Before the internet became a black hole of information, I used to keep clippings in a shoebox or two: Man bites dog, or just interesting information. Now it's piling up on my computer, tho I still have scraps of paper everywhere.
I need a new shoebox. Since I'm doing all of my blogging on SOSaipan, this is it. You're welcome to peer over my shoulder, but don't expect too much and don't rag me about it. It's just what I'm running across.
Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan
WD-40
Another Inconvenient Truth: Al Gore's Web Site Hacked
Bank of America blindsiding cardholders?
Russia launches final satellites for its own GPS
Color changing coat
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wrasse mania
I was suitably impressed when Felix Sasamoto wrassled those fish out of the ocean in January. Two giant tangisons in five days for Felix Saipan Tribune
But no writing, I'd run across an article or two about them being threatened in some places. There's one to avoid, I told myself. It's bound to shake the nuts from the trees. Little did I know.
Surprisingly, much of what I've read has been surprisingly good, particularly the first blog by Mike Tripp. That filled in a lot of gaps.
Ha-wrasse-ment
But now I've just got to hold my nose and dive in. This has gotten way out of hand. Why should people feel free to bug him and his family because of a picture in the newspaper. Sending emails, calling his wife at work?
A little self-righteousness creeps into some of the comments: 'it may be legal but it's a bad idea.' Or, 'he should set a different standard for himself because of where he works.' Huh? Forest rangers can't hunt Bambi? That's a slippery slope once you start down it.
If it's against the law or the regulations it would be different. Maybe they should be stricter. Great. The legislature has been known to amend laws. Petition Fish and Wildlife to amend the regulations, at least for popular dive sites. After what I've learned, I'd sign. As long as you don't mention Mr. Sasamoto. Get MVA on board.
Or we could see what what Sharia law has to say about it. Bad analogy, you'd say. That's a bunch of Islamofascists (fishists?) trying to ram their beliefs down our throats to enforce their religious beliefs outside of the legal system. Hmm.
A wrasse! poor Yorick
But it's such a cute fish. The teddy bear effect, according to Mike. And some people just don't like to be reminded where their food comes from.
A fish-petting zoo would be a Fine Thing. I support anything that would attract tourists. Even call them 'friendly' fish if you like. I don't snicker very loudly, no one will hear. Because that's anthropomorphic nonsense to me. Do they wag their tails?
I don't pretend to understand the fish psyche. Shirley McLaine isn't in my group any more and I can't find a fish psychologist locally, but I'm pretty clear on one thing. Fish don't 'think' like us. Maybe it's the fish equivalent of friendly, or curious, or foreplay, or territorial behaviour. Maybe because of fish-itch and no arms to scratch. Maybe neoprene tastes good. Maybe it's just operant conditioning. B.F. Skinner was right about some things.
I've even seen it suggested that it would be all right if he's poor, but not if he didn't really need the money. Really. I'd like to see that regulation: b) for those making between $10,000 and $20,000, the following species are allowed... Why not. Governments are good at that sort of thing.
How about better enforcement of the current rules? That's not a bad idea, and it came from Mr. Sasamoto.
He's caught his fish, he's caught flak. Now, let him catch a break.
The rest is silence
I can't be the only one who smelled something, well, fishy in the stories about that man drowning Thursday. Jumping off of the rocks to chase a big-ass Mafuti? Yah, sure. Why did the 911 call 'reportedly' say he fell in. Fisherman drowns off Coral Ocean Point (Marianas Variety) and Fisherman drowns near COP cliff line (Saipan Tribune).
Were the reporters quoting the witnesses, or quoting the police spokesperson reading what the police report said? Who were the witnesses? Were there witnesses to the witnesses? Does that make the reporting third-hand or third-rate?
But no writing, I'd run across an article or two about them being threatened in some places. There's one to avoid, I told myself. It's bound to shake the nuts from the trees. Little did I know.
Surprisingly, much of what I've read has been surprisingly good, particularly the first blog by Mike Tripp. That filled in a lot of gaps.
Ha-wrasse-ment
But now I've just got to hold my nose and dive in. This has gotten way out of hand. Why should people feel free to bug him and his family because of a picture in the newspaper. Sending emails, calling his wife at work?
A little self-righteousness creeps into some of the comments: 'it may be legal but it's a bad idea.' Or, 'he should set a different standard for himself because of where he works.' Huh? Forest rangers can't hunt Bambi? That's a slippery slope once you start down it.
If it's against the law or the regulations it would be different. Maybe they should be stricter. Great. The legislature has been known to amend laws. Petition Fish and Wildlife to amend the regulations, at least for popular dive sites. After what I've learned, I'd sign. As long as you don't mention Mr. Sasamoto. Get MVA on board.
Or we could see what what Sharia law has to say about it. Bad analogy, you'd say. That's a bunch of Islamofascists (fishists?) trying to ram their beliefs down our throats to enforce their religious beliefs outside of the legal system. Hmm.
A wrasse! poor Yorick
But it's such a cute fish. The teddy bear effect, according to Mike. And some people just don't like to be reminded where their food comes from.
A fish-petting zoo would be a Fine Thing. I support anything that would attract tourists. Even call them 'friendly' fish if you like. I don't snicker very loudly, no one will hear. Because that's anthropomorphic nonsense to me. Do they wag their tails?
I don't pretend to understand the fish psyche. Shirley McLaine isn't in my group any more and I can't find a fish psychologist locally, but I'm pretty clear on one thing. Fish don't 'think' like us. Maybe it's the fish equivalent of friendly, or curious, or foreplay, or territorial behaviour. Maybe because of fish-itch and no arms to scratch. Maybe neoprene tastes good. Maybe it's just operant conditioning. B.F. Skinner was right about some things.
I've even seen it suggested that it would be all right if he's poor, but not if he didn't really need the money. Really. I'd like to see that regulation: b) for those making between $10,000 and $20,000, the following species are allowed... Why not. Governments are good at that sort of thing.
How about better enforcement of the current rules? That's not a bad idea, and it came from Mr. Sasamoto.
He's caught his fish, he's caught flak. Now, let him catch a break.
The rest is silence
I can't be the only one who smelled something, well, fishy in the stories about that man drowning Thursday. Jumping off of the rocks to chase a big-ass Mafuti? Yah, sure. Why did the 911 call 'reportedly' say he fell in. Fisherman drowns off Coral Ocean Point (Marianas Variety) and Fisherman drowns near COP cliff line (Saipan Tribune).
Were the reporters quoting the witnesses, or quoting the police spokesperson reading what the police report said? Who were the witnesses? Were there witnesses to the witnesses? Does that make the reporting third-hand or third-rate?
Friday, March 2, 2007
Consider the source
So Anne Coulter called John Edwards a faggot.
Actually, she tried a two-step, saying "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I - so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."
Coulter was speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. In dinner talk it is perhaps allowable to fling any faggot rather than let the fire go out. --Playwright J.M. Barrie
OK, it was the other kind of firewood. The American ideal ... of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys and bad guys, punks and studs, tough guys and softies, butch and faggot, black and white. It is an ideal so paralytically infantile that it is virtually forbidden—as an unpatriotic act—that the American boy evolve into the complexity of manhood. --James Baldwin
But really, Howard Dean over-reacted by saying "The American people want a serious, thoughtful debate of the issues". From Anne Coulter? Not unless we're talking about different people.
Being a newspaper trade journal, Editor & Publisher couldn't help but end with:
Actually, she tried a two-step, saying "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot,' so I - so kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."
Coulter was speaking at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. In dinner talk it is perhaps allowable to fling any faggot rather than let the fire go out. --Playwright J.M. Barrie
OK, it was the other kind of firewood. The American ideal ... of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys and bad guys, punks and studs, tough guys and softies, butch and faggot, black and white. It is an ideal so paralytically infantile that it is virtually forbidden—as an unpatriotic act—that the American boy evolve into the complexity of manhood. --James Baldwin
But really, Howard Dean over-reacted by saying "The American people want a serious, thoughtful debate of the issues". From Anne Coulter? Not unless we're talking about different people.
Being a newspaper trade journal, Editor & Publisher couldn't help but end with:
The New York Times' Adam Nagourney failed to mention the crack about Edwards, in observing tonight: "The conference drew thousands of attendees, many of whom waited in a long line out the door for a late-afternoon appearance by Ann Coulter, the conservative author and commentator."
The Washington Post covered the conference but did not mention Coulter at all in its news report. Neither did the Associated Press, which also attended. UPI did mention the "faggot" quote in its report.
The Post's Dana Milbank, in a column for the Saturday paper, observed: "Ann Coulter used an anti-gay slur to describe John Edwards (the line drew applause) and asked: 'Did Al Gore actually swallow Michael Moore?' When a questioner asked Coulter why she praises marriage but broke off so many engagements, she responded by calling the questioner ugly.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Let a smirk be your umbrella
I usually like smirks. Sometimes they're mean and malicious, but more often it's the inner child revealed: how am I going to explain that grape jelly smeared all over my face... and the kitchen?
Which is why I watched Rush Limbaugh before he started to listen to his inner bully. With just an expression he was letting his faithful know what was coming: 'I'm about to twit those guys. Let's see if it gets a rise out of them.' He was so good at it you suspected him of being a double agent: 'I can say anything and these guys will buy it.' It's sad. Now I feel like he trashed the kitchen, isn't sorry and doesn't care about it anyway.
Bill O'Reilly was also good in the beginning. He could be so outrageous you had to pay attention. Nobody would say that, would they? Before it became another trick in his bag, it forced me to examine ideas I might have just dismissed.
In his glory days at Comedy Central, Bill Maher was the best: 'Look how naughty I am.' He would shift from foot to foot and look like he was trying to make himself disappear. There was a purity, an innocent anarchy in the way he talked. How did that turn shrill, combative and confrontational?
Is that just the way it is? Do smirks have a short shelf life, or is this connected to the reason most bands can't do more than two or three good albums? Maybe nobody can avoid the self-importance that comes with too much attention and too many press clippings.
Whatever the reason, I'm looking for The Next Great Smirk. Let me know where it is; I've got to catch it early before it gets away.
Which is why I watched Rush Limbaugh before he started to listen to his inner bully. With just an expression he was letting his faithful know what was coming: 'I'm about to twit those guys. Let's see if it gets a rise out of them.' He was so good at it you suspected him of being a double agent: 'I can say anything and these guys will buy it.' It's sad. Now I feel like he trashed the kitchen, isn't sorry and doesn't care about it anyway.
Bill O'Reilly was also good in the beginning. He could be so outrageous you had to pay attention. Nobody would say that, would they? Before it became another trick in his bag, it forced me to examine ideas I might have just dismissed.
In his glory days at Comedy Central, Bill Maher was the best: 'Look how naughty I am.' He would shift from foot to foot and look like he was trying to make himself disappear. There was a purity, an innocent anarchy in the way he talked. How did that turn shrill, combative and confrontational?
Is that just the way it is? Do smirks have a short shelf life, or is this connected to the reason most bands can't do more than two or three good albums? Maybe nobody can avoid the self-importance that comes with too much attention and too many press clippings.
Whatever the reason, I'm looking for The Next Great Smirk. Let me know where it is; I've got to catch it early before it gets away.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Pieces of hate
I love reading opinions.* What I don't like is following along, agreeing or disagreeing, when the author veers off on some tangential personal attack.
Strong views are great. Hatred and name-calling makes me question your arguments. There are a lot of choices, and I choose rationality.
OK, there are some evil people in the world and there are evil ideas. You don't fight them by showing how nasty you can be. I subscribe to the 95% rule: the majority of people try to do the right thing at least ninety-five percent of the time.
Watch out for that other five percent. That's where we have our disputes. They are caused by any number of things; ignorance, fear, greed and prejudice among them. Sometimes two people can look at the same facts and reach different conclusions.
I don't hate President Bush because I disagree with several of his policies. I disagree. He seems to be a pretty likeable man with a big job, and he doesn't have the background or experience of his father. It's tougher, but I'm still trying to give his advisors the benefit of the doubt.
I just don't see how you can start a modern war, increase other spending and cut taxes at the same time. That's as silly as starting a war and something called the Great Society at the same time.
There have been reports lately of cities with a constant low-level hum in the background. Only some people are sensitive to it. I think that hum is the sound of thousands of fiscal conservatives spinning in their graves.
Richard Nixon? I wouldn't have wanted to hang out with him, but we could have had a drink and talked football. Only two policies I really liked and two I disliked come to mind after all of these years, and I challenge anyone to guess what they are. The prize is, hmm... a bag of papayas, if I don't have to ship them.
Then again, I'll read anything. If I'm eating alone and there is no newspaper or magazine around, there will probably be a book or a food package propped up behind the plate. Restaurants are calling my number when they put writing on their placemats.
Strong views are great. Hatred and name-calling makes me question your arguments. There are a lot of choices, and I choose rationality.
OK, there are some evil people in the world and there are evil ideas. You don't fight them by showing how nasty you can be. I subscribe to the 95% rule: the majority of people try to do the right thing at least ninety-five percent of the time.
Watch out for that other five percent. That's where we have our disputes. They are caused by any number of things; ignorance, fear, greed and prejudice among them. Sometimes two people can look at the same facts and reach different conclusions.
I don't hate President Bush because I disagree with several of his policies. I disagree. He seems to be a pretty likeable man with a big job, and he doesn't have the background or experience of his father. It's tougher, but I'm still trying to give his advisors the benefit of the doubt.
I just don't see how you can start a modern war, increase other spending and cut taxes at the same time. That's as silly as starting a war and something called the Great Society at the same time.
There have been reports lately of cities with a constant low-level hum in the background. Only some people are sensitive to it. I think that hum is the sound of thousands of fiscal conservatives spinning in their graves.
Richard Nixon? I wouldn't have wanted to hang out with him, but we could have had a drink and talked football. Only two policies I really liked and two I disliked come to mind after all of these years, and I challenge anyone to guess what they are. The prize is, hmm... a bag of papayas, if I don't have to ship them.
Then again, I'll read anything. If I'm eating alone and there is no newspaper or magazine around, there will probably be a book or a food package propped up behind the plate. Restaurants are calling my number when they put writing on their placemats.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
anna nicole smith and the Rapture
There, I've said it too. I only had a few minutes and was looking for cheap entertainment, so I googled on anna nicole smith about nine hours ago. Wow, 'about 66,600,000'. I'm not making this up; I cut-and-pasted the numbers. If you believe in the Rapture, you'd better start buying groceries just in case.
about 71,200,000 on Yahoo
ask.com had 2,228,000
559,929 results from MSN
Just a goof, I figured I'd check back in a few days or a week to how many more results a search would dredge up. Then, in a flash (a dim one because our voltage is low (and no dimbulb jokes please)), I was inspired. If someone searches for 'anna nicole smith' + 'the Rapture', I'll probably be on page one.
Well I think so, in fact I hope so. Even to me, that's strange. I'm going to try it as soon as I finish posting.
Then again, I'll probably get an interesting group of netsurfers. There could be money in this. I'm reminded of the anecdote, which I've never been able to track down, about L Ron Hubbard saying he was tired of getting pennies for his (crappy) Science Fiction novels so he was going to start a religion. Sounds like another job for the Urban Legends Reference Pages. Yeah, yeah, as soon as I finish posting.
Now, observe the way my mind works. This means I've found a use for those strange titles on my junk email: I'm going to start using them in everything I type. If just one percent of the people making arcane searches actually click through, I've gained hundreds of readers.
Now this is weird. I really wanted a quote I saw, so I went back to Google: 'about 51,100,000'. Obviously the first number was intended for me only. That's too much like finding a picture of the Virgin on my breakfast cereal. BTW 'about 167,000' results for + the Rapture. I'd forgotten about sex, for once.
"Marrying into money was not a good thing for me."
- Anna Nicole Smith
about 71,200,000 on Yahoo
ask.com had 2,228,000
559,929 results from MSN
Just a goof, I figured I'd check back in a few days or a week to how many more results a search would dredge up. Then, in a flash (a dim one because our voltage is low (and no dimbulb jokes please)), I was inspired. If someone searches for 'anna nicole smith' + 'the Rapture', I'll probably be on page one.
Well I think so, in fact I hope so. Even to me, that's strange. I'm going to try it as soon as I finish posting.
Then again, I'll probably get an interesting group of netsurfers. There could be money in this. I'm reminded of the anecdote, which I've never been able to track down, about L Ron Hubbard saying he was tired of getting pennies for his (crappy) Science Fiction novels so he was going to start a religion. Sounds like another job for the Urban Legends Reference Pages. Yeah, yeah, as soon as I finish posting.
Now, observe the way my mind works. This means I've found a use for those strange titles on my junk email: I'm going to start using them in everything I type. If just one percent of the people making arcane searches actually click through, I've gained hundreds of readers.
Now this is weird. I really wanted a quote I saw, so I went back to Google: 'about 51,100,000'. Obviously the first number was intended for me only. That's too much like finding a picture of the Virgin on my breakfast cereal. BTW 'about 167,000' results for + the Rapture. I'd forgotten about sex, for once.
"Marrying into money was not a good thing for me."
- Anna Nicole Smith
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