Catching up
Today we had a fairly long argument about the fact that american interrogators might be using religious icons during sessions with prisoners at Gitmo. Personally, in regards to this issue, I was pretty surprised the people rioted over and, worse, found it worth dying over. My feelings are that the reality of an interrogation is that a person has to use whatever psychological tools available to break down a suspects defenses and get at the truth. Race, gender, sexual preference, religion... these are all issues that people feel so strongly about that challenging them can cause a person to give up. Interestingly about the discussion, all of us hate Dumbya but the Americans didn't have a problem with this, the internationals did.

The Basenji
While surfing a came across another kind of dog that looks interesting. It's called a Basenji and is a central african breed found in villages. They are smart and about the right size. My fear with the Basenji is that they are a bit too energetic and might not fit too well into my future houselhold. Still searching...

Lab Plans

Okay, you are lucky enough to be given the chance to be a PI. What do you do first? Well, I don't know the answer but this is one of the problems I have been presented with. Above is my space that I have been allocated. How do you make a decent working environment out of it? Can't say I know the answer, stay posted. For advice I'd say think pretty hard about the things you need. Walk through a couple of labs to check out things you like and dislike. You may not have a lot of choices but you will have some so make the most of those.

Here is a picture from the war torn streets of Iraq. The look on this Iraqi child's face says it all. He is part of the small Jewish minority trying to piece together a life in the apocalyptic streets of Baghdad.

Bush attacks!
Boston.com, which is the internet version of the Boston Globe has a headline "Grenade attack on Bush foiled". What is that crap? The grenade evidently didn't work, was never within a football fields distance of the Great White Wanker, and is a grenade not a time bomb! I can't believe they are supporting this crazy guy who can't use a sentence without adding free or liberty into it. Well, Georgia, congrats, you are a beacon of liberty and your "Rose Revolution" came long before the "Purple Revolution" (Bush's words) in Iraq.

Continuing on this mode. Why do you now have to register online for the news on Boston.com? I realize they aren't the first to do this, the NY Times and Washington Post have been doing it for years, but still...

On another note, found this article about a performance artist giving up on everything...just about. Very weird. Her name is Melissa Ichiuji and she doesn't seem very committed to here art, taking breaks and having stuff she claims to have given up. Can't say I'm impressed but I suppose if you can get paid to do it why not. The picture is from her online journal. The jars are for urine during her 36 hour silent performance.

Blogs in the news
The comedy news show Daily Show with Jon Stewart is one of the best sources for news. It is disturbing. They recently won a Peabody Award which are generally given for news organizations. Crazy. Tonights show they covered the fact that several news organizations had regular spots which covered blogs. How crazy is that? News organizations that use blogs as news. What will they think of next? Evidently the only major american news source that hasn't gone this route is Fox and I don't know what to think about that.

A useful new phone tool developed by a friend of mine is Amabuddy which is software that allows you to text an ISBN number or CD bar code and then returns a price comparison. The best part is that if you are in a shop and you see a book you want you can instantly check it out online via text. It even gives reviews. Try it out!

NPR
Yesterday NPR did a story about Homestarrunner which is a very silly bit of cartooning. It is entertaining, and, completely ad free. The designers never intended to make a profit and now support it only by selling merchandise. I like it.

Today my wife easily passed her driving exam here in the state of Massachusetts. She had previously passed the written part of the test which she described as 'made for idiots'. Turns out, the driving wasn't much better. The test involved us arriving in a parking lot in a car to meet a state trooper (clearly his least favorite part of the job). He got into the car with us, I was in the back as the silent sponsor, and we drove off. After asking my wife where she was from and how long she had been driving he had her do a three-point turn (don't forget to signal) and then drive back to the parking lot. He declared that further testing was a waste of everyone's time. This was of course true, but still it was surprising. I think what most surprised me was that the test was conducted by a state trooper and not a designated tester. Anyway, it was all pretty much a joke and we worried a lot about it for nothing. Final word on this, if you haven't got your license get it done. I think with the bills in congress about national standards will make the situation much worse in the future.

Can anyone tell me what kind of a dog this is? This is pretty much the kind of animal I want to get. I want something about knee high, short haired, generic looking, and smart. Where do I find a dog like this. By the way, this one saved a baby.


Finally, there is no better cure to a dull life than cheap Tequila, loud music, and no need to be anywhere. God bless Mexico and all the good things it has given us!

I'm not dead
Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not dead. Just wanted to let you know.

Is this offensive?

I found this while surfing. For those of you who don't know a large part of my family tree arrived in this country in chains, on ships, a few hundred years ago. Only lost the chains about 100 years ago. Anyway, this word really offends me, can't deny it. I'm from the south and in no way have I ever thought it was appropriate to use (although I am guilty of saying it accidently when reciting rap lyrics). Still...all that being said I think this picture is so funny. It just seems so appropriate in it's juxtaposition of little ducklings and such a vile word. The fact that the ridiculousness of one duckling making the distinction adds to the humor. Although I should add that I have been accused of being a bit abnormal so this could be more indication of that. What do you think?

Surfing the web

So I was reading the Boston Globe and I noticed a section where they had pictures of random people. They included names so I thought, what the hell, see what I can figure out from a name and a picture. I tried a number of pictures/name before I got a clear hit. The picture was this one and the person who gave a hit is the women on the right KB (initials only-do your own search):

Part of the reason she was easier to find is that her name seemed fairly unique. You only get a few hundred hits on Google. Looking through a bunch of these I discovered that she is is originally from Iowa, went to Iowa State University at least. I found a full CV (her GPA was 3.95/4.0) and that she was a sorority president, majored in communication, etc... Along with that stuff I eventually found this pic, she's on the left, what do you folks think?

Same chick? I'm not sure but the name and blonde locks looks like a great match. God, I love the internet.

Wal-Mart is Evil

Just a quick addition. NPR made me aware of some very disturbing news. A store's employees in Saguenay, Quebec organized into a union. The first Wal-Mart employees ever to do so. This of course goes against long standing policies in the US WM stores that prevent organization. So what did WM do? It closed the store. Evidently, but not admittedly, trying to set an example. Go on Quebecois, combat pour la liberte! I for one, won't shop at any bloody WM stores, or Sam's Club for that matter. Costco is an employee friendly alternative.

Tuesday Morning
Well my Disciples, after a day of reflection I think that I can say with some humility that I want to put the whole ugly situation of the last week behind me. I ultimately think that the majority of the issues that I let escalate (inside my own head) are due to cultural differences that I have only viewed from one perspective. I'm guilty of assumptions, ones that weren't fair. I can't help the fact that I got angry, I felt quite justified at the time, but, as I guess I always knew, the other party to this mess is not a bad person in any way imaginable. There are a lot of personality differences which don't mesh, but that can be worked out.

Back to my random ramblings...why does CNN still have the headline about the 'Runaway Bride' This is ridiculous. Why won't she go away? Why are we caught up in this as a public. It is so sad. Also, why does the first lady get credit as a comic for just reading a bunch of lines written by someone else. The delivery was awful.

Mrs Bush poked fun at her husband's riotous youth, saying: "I was a librarian that spent 12 hours a day in the library. Yet somehow I met George."

She somehow sounded more pathetic on the microphone then her husband. I also have to ask why does her husband always get a pass on his 'riotous youth'. He didn't stop partying until around 40. I guess I can still do coke and drink and drive, plenty of time left.

Well, another person has found a finger, this time in his ice cream. Unlike previous other claims this one is real. This brings up some real horrible imagery. The fact that so much crap must be in all our overprocessed industrialized food is really awful. When does it end?

CONGRATULATIONS! my boss, Tom Rapoport, has become a member of the National Academy of Sciences, quite prestigious.