scottsimpson.net

The Union of Concerned Scientists in a February report pointed out something the science press has known for years: The Bush administration has no respect for science. Ideologues prefer to make up the laws of nature as they go. (read more)

Bruce Sterling is cool. Read his article.

Under the new regulations, part of [a Vietnamese] government policy announced in March, Internet cafe owners can be fined or jailed for allowing clients to download or send “bad information” on the Internet, the official said. (read more)

So does this mean that Fox News won’t be available in Vietnam? How about Voice of America? I suppose they’d block my blog too.

A Vietnamese dissident sentenced to seven years in prison for criticizing the communist regime on the Internet ended a three-week hunger strike Tuesday after authorities announced they would reconsider his verdict. (read more)

When will these countries figure out that democracy just works better? People shouldn’t have to hold a gun to their own heads to get the rule of law enforced. Democracy isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got.

The vast majority of global business networks are routinely suffering from large-scale data loss and manipulation as the advent of wireless technology makes them vulnerable to malicious attack by hackers, new research has claimed. (read more)

Data bleed is dangerous, even (especially?) for home users. If you have a wireless network, secure it. If you need help, ask me. I’m serious.

One day a farmer’s donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; so it just wasn’t worth it to him to try to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. Realizing what was happening, the donkey at first cried and wailed horribly. Then, a few shovelfuls later, he quieted down completely. The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of everyone.

The Moral:

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to stop wailing, and not let the dirt bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy: Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less. By the way, after he calmed down, the donkey kicked the shit out of the farmer who tried to bury him, which brings us to the second moral of this story: When you try to cover your ass, it will always come back to get you.

[original copyright unknown. mercilessly lifted from thetake.net. thanks naj.]

According to a report by The Associated Press, defense attorneys want jurors to consider that Nichols believes in God and shows “a great chance for redemption.” (full story)

Blessed be the LORD my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight…(Psalms 144:1)

Yeah, believing in God is a perfect excuse. What, he made you do it? I’d like to see the courts quit accepting this sort of argument until God can be called as a material witness. Nichols only killed 161 people and turned to religion afterward. Yeah, he’s well-adjusted. In other, better news:

A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that argued weekly Bible classes are unconstitutional in the public schools of Rhea County, the same county where the “Scopes Monkey Trial” pitted creationists against evolutionists 79 years ago. (full story)

Score one for the seperation of church and state.

And in still better news:

A Texas woman convicted of neglecting her two horses will get only bread and water for the first three days of a 30-day jail sentence, a judge said Tuesday. (full story)

Finally a judge passes a sentence that has some teeth in it. She caused months of suffering and the eventual death of a living being, she can be a tad uncomfortable for a few days. I really hope the ACLU doesn’t pick up on this one … if they appeal the sentence, they’ll establish a position in favor of treating criminals like nothing happened. They’ll end up condoning crime. I’m not quite sure if there’s an ACLU in Texas, come to think of it. I used to be a member. Then I kept getting stupid expensive-looking ads in the mail and I found out they supported NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association). Some groups (namely those that profess something ILLEGAL, shouldn’t be afforded representation for ‘free speech’. Nor should people who starve animals to death. She screwed up. Lock her up.

U.S. hospitals owned by investors with the aim of making money are less cost-efficient than nonprofits, Canadian researchers said. (full story)

I suppose only Canadians wouldn’t realize that.

According to Wired.com, there’s a new ‘wireless cable tv in the works’. If it hasn’t got wires, is it still called cable tv? hmm…

Ronald Reagan’s face could one day adorn the $10 bill or half the dimes minted in the country, if fans of the late president get their way. (full story)

Um, well, maybe after a while? There’s nothing really wrong with the presidents and other folks on the bills now, that I’m aware of. Plus it’d be rather weird… Mr. Reagan would feel out of place. He’d be the youngest by far. And if Reagan got on a bill, you know King George would be jockying for a spot on the $20. I mean, Hamilton was an interesting fellow. And he was the *first* to do something, not just the *most recent*. And would the Mint have to pay royalties to the Screen Actor’s Guild for using Reagan’s image? He is a Hollywood icon, after all.

Eminem, who performed at the Saturday night taping with his group D12, appeared onstage dressed in a long red wig and jeans in a parody of Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose.

He repeatedly groped and flashed a studded codpiece in front of the cameras and the thousands of people in the live audience. Toward the end of the performance, he pulled down his trousers and flashed his bare backside at the audience. (full story)

Mature. Real mature. I used to kind of respect the guy for saying whatever he wanted, but mooning? Come on, Mr. Eminem, you’re not four anymore.

The case is United States v. Public Citizen, 03-358. (full story)

Nice move naming your consumer group Public Citizen … makes for interesting press. So it looks like the environmental study is off … those trucks better be in exact compliance with US pollution and traffic laws or I’m going to be mad.

Ivory Coast’s leaders including President Laurent Gbagbo must end their bickering and work together toward peace or risk fresh widespread violence, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday. (full story)

Is it just me or does that sound a tad threatening? Kind of like Annan is threatening UN-sanctioned widespread violence. “Quit it guys, c’mon, knock it off… or the UN will knock you off” The UN has such a ridiculous amount of trouble dealing with little countries and eensy-weensy groups of people, what would happen if, say, France or Germany or Mexico started fighting with themsel ves? Yesterday’s conflicts still echo even in American barbecues… the Frankfurter vs. Hamburger question, the ancient battle between the Baron von Frankfurt and the Chancellor of Hamburg could not have easily been solved without the liberal international aid package codenamed ‘ketchup and mustard’. So must the UN act to quell disturbances. That or they need a bigger quasimilitary force. That would be cool. “Quit your little local struggle or the free nations of Earth will crush you.” Talk about bringing democracy to the Middle East.

Can Ronald Reagan’s political magic work in one last election — this time for President Bush? Republican strategists acknowledged Monday that they hope the nation’s week of mourning for Reagan, who died Saturday, will turn into a boost for Bush’s reelection campaign. (CNN.com ‘daily grind’, non-permanent link)

…and Kerry is taking the week off to honor Reagan. Who’s got the morals? Kerry got the morals… That is, if he doesn’t change his mind.

… and what’s up with this ‘such-and-such shot dead’? We’re not in the Ozarks here, people, we don’t be reckoning he be gettin shot dead. Let’s try out the word ‘killed’ or ‘fatally wounded’ every now and again, eh? Fine, he was shot. If someone was shot, we say he was shot. Not shot live, not shot-living, not ‘almost missed’. Shot. Neither do we say someone was ‘hit dead’ by a car, ‘smashed dead’ by a tree, ‘sickened dead’ by an illness or ‘stabbed dead’ by a robber. When someone’s life is ended by such an action, they are dead. Killed. Ended. Muerte. Tot. Shot and killed might be acceptable. Killed by gunfire. Fatally wounded. Quickly shuffled off this mortal coil by aid of a revolver. After all, guns don’t kill people, the bullet ripping through their flesh does.

France, Germany and Spain say they intend to vote for a United Nations resolution on the transfer of power in Iraq. (full story)

… and a buck says China will try to block it. Just watch.

Scientists have not directly correlated exposure to PBDEs ['toxic computer dust'] with specific diseases or developmental impairment. (full story)

I know, what exposure to toxic computer dust does! Call on me! I know! I know! It causes money to be diverted from useful things to insipid studies of computer dust. Of course computers are toxic, fools, you don’t have to study it. Let’s just all agree that some people are too stupid and naive to realize that stuff in the world is harmful. Everything gives you cancer if you’re exposed to enough of it. Ever notice how health and safety nuts seem to be the first to kick the bucket? Live a little, people, and quit wondering what kinds of illnesses you can get from your computer. That’s called paranoia. Get over it, and don’t eat your computer.

Airport Express. So freakin cool. I must get one.

“Wi-Fi wants to be free,” said John Yunker, an analyst at Byte Level Research who follows wireless technology. He believes high-speed wireless access will evolve over the next several years into a freebie service, much like cable television or air-conditioning in hotel rooms, that customers come to expect at cafes, airports and conference centers. (full story)

Okay, let’s work through the math here.
Approximate average cost of a Starbucks transaction: $3.00
Approximate number of people served daily (based on an estimate of one person per minute, which seems ridiculously slow): 480
Gross sales daily: $1440
Gross sales monthly: $43200
Gross customers monthly: 14400
Average cost of broadband (non-fancy-T-mobile-T1, lets go DSL instead): $40/month
Internet cost divided by number of customers per month: $0.0028
Factor in a wireless access point, a one-time cost of $100 added to the first month of service: $0.0097
Scott’s solution: raise drink prices five cents, reap a crazy additional profit and provide free wireless service, all the while bringing in new customers because of the service.
Additional brilliant idea: limit the bandwidth to maybe 2x dialup speed. Put little peel-off stickers on the cups with codes that get a faster connection. Call them ZipCodes or something.

From the Wired sidebar:
Religious Regimens
What do evangelical Christians and “back to nature” health buffs have in common? They’re both targets of a recent batch of Bible-based eating plans flooding bookstores. “The Lord gave us everything we need in the Garden of Eden: fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds,” said the Rev. George Malkmus from Hallelujah Acres, his North Carolina headquarters. Similarly divine diets have been outlined in Dr. Don Colbert’s What Would Jesus Eat? and Gwen Shamblin’s The Weigh Down Diet, which urges eaters to follow “God’s perfect boundaries of hunger and fullness.” Malkmus, like many in this crowd, lacks formal scientific training, but he does employ a researcher, who determined that Malkmus’ “Hallelujah diet,” which was drawn from Genesis 1:29, was deficient in vitamin B-12. “This shocked me, that God’s perfect eating plan could have a flaw,” said Malkmus.
— Jenny McKeel

Emilia Mascoy, a 70-year-old store owner, brought a lawsuit for fraud and demanded her money be returned. She says a maid mistakenly threw out the box of cash during a spring cleaning at her home, DyN reported. (full story)

Yeah, that makes sense. The maid 1) threw out a box of cash instead of 2) stealing it or 3) leaving it alone. Wouldn’t you check a box before you throw it out? Lucky day for beggar-man.

Pop-ups came into fashion during the dot-com bust, when publishers were desperate for ad dollars and sought to please marketers with more attention-grabbing means to reach consumers. But Web surfers came to loathe them, and publishers such as the Web site for The New York Times moved to regulate how often people receive them. (full story)

Someone needs to tell the fools that put ads on their site to knock it off. Imagine if you were sitting in your living room talking with a friend, and someone burst in and stapled an ad to your head. As he left, this guerilla advertiser would drop a few cents in your friend’s hand. What would you do? I’d chase the guy down and knock him upside the head. Site providers argue that they can put whatever they like on a site they own. That’s fine, I don’t have to visit it. I’ve already quit using a number of websites because of ads. When I find the creative drive, I’m going to start up a campaign called ‘Dont Click Ads’. Details soon.

After years of relying on conventional banner ads and showy Web pages driven by the latest technology, ad agencies are working to create branded content consumers want to watch — and hopefully pass on to their friends. (full story)

If anyone ‘passes on’ branded content or advertisements to me, I’ll smack them. This also goes for Christian-feel-good emails, insipid chain letters, and virus-infected Microsoft Office files. You have been warned. Though if you have any of those personal-info-quiz things, those are still kinda fun to send around.

U.S. warplanes pounded dozens of insurgents hiding in caves in southern Afghanistan, the military said Monday, after a gunbattle between the militants and U.S. troops. (full story)

This is news? Did this only happen today? Come on, media, if nothing interesting happens in the world, just put a big box that says ‘yeah, nothing really interesting happened today’. We’d all be a lot better off.

U.N. Urges Fish Havens as World Marks Green Day (full story)

Do you have the time… to listen to me whine… about nothing and everything all at once?

I am one of those … melodramatic fools… neurotic to the bone no doubt about it…

Fish havens eh? You mean like 90% of the ocean? Surely we don’t have enough boats to go fish the whole ocean. It’s a big place. It’s a deep thing. Maybe the fish need to wise up a little bit.

An interesting report on blogs.

Mobile phones, laptop computers and PDAs are increasing levels of stress in the workplace, according to a study. (full story)

That’s one thing I’ve never really understood about a lot of the tech that’s out there. Business boomed around the world before the advent of PDA’s and cellphones and email. I’d much prefer to write someone a letter given the chance, and nothing I do at work really needs absolutely-this-second communications. I’ve noticed that just about every instant-contact method creates stress of some sort, and for this reason I’ve already given up my PDA. Just thought I’d share.

Today’s tea selection: 1 Zen + 1 Awake

A military jet staffed with a 15-member medical team swept into Brazil last month on the orders of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to retrieve an ailing state senator from a coastal hospital.

The trip cost taxpayers $147,187, Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said. But she said it was necessary given the circumstances described by aides of Sen. John Vasconcellos, who checked himself into a clinic after feeling chest pains during a nine-day goodwill trip to Brazil. (full story)

Um. Good to know where my money is going. Cuz that $147,187 couldn’t possibly have gone to the school system or to one of the (useful) social programs. Sen. Vasconcellos should have been brought back via normal-jet. I can just imagine the call the Governator made:

Governator: “Senator Vasconcellos?”
Senator: “Yes.”
G: “It is I, the Governator. You have been captured by Brazilian doctors and your mission will be Terminated.”
S: “I was here because I wanted to visit.”
G: “Your ruse is up, Senator, we’ll be sending a full military rescue team to extract you.”
S: “The weather is beautiful here.”
G: “Copy that, Senator, we’ll send the special task force too”
S: “I meant that the weather was nice here. Are you on something?”
G: “The military squadron will arrive within twelve hours”
S: “What-ever”

“We have a philosophical difference of opinion with them that I don’t think we’ll ever be able to bridge just because of the fact that they think pet ownership is slavery.” full story)

I’m going to go with Petco on this one. Having a pet isn’t slavery, unless you have a cat … they keep their owners on a pretty tight leash. I know my cat just *hates* being waited on hand and foot … er, paw and paw. I’m sure he just pines to be in the wild where he doesn’t get fed nutrient-rich food twice a day and can’t just lounge in the sun all day. Where does PETA think these house-animals should go? The Happy Forest Without Predators? Come on, PETA-people, look at your own acronym: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. How ethical is it to remove a living being from a life that it has become accustomed to and force it to live ‘in its natural habitiat’? My cat’s natural habitat is the couch. Ethical does not equal total liberation. Ethical means you don’t kick them across the room. If my cat petitions for emancipation, he can have it. That’s ethical.

A planned nudist bicycle tour in the Netherlands’ so-called “Bible Belt” has upset local church officials who are holding their own youth charity bike ride the same day. (full story)

Whoa whoa whoa, that’s crazy. Holland has a bible belt? I didn’t realize there were fundamentalist Dutch people. Weird. Oh, the bike ride thing. Ouch. If they want to do it, who’s to stop them? Except maybe a bad case of chafing.

“The provocation did not flow from Eddie Araujo. The provocation flowed from within them. They were the source of their own provocation,” Lamiero said. “Their pathetic, weak sense of self-identity led to the death of a human being.” (full story)

Rest in Peace, Gwen Araujo.

The four met Araujo in the summer of 2002, and Merel and Magidson had sex with her. They became suspicious after comparing notes, leading to a deadly confrontation in October 2002 at Merel’s house in Newark, a San Francisco suburb.

Another woman at the house confirmed Araujo’s identity by grabbing the teenager’s genitals.

Um, ok. Let me get this straight. They had sex with her, and then had to grab genitals to verify that she wasnt 100% biological woman? Yeah, these are bright shining stars aren’t they? Just towering intellectual giants. Send them to prison, if only for being so amazingly stupid.

And isn’t Newark more of a San Jose suburb?

“Toxic dust” found on computer processors and monitors contains chemicals linked to reproductive and neurological disorders, according to a new study by several environmental groups. (full story)

Oh, so I *can’t* safely eat my computer. It’s good to know that, you know, I figured computers were perfectly healthy for me, considering all the silicon, plastics, lead, gold, heavy metals, phosphors, and other vital nutrients. Do people seriously spend money on this bulls***? I have a feeling that studying stupid things like this also causes reproductive and neurological harm. What’s these people’s recommendation — don’t lick your computer’s motherboard? Darn, I love doing that.

“This will be a great surprise to everyone who uses a computer,” said Ted Smith, director of the Toxics Coalition. “The chemical industry is subjecting us all to what amounts to chemical trespass by putting these substances into use in commerce. They continue to use their chemicals in ways that are affecting humans and other species.”

Oh my god. My computer’s made of chemicals? Ick, get it off my desk. And I’m sure it’s just a vast conspiracy by the Chemical Industry (motto: we make up the stuff that makes stuff up) … I bet there’s all kinds of internal memo’s just waiting to be leaked to the news agencies … ‘be sure to include seven metric tons of Trihydroketoethelyne dinitrate in every computer’. These evil, irresponsible chemical companies “continue to use their chemicals” … they really should stop. I mean, now who needs chemicals anyway? It’s not like they’re good for anything…

It kind of makes me laugh when I see headlines that were obviously made by people with a sense of humor. CNN reported today “Nearly 300,000 Texans still in dark” … it’s good to see that people are starting to recongnize the perils of religious fundamentalism.

And another insipid poll from CNN – “Do you think CIA Director George Tenet should have resigned?” Well, you know, being the average informed American, I know everything that went into his resignation, from the classified National Security factors to his personal life. I’m sure the average American is perfectly qualified to answer that. My answer — No, because now we have to make another Director of Central Intelligence, and apparently good spies are hard to come by these days.

Michael Lohan was accused of assaulting his brother-in-law, Matt Sullivan, at a first communion party on May 23. (full story

What, did he get pushed in the punch bowl or something? Seriously, people, chill out. It’s an event at a CHURCH. There’s a BABY AND A PRIEST there. And VIDEO CAMERAS. Moron.

Besides potentially threatening drinking water for major California cities such as San Jose and Los Angeles, the saltwater also threatened freshwater fish, some of them rare, and farmers’ fields in the San Joaquin Valley.

There appeared to be no immediate danger of a fish kill, and some young fish may benefit from being able to hide in the suddenly submerged crops, said Mike Wintemute of the state Department of Fish and Game. (full story)

Welcome to California, where it’s more important to watch out for the rare fish in the delta than be concerned about the welfare of hundreds of farmers who risk their livelihood. What’s a fish kill anyway? Do some bad-ass trout get together and crack some heads? Do fish have little Uzi’s? That would be cool. And maybe some sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads. What’s this about baby fish benefitting from hiding in crops? Yeah, that’s natural. Playtime for Nemo!

“We don’t have data that suggests Windows XP drops wireless connections more than any other system,” said Greg Sullivan, the lead product manager in Microsoft’s Windows division. “Wi-Fi configuration in Windows XP is much different and easier than in previous versions.” (full story)

I have two words for that. One of them is ‘bull’ and the other one is a word that I shouldnt type. But it sounds like ‘hit’ or ‘sit’ or ‘lit’.

Why won’t Microsoft just admit that they have some really severe problems with Windows? I think consumers would appreciate the honesty, so millions of people can quit banging their heads against the wall trying to fix something (virus, compatibility, wireless networking) that’s a known problem and not the consumer’s fault?

“It indicates that you’ve associated with an access point. It is possible for you to be associated without having (Internet) connectivity,” said Shai Guday, a Microsoft wireless group program manager.

But most users don’t have the background to parse the distinction between connection and “association” with an access point. All they know is that the icon says there’s an access point with a strong signal nearby and they can’t get on the Internet.

Yeah, and what’s the point of being ‘associated’ and not ‘connected’? Unless you’re running inventory software on your palm computer in a huge freakin warehouse, theres no reason to have an unbound connection. Maybe there should be a little light that responds to some big router (or a list of them) that indicates internet connectivity. I’d go for it, that would be useful. See if you’re on the net at a glance. The system could ping 4.2.2.2 or whatever you define every few seconds to check its status.

Go, Apple

The IAEA’s records, which it has released to New Scientist, show a dramatic rise in the level of smuggling of radiological materials, defined as radioactive sources that could be used in dirty bombs but not nuclear bombs. (full story)

Um, OK, so the IAEA has detailed numbers on nuclear smuggling? Is this through some benificient criminal that lets the IAEA in on his numbers? Or are the IAEA inspectors all British? (“Oh, fissile material, how nice. How much have you got? Three tons? Alright, let me get that down here, … from Uzbekistan, yes? Alright then, cheerio”)

And more from wired.com:
What Liberal Media?
Is it time for a fresh affirmative-action push in the nation’s newsrooms? A new study reveals a minority group that is decidedly underrepresented on the staffs of TV stations and newspapers: conservatives. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that only 7 percent of reporters, editors and media execs at national news outlets called themselves conservative, while 34 percent self-identified as liberal. While the study addressed only the news professionals’ personal beliefs — and not whether their opinions lead to biased coverage — a newspaper editor shed light on the situation. “Most of us think too much alike and come from the same backgrounds,” he said. “Find the pro-lifers in a newsroom. That’s harder than finding Waldo.”
— Lewis Wallace

No More Hanky-Panky
In sex-starved Japan, things have gotten so bad that news magazine Aera published an unlikely exhortation: “Young people, don’t hate sex.” The popular publication was responding to a stream of life-defeating statistics: Japanese wedding and birth rates are plummeting, condom shipments have gone limp and “love hotel” check-ins are swiftly declining. In a 2001 survey, Japan ranked dead last among 28 countries in the frequency of sex (at an average of just 36 times a year). ”Men don’t want to spend time with their girlfriends, especially shopping,” explained a 40-year-old man who isn’t dating. And many women are growing more independent and assertive, while others may be waiting for Mr. Right. ”The good men are all married,” said one writer. ”Those left behind are all nerds or without jobs or violent or not nice-looking.”
— Jenny McKeel

So Macromedia Dreamweaver doesn’t allow me to save files on a network drive. I.E. I can’t safe files directly to where they need to be. I have to work on them on my computer and upload them manually. This makes sense … because all webpages are hosted on desktop computers. Get it together, Macromedia. And while you’re at it, make Flash, Fireworks, and Freehand at least minimally usable. Good job on Contribute though. A diamond in the rough.

Well, it’s good to see that my tax money is being spent to help fat people that don’t know how to stay fit take small steps toward being healthier. Did you know your tax money was going into a nutrition website? Take a look at the front page of it, too… it talks about how many calories ‘moderate housework’ burns. Yikes. ‘Avoid laborsaving devices’ is one of the ‘small steps’ listed. What, you mean like computers? Here’s one that outdoes all of them: walk to the gym, eating an apple. Oh, look, I did something that works better and takes up less resources than the government. Surprised? I’m not.

Some objectionable ‘small steps’:

7. Eat half your dessert. (or try skipping the nightly Banana Split, fatty.)
10. Skate to work instead of driving. (they won’t let me rollerblade on the freeway because it’s hazardous to my health)
18. Drink diet soda. (how about skipping soda altogether?)
24. Skip seconds. / 88. Don’t take seconds. (but we get seconds on the rule?)
30. Ask your doctor about taking a multi-vitamin. (studies have shown that asking your doctor things burns up to a calorie a minute … just be sure to not actually take that multivitamin…)
48. Keep to a regular eating schedule. (as long as it’s based on when you’re hungry, not just the clock)
78. Eat before you get too hungry. (yeah, watch that clock, eat when it says to, not when your body tells you to…)
79. Don’t skip breakfast. (but make sure it’s not a donut or other icky sweet thing)
80. Stop eating when you are full. (um, come on, people… does the GOVERNMENT HAVE TO TELL YOU TO DO THIS? listen to your mom.)
89. Try your burger with just lettuce, tomato and onion. (how about skip the burger?)

Some good ‘small steps’:
1. Walk to work.
2. Use fat free milk over whole milk.
6. Eat leaner red meat & poultry.
8. Walk instead of driving whenever you can.
9. Take family walk after dinner.
11. Avoid food portions larger than your fist.
12. Mow lawn with push mower.
13. Increase the fiber in your diet.
14. Walk to your place of worship instead of driving.
15. Walk kids to school.
16. Get a dog and walk it.
31. Go for a half-hour walk instead of watching TV.
43. Park further from the store and walk.
44. Ask a friend to exercise with you.
45. Make time in your day for physical activity.
54. Play with your kids 30 minutes a day. (or more, god forbid…)
62. Explore new physical activities. (safely…)
63. Vary your activities, for interest and to broaden the range of benefits.
64. Reward and acknowledge your efforts.
65. Choose fruit for dessert.
90. Try a green salad instead of fries.
91. Bake or broil fish.

I think that does it for my rip on the government this morning…

In at least one case, controllers mistook the Scottish city of Glasgow for Cardiff in Wales. (full story)

Well, first their computers keep failing (must be running windows) and then they have moron air traffic controllers. For those of you unfamiliar with United Kingdom geography, I’ve attached a map showing just how close Glasgow and Cardiff are:

…Windows Media Player 10…is being released as a technical beta program aimed at enthusiasts and early adopters for testing and feedback. (full story)

Version TEN?! It’s a media player … does it really need that many features? (Before you start arguing about Mac OS X, operating systems are completely different… it took 2600 builds to get Windows XP right, and I’m not sure how many kernel builds it took to get Linux or Solaris or Mac OS quite right… but software is different)

iTunes is on version two-point-something, Winamp is on three-point-something, Real Player shouldn’t be used by anyone. Nor should Windows Media Player if it’s taking them this long to get a file player right.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq’s most influential Shiite leader, has given tacit approval to the country’s new U.N.-appointed interim government. (full story)

Well, maybe one of the reasons Iraq failed as a state was because of religious meddling in politics. Hmm? How would Americans react if Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson or L. Ron Hubbard were looked to to legitimize a presidency? If the global community wants to create a stable democracy in Iraq, they need to add a word to their vernacular: secular. Religious states fail. Religious states with deeply divided populations are doomed to perish. Everyone knows there’s a majority of one party in Iraq that will dominate any election, regardless of how ‘fair’ it is. This will cause problems. Americans and Western Europeans have the luxury of being able to sort of ignore their beliefs when someone of a different faith is elected to office, because we strive to keep religion out of politics. (sort of a case of ‘what people do behind closed [church] doors is their own business) Hear that, Mr. Bush? we strive to keep religion out of politics. And those who don’t keep religion out of politics are kept out of office.

“There is a fine (DRM) balance that nobody has struck, especially with physical CDs,” said Mike McGuire, an analyst with the GartnerG2 research group. “If there’s somebody who’s making 25 copies for the world and finds they can’t do that, then few people will probably complain. But if someone finds they can’t make a copy for their kid so he can play it in the car, you’re going to have a lot of people returning broken CDs.” (full sotry)

I’m going to say this one more time and I hope everyone’s listening. If I buy something, it’s MINE to do with as I please. I cannot sell it as my own, that’s illegal. I cannot use it to fiscally enrich myself. But if I want to listen to a CD in the car and the same music in iTunes, I’ll be damned if I’m buying two copies of something. I have a coffee cup that goes with me from my car to my desk. I do not have two coffee cups. That would be silly. And I’m sure that the Starbucks corporation isn’t in dire financial straits because I chose to pirate my coffee mug for use at work.

Record labels are seeking a way to let consumers make a limited number of copies of their music–enough for a car, a vacation home and a friend, for example–without allowing for uncontrolled duplication. Under the current system, each copied CD can itself lead to an unlimited number of additional copies, cutting substantially into sales, they say.

You know how you get people to stop making so many copies of CDs? Put the price somewhere near the fair market price. It can’t possibly cost $18.99 to produce a CD. Artists get a microscopic slice of that sum anyway. If you want to support an artist, go to their concert. I’ve sort of considered writing up this letter that talks about piracy and sending it to artists. I’d include probably 50-75% of the market CD price in cash in the envelope. Or maybe a Starbucks card or something. The letter would discuss that music pirates aren’t interested in causing financial harm to artists, and that piracy actually spreads an artist’s name (I never would have discovered that I enjoyed listening to Dave Matthews, Marilyn Manson, DJ Tiesto, or a number of other artists had I not heard them as mp3′s in the music collections of my friends)

You know something’s up when the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) resigns citing ‘personal reasons’ just days after the nation discovered that a former golden child of the Pentagon leaked crypto secrets to an ‘enemy’ nation. (I don’t have problems with Iran, I’m sort of wondering why the US does) I’m sure this will make a very interesting book in due time.

Song that’s stuck in my head today: Theme from Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego (‘she’ll run a scam in Scandinavia, make Antarctica cry uncle…’)

Well, it’s Wednesday… and not much happened yet. I went out to In-n-Out with Dad, which was fun … Jamba Juice proved to be too far away for a lunchtime visit. They need one of those next to the new Starbucks. Or a Quiznos. Or Baja Fresh. Any of them would be fiiiiine. But no. Ah well.