- 23:17 Bat, dying off. It matters.
www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/11/15/whats_killing_the_bats?mode=PF
- 08:18 Does the Defund Acorn bill allow for more than that? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/2
2/whoops-anti-acorn-bill-ro_n_294949.htm l - 08:20 And here's one variation of bill text: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h3
571/text (don't have link to more at present...)
- 18:58 MamaJenn rocks my world! She's got great kids, makes my kid happy, and makes a yummy banana bread. Thank you SO much!
- 20:40 "... people treat baby boys and girls differently (even if they think they are not doing so nor intend to)"
http://www.blogher.com/gender-differences-socially-conditioned-and-reinforced-t hrough-media - 21:07 Even with an agenda (which I in part share), the basic questions about what the research (or the reporting on research, which may be different than the research results!) says are useful reminders: http://www.bitchmagazine.org/article/ma
d-science
- 15:29 recommended: http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/08/cli
mate-change-and-national-security
Hopefully I will have time to follow + read linked pp -- they look tremendously interesting - 20:19 Fascinating! http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/maga
zine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect
Someone asked (me?) about placebo the other day... who? Was it in SWAPA? - 22:10 Our neighbors' cattle drive down Main Road followed by a hoedown: gallery.me.com/johnnylion1#100098 (wish I coulda been there!)
Podcasts from How Stuff Works: Stuff You Missed in History Class, thanks to DVS in SWAPA. Need iTunes specifically to listen to 'em.
A short essay on memorization (specifically of poetry), and why this isn't the "spitback" we (we?) hated in High School: A Word on Rote Memorization by Mark Bauerlein. Wish I'd had this handed to me in high school chemistry. Thanks maybe to![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
supergee? I forget. Maybe to Jed.
On retouching photos, in which a 46-year old woman is edited. Was this successful? Why did they do it? Impossibly Beautiful from Shakesville, via supergee.
Something that made me think about where I've been slacking in my own family responsibilities (this is a good thing, here, as I have been doing just that in certain ways): Dude, man up and start acting like a mom: How I learned to stop sulking and embrace my life as a stay-at-home father by Aaron Traister on Salon. Can't remember who posted this first, but thank you.
China Miéville has some reasons I hadn't heard of to appreciate J.R.R. Tolkein. This is via Supergee too, but seems right up Jed's alley also. And Chris Cobb's?
Continuing in the literary vein, an essay by Terri Windling on Beauty, Beast, and Marriage. Again with probably from Jed or Supergee.
The Achipelago of Weird, a metaphoric approach to coping with people who think you are just out there, and vice versa. Great phrasing; the comments fill out this idea a little, and add what I would've added had I been there for the discussion.lepi and mysteryelfx might appreciate this one especially. Well, many of you, but those two occasional readers of my blog come immediately to mind.
Three Swarthmore Reunion pics that make me happy: Folk Dancers, musicians and physics teachers (yes, Jim).
A short essay on memorization (specifically of poetry), and why this isn't the "spitback" we (we?) hated in High School: A Word on Rote Memorization by Mark Bauerlein. Wish I'd had this handed to me in high school chemistry. Thanks maybe to
supergee? I forget. Maybe to Jed.On retouching photos, in which a 46-year old woman is edited. Was this successful? Why did they do it? Impossibly Beautiful from Shakesville, via supergee.
Something that made me think about where I've been slacking in my own family responsibilities (this is a good thing, here, as I have been doing just that in certain ways): Dude, man up and start acting like a mom: How I learned to stop sulking and embrace my life as a stay-at-home father by Aaron Traister on Salon. Can't remember who posted this first, but thank you.
China Miéville has some reasons I hadn't heard of to appreciate J.R.R. Tolkein. This is via Supergee too, but seems right up Jed's alley also. And Chris Cobb's?
Continuing in the literary vein, an essay by Terri Windling on Beauty, Beast, and Marriage. Again with probably from Jed or Supergee.
The Achipelago of Weird, a metaphoric approach to coping with people who think you are just out there, and vice versa. Great phrasing; the comments fill out this idea a little, and add what I would've added had I been there for the discussion.
lepi and mysteryelfx might appreciate this one especially. Well, many of you, but those two occasional readers of my blog come immediately to mind.Three Swarthmore Reunion pics that make me happy: Folk Dancers, musicians and physics teachers (yes, Jim).
- 21:11 I am printing a SWAPA. See what reunions do to me? I don't have time for this! Clearly, I failed my willpower roll (again)...
- 15:39 At least I won't run out of work...
That's in reference to large piles and tote bags of paperwork I'm behind with. It distracts me so much that the better work gets held up sometimes.
More when I can. I mean, something real, not this silly stuff of last few days. But we're going to be on vacation, so not sure when.
- 13:15 Food Companies [Put] the Onus for Safety on Consumers www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/15in
gredients.html ("convenience foods") - 13:20 Climate warms --> melting glacier --> land springs back: www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/science/earth/1
8juneau.html - 13:31 Melt Antarctica, sea levels rise: another analysis says "< 20', but..." www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/science/earth/1
5antarctica.html - 15:21 Cap+Trade: from econ 'academic' idea to Repub 'scheme' to Dem 'policy': www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/us/politics/1
7cap.html - 15:29 Carless (a different cap, a different trade-off): www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/earth/1
2suburb.html
For a_little_bear for one reason, for irilyth for another, and just generally interesting to a bunch of us for various reasons but I am in the middle of stuff so I am not going to list y'all but you'll know who y'are:
NY Times Magazine
"Going Dutch"
By Russell Shorto
Published: April 29, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magaz
a discussion of an American expat's experience and perspective in the Dutch system of taxes and social services
thanks to Otavia over on FaceBook for the link
a_little_bear for one reason, for irilyth for another, and just generally interesting to a bunch of us for various reasons but I am in the middle of stuff so I am not going to list y'all but you'll know who y'are:NY Times Magazine
"Going Dutch"
By Russell Shorto
Published: April 29, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magaz
a discussion of an American expat's experience and perspective in the Dutch system of taxes and social services
thanks to Otavia over on FaceBook for the link
- 02:51 Up in middle of night: dog goes out & in, I watch an ep of Battlestar Galactica. Silly. My blog deserves more than these pingposts. Later?
- 09:44 Feeling optimistic, bought 3 business/skills books (programming & art biz). Need better regimen of time, still. Am I improving? Maybe...
A Proposal From the handmadetoyalliance.org:
In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China and other developing countries violated the public's trust. They were selling toys containing dangerously high lead content, unsafe small parts, and chemicals that made kids sick.
The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in children's products, mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12, to permanently label each item with a date and batch number.
All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational companies to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each item have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their systems to include batch labels. Small businesses however, will likely be driven out of business... More...
Trying Facebook. (Why?) (Because my niece is on it? Maybe that's the best reason!) (Why won't it let me have TWO blogfeeds? Bah!)
Printing printing printing. (I know why.)
Have cold. (It's kicking my ass.)
Falling into memories when reviewing photos taken this year. (sidetracked while working on other computer project.) (Hee!) (I have a damn fine son. And awfully cute.)
Am cold. (Should stoke stove.)
Partially completed secret-busting activity for secret santa. Late, as always dangit! (By the way, mine arrived and I have not opened it!)
Up next: Food? Sleep? More ornaments on tree?
Need: functioning method to keep track of/synch the overlapping blogs, networks, artsides, shopsites, newsletters. And to want to do this just a little less than I want to do work (since I like them both).
Also need kleenex. That's what's next.
You so wanted to know.
Printing printing printing. (I know why.)
Have cold. (It's kicking my ass.)
Falling into memories when reviewing photos taken this year. (sidetracked while working on other computer project.) (Hee!) (I have a damn fine son. And awfully cute.)
Am cold. (Should stoke stove.)
Partially completed secret-busting activity for secret santa. Late, as always dangit! (By the way, mine arrived and I have not opened it!)
Up next: Food? Sleep? More ornaments on tree?
Need: functioning method to keep track of/synch the overlapping blogs, networks, artsides, shopsites, newsletters. And to want to do this just a little less than I want to do work (since I like them both).
Also need kleenex. That's what's next.
You so wanted to know.
(Thanks to autumnfey for alerting me to this)
Maybe it doesn't have to be that as of Feb 10, 2009, handcrafters have to pay extra fees or shut down; stores can be affected (think Zutano, in Montpelier/Burlington, for example), furniture for kids.. .etc. .
The Law that passed last summer, with links to PDFs about details, comments, etc:
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.h
Some summaries/interpretation, specifically as it relates to toy/handcrafts:
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Templa
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftiv
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/H
What Pat Leahy commented on the law back in May:
http://ceska.typepad.com/little_ida/200
Advice for letter-writing:
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/h
http://capwiz.com/toyassociation/dbq/of
Petitions to change it (a partial list):
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_h
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/econ
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Legi
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hand
(And what about things like art, stickers, decals...?? I have no idea, yet.)
autumnfey for alerting me to this)Maybe it doesn't have to be that as of Feb 10, 2009, handcrafters have to pay extra fees or shut down; stores can be affected (think Zutano, in Montpelier/Burlington, for example), furniture for kids.. .etc. .
The Law that passed last summer, with links to PDFs about details, comments, etc:
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.h
Some summaries/interpretation, specifically as it relates to toy/handcrafts:
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Templa
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftiv
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/H
What Pat Leahy commented on the law back in May:
http://ceska.typepad.com/little_ida/200
Advice for letter-writing:
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/h
http://capwiz.com/toyassociation/dbq/of
Petitions to change it (a partial list):
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_h
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/econ
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Legi
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hand
(And what about things like art, stickers, decals...?? I have no idea, yet.)
Did you read the articles about Michelle Obama's dress? No, I didn't either, but I did see the Yahoo page with that as a primary story. What drivel.
WKW points it out well: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.c
WKW points it out well: http://shakespearessister.blogspot.c
I've cleaned up the Herp Atlas a bit (why did it take me so long to switch from beigey-orange to deep green? Duh!), and added slide shows where we have extra critter pics. Check out the Eastern Ratsnake, for example, and click the next link once or twice. Did you know they could do that?
Can't yet code jQuery coolness from scratch, but I can still poke, prod and adapt existing code (and I can donate to their effort, in thanks). But damn! I'm just not fast enough. (But how on earth could I have been faster today?)
I'm at that point in the day where there's not enough time to Really Do Properly another batch of work, and way too much time to do nothing. Dammit!
Can't yet code jQuery coolness from scratch, but I can still poke, prod and adapt existing code (and I can donate to their effort, in thanks). But damn! I'm just not fast enough. (But how on earth could I have been faster today?)
I'm at that point in the day where there's not enough time to Really Do Properly another batch of work, and way too much time to do nothing. Dammit!
Nutmegger, care to comment?
...the most serious fault in our zoning laws lies in the fact that they permit an entire area to be devoted to a single use.[unknown first name] Raskin, quoted in The Death and Life of Great American Cities. Jane Jacobs. p299. Viewed at Amazon (see link)
There's a certain irony in using the list of chores as your bookmark in the book you were using to procrastinate. Heh.
I was told last night by our way-up-the-hill neighbor's dad -- the parents are from Minnesota and housesitting while the kids are in - er - West Africa, I think -- that there was a phrase "Minnesota nice". And that about half the Vermonters he'd see would smile or nod or wave from their porches, while walking their dogs, etc., and about half wouldn't. By implication, then, I think I've just been called "Minnesota nice" as I'm one of the politely waving types.
In an tangential and contrasting sort of way, I then read a thread inozarque's blog about censorious phrases in Minnesota, Ozark, and Vermont English (or perhaps rather a certain lack thereof in the taciturnity of the latter). Interesting thread. I kept wanting to say something once they got to the not wearing boots bit, but not having anything to say. So I didn't.
I was told last night by our way-up-the-hill neighbor's dad -- the parents are from Minnesota and housesitting while the kids are in - er - West Africa, I think -- that there was a phrase "Minnesota nice". And that about half the Vermonters he'd see would smile or nod or wave from their porches, while walking their dogs, etc., and about half wouldn't. By implication, then, I think I've just been called "Minnesota nice" as I'm one of the politely waving types.
In an tangential and contrasting sort of way, I then read a thread in
ozarque's blog about censorious phrases in Minnesota, Ozark, and Vermont English (or perhaps rather a certain lack thereof in the taciturnity of the latter). Interesting thread. I kept wanting to say something once they got to the not wearing boots bit, but not having anything to say. So I didn't.Picked up in the Midd Co-op a magazine called What is Enlightenment?, last October's issue. A bit heavy in the "we're so enlightenedly cool we can hardly stand ourselves; Let Us Show You the WAY" in a NeoBuddhist kind of way, but cheerful and some interesting ideas.
One article with interesting places to poke and jump from (and this is really especially forraven_albion since I've torn out the hardcopy pages and am sending them to Dad) is
"A Brighter Shade of Green: Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21st Century" by Ross Robertson [HTML]
The PDF version has the sidebars and the advertisements. I recommend the sidebars, actually if you feel like downloading about 10 pages of colorful stuff.
Share and enjoy...
One article with interesting places to poke and jump from (and this is really especially for
raven_albion since I've torn out the hardcopy pages and am sending them to Dad) is "A Brighter Shade of Green: Rebooting Environmentalism for the 21st Century" by Ross Robertson [HTML]
The PDF version has the sidebars and the advertisements. I recommend the sidebars, actually if you feel like downloading about 10 pages of colorful stuff.
Share and enjoy...
So I went into the attic this morning, to collect things I could give to my sister/her baby (due in a month or so). I'd kept stuff for this reason, or in case we had another.
It then occurred to me I could give things also to J (9 months) and L (5 or 7 months) and if I checked, maybe E (2 years) also.
And that MonkeyBoy was growing out of stuff and I should find his next sizes in the hand-me-downs.
That was HOURS ago.
I've got: 2 small bags for J, 1 for L, about 4 boxes for my sister, 2 old-fashioned air plane gift/carry-on sizes to give away/consign, and more pants for MonkeyBoy than I think we've ever had at once.
The attic is tidier.
Still, it's almost 7 p.m., so I think the STUFF is winning...
It then occurred to me I could give things also to J (9 months) and L (5 or 7 months) and if I checked, maybe E (2 years) also.
And that MonkeyBoy was growing out of stuff and I should find his next sizes in the hand-me-downs.
That was HOURS ago.
I've got: 2 small bags for J, 1 for L, about 4 boxes for my sister, 2 old-fashioned air plane gift/carry-on sizes to give away/consign, and more pants for MonkeyBoy than I think we've ever had at once.
The attic is tidier.
Still, it's almost 7 p.m., so I think the STUFF is winning...
I don't have much truck with the ' religion is the cause of most of our wars' school of thought because that is manifestly done by mad, manipulative and power-hungry men who cloak their ambition in God.-- Terry Pratchett, in http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic
(Thanks I think to
supergee)More or less germane to my recent reading, including Breaking the Spell by D. Dennett and Ursula Vernon's rant in response to some of the comments on St. Snargus and the Trout
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