs of pure, undiluted shit. Does crap actually become art if you claim it's art often enough?
From Signal vs. Noise: A court in Sweden has ruled that a man who donated sperm for artificial insemination, enabling a lesbian couple to have three children, must pay child support after the two women separated, a Swedish newspaper reported on Sunday.
What?!
Originally at: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011209/od/life_sweden_sperm_dc_2.html ...but that has "expired" according to Yahoo.
How could I possibly forget Lifehouse in my list of bands that must go?
Bet you didn't know that Britney Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics.
Want proof?
Now for your moment of zen we present the Samuri Lapin
[It's a large-ish Flash animation]
Bet you didn't know that Britney Spears is an expert in semiconductor physics.
Want proof?
Now for your moment of zen we present the Samuri Lapin
[It's a large-ish Flash animation]
March 25, 2002
Hey. Wow. I got yet another "pre-approved" credit card offer in the mail today. This one is for a gold Mastercard from First Primier Bank in that bustling metropolis of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Not only am I pre-approved for a coveted unsecured credit card, I get the attractive rate of 9.9% Fixed APR. OK, now on to the fine print...........
Seems that to get this card, I get to pay the following fees:
Program fee - $95
Account Set Up fee - $29
Annual fee - $48
Participation fee - $72 billed at $6 per month
Fucknozzles.
Seems that to get this card, I get to pay the following fees:
Program fee - $95
Account Set Up fee - $29
Annual fee - $48
Participation fee - $72 billed at $6 per month
Fucknozzles.
March 21, 2002
The Pope finally (after how many decades?) broke his silence on the Catholic priest sex abuse cases. He said the priests had succumbed ``to the most grievous forms'' of what he called, using the Latin phrase, ``mystery of evil.''
``Grave scandal is caused, with the result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice,'' the pope said. He said the Church ``shows her concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations.''
Gee, maybe the church can "show her concern" for the victims a little more by finally refusing to hire pedophiles.
``Grave scandal is caused, with the result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice,'' the pope said. He said the Church ``shows her concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations.''
Gee, maybe the church can "show her concern" for the victims a little more by finally refusing to hire pedophiles.
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