29th December, 2004
This explains much.
Google’s annual Zeitgeist is out. Take a look at the top 10 Google queries of the year. Think about the state that this country is in. Is it all starting to make sense now?
Posted at 1:12 pm | Comment (0)
28th December, 2004
Nightmare
Having taken a break from technology (and society) for the holiday means that I missed hearing of the news of the tsunamis that devastated coastal areas in the Indian Ocean on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed (and the death toll continues to rise) and hundreds of thousands more have been injured or left without food, water or shelter. Wikipedia has an excellent writeup of the tragedy and the South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog has many links to organizations that you can donate to in order to help the victims.
[edit] Wikipedia also has a listing of organizations that you can make donations to.
Posted at 8:41 am | Comment (0)
26th December, 2004
Boxes
Happy Boxing Day. Whatever the hell that means. All I know is the 16 inches of snow we got here last week makes me feel like I’m in Canada. Maybe I’ll try and find some poutine.
Posted at 7:27 pm | Comment (0)
22nd December, 2004
Humid Lipstocking
GogBlog was down for a bit yesterday for some reason (my suspicion is that the elves who run this place got all hopped up on pixie dust and spent most of their day watching The Wizard of Oz (with no sound) while simultaneously listening to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon). Not that this matters, nor does what I’m posting really have anything to do with anything but I found it mildly amusing (perhaps because I’m slap happy from lack of sleep). Enough rambling: handy Google tips for naming your child.
Posted at 8:06 am | Comments (2)
17th December, 2004
Your Future
Mark Cuban (yes, that Mark Cuban) has some interesting things to say regarding the proposed privatization of a portion of our Social Security funds.
Following on his heels is an article over at Slate by Henry Blodget (yes, that Henry Blodget) that points out how the majority of us suck at investing and lists some of the biggest pitfalls that we stumble into.
Both are worthy reads and may directly affect your lives in the near future, depending on how things progress in Washington. Check ‘em out.
Posted at 8:47 am | Comments (5)
6th December, 2004
If they were called Beerpple, I’d buy some.
I was doing some grocery shopping down at my local hypermart this weekend when I stumbled upon a dubious looking product called “Grapple” in the produce section. That’s right. It’s an apple that tastes like a grape.
The first thought through my mind was “wtf, why would you want an apple that tasted like a grape?”. The second thought was “how cool! I wonder if it’s some bizzaro hybrid mutant space apple!?” So off to Google I went, only to discover that Grapples are not bizzaro hybrid mutant space apples, they’re just regular Fuji apples that have an artificial grape flavoring added to them through a “patented bathing system” (I didn’t realize you could patent osmosis). How lame.
Also lame is the following excerpt from the Grapple product description page:
Children have been especially fond of Grapple. With childhood obesity increasing at alarming rates, the Grapple could go a long way to improving the eating habits of children and introducing them to more produce.
Hmm. Since when weren’t children fond of apple-flavored apples? And here’s an idea, instead of blowing your cash on artificially flavored apples in hopes that junior will eat his broccoli (I’m sure this will only happen if the broccoli tastes like grapes), why don’t you stop feeding your kids McDonald’s for every meal? A little exercise might help, too. Just a thought.
Posted at 1:56 pm | Comment (0)
6th December, 2004
Propaganda
As if you needed another reason to avoid Clear Channel-owned radio stations, here’s another one. Today it was announced that Fox (Faux, thx Benny) News will now be the primary news source for over 100 of Clear Channel’s radio stations. According to the report, if “all goes well” over 500 of Clear Channel’s 1,200+ stations could be reporting “news” from Fox within 6 months. Let the brainwashing continue! [via Dan Gillmor]
Posted at 1:20 pm | Comment (0)
2nd December, 2004
Sex
From the Washington Post:
Many American youngsters participating in federally funded abstinence-only programs have been taught over the past three years that abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, that half the gay male teenagers in the United States have tested positive for the AIDS virus, and that touching a person’s genitals “can result in pregnancy,” a congressional staff analysis has found.
I am so happy to be living in this country right now. [via William Gibson]
Posted at 12:51 pm | Comment (0)
2nd December, 2004
(R )evolution Calling
As Benny pointed out, there has been another surge in attempts to shield youth in the US from the facts of evolution. Of note for this post is a county school board down in Georgia that is proposing putting “disclaimer” stickers into science text books that discuss evolution. Apparently, they are concerned that students will believe that evolution actually happens and that maybe the Earth wasn’t created and populated 10,000 years ago by some divine being. Shocking, I know. If the kids start believing this, the next thing you know, they’ll start believing that the world isn’t flat and the sun doesn’t revolve around the Earth. Blasphemy!
Taking my tongue out of my cheek, I’d like to point you to this site that has some other suggested textbook stickers; most of which would be hilarious if it weren’t a possibility that we will someday see them actually placed into textbooks. There are also some great links towards the bottom of the page, be sure to check them out.
Posted at 12:35 pm | Comment (0)
