Good Ideas DepartmentJason Marrihew of the American Animal Hospital Association suggests putting contact information into your cell phone for your dog -- the dog's microchip number, the vet’s phone number, a 24-hour care phone number, and the ASPCA Poison Control. Of course, I only know about this great idea because of Gina. You can put family Social Security numbers into your phone too.
A Nice European ImportIs the European Goldfinch getting established in the U.S.? One can only hope so -- a remarkably lovely bird! Yes, yes, I know ... invasive species. A bit late now, though, as any Native American can tell you!The Vatican Greenlights PedophiliaThe age of consent for sexual activity is age 12 in the Vatican -- the lowest in Europe.
I love the Paris Hilton Tinkerbelle PurseAnd I bet you will too! Check it out!
Death by Caffeine
I drink a lot of coffee. The people at Starbucks know my name and come sit at my table on their breaks. I have written about coffee picked fresh from the anus of a civet, and I have written about how coffee created development in the modern world and how the World Bank damn near killed it, and what all of that has to do with birds. And, of course, there is an American Working Terrier coffee mug. All of this brings me to this cool new tool, which lets folks like me know when I have gone "over my limit" with caffeine. Check it out!
The Continuing Economic CrisisMinnesota counties are thinking of getting rid of their pocket gopher bounties as a way of saving money. Only one question: what took them so long? Is there really that much slack left in this nation's economic rope?
Richard Brautigan & Tarpon Fishing in America
What more could you want? If you don't know Brautigan, you missed one of the funnier light-hearted Beat Poets of the late 60s and early 70s, a legendary time period after birth control and before AIDS, after marijuana but before crack. And there was fishing -- tarpon fishing! Apparently it's all on film, and it can be purchased. Almost no other film of Brautigan exists. A hat tip to Steve Bodio over at Querencia for this one!
Stealing from Hunters and Anglers
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to rip off California's Fish and Game Preservation Fund, which is underwritten by fees paid by hunters and anglers. Has there been a peep of outrage from the right wing blogosphere on this? Not that I can see. Apparerently they are too busy diving at shadows to see real problems!
Hunting in Washington, D.C.Hunting is a right written right into the Virginia state constitution, while over in suburban Maryland, The Washington Post reports that bow hunters are being right invited into people's back yards in close-in Montgomery County where deer are as acclimated to leaf blowers as you and I are.
An All Rounder
Janeen's English Shepherd is developing an appetite for squirrel! And no, they're not easy to catch.
New Hawking BlogDoug Potter's new hawking blog is coming along very nicely. A good read. Check it out!
Kevin Kelly on the Place Beyond OwnershipKevin Kelley writes: "Very likely, in the near future, I won't 'own' any music, or books, or movies. Instead I will have immediate access to all music, all books, all movies using an always-on service, via a subscription fee or tax. I won't buy – as in make a decision to own -- any individual music or books because I can simply request to see or hear them on demand from the stream of ALL. I may pay for them in bulk but I won't own them. The request to enjoy a work is thus separated from the more complicated choice of whether I want to 'own' it. I can consume a movie, music or book without having to decide or follow up on ownership." Read the whole thing.
Plutonium Found at the DumpAn old glass jar inside a beaten up old safe at the bottom of a waste pit was found to hold some of the first plutonium ever made. Glad it was secure!
Turning Taxidemy into a CPUJust when you think you have seen it all, someone turns a taxidermied beaver into a full Windows-operating computer and posts instructions for you can do it too!
A Condom Ad That is Not Safe for WorkBut it features dogs (of a fashion) and it is funny in a perverted sort of way. Check it out if you dare. You have been warned!
Where the Hell is the State of Kanawha?I had no idea this was the history of West Virginia. West Virginia was once part of Virginia, of course, but I never knew the circumstances of the split. I must have been passed out at the back of the classroom the day they explained this. Or maybe in Virginia schools we hide our shame by simply not teaching it. In any case, it's fascinating and it comes with a cool map.
European Anatomy Museum PhotosA nice Flickr set of human and animal freaks, oddities and curiosities of medicine-- check it out! Not for the squeamish.
Free Stock Photos
You say you want free stock photos for your project? Here are 25 free stock sites. More are suggested in the comments section too.
No More Moa, But We Have an Excellent TurdA treasure trove of information has been found in Moa feces buried beneath the floors of caves and rock shelters for thousands of years. The feces -- up to 15 cm in length -- suggest Moa ate small soft plants, not the bushes and trees once thought.
Stories In Once SentenceSome of my friends and I used to do these in college. A small drinking sport. I could kick myself now for not thinking up this web site myself: One Sentence: True Stories Told in One Sentence. Perfect! Check it out!
A Killer iPhone ApplicationThe iPhone now comes with a new application called "Lethal" which, if you install it, will tell you everything in your area which poses a lethal threat. They even have a wildlife overlay which ranks Mobile, Alabama as the most wildlife-lethal place in the U.S. with 19 killer species. The sign, at left, is from Alabama. Not a lot of terrier work in Alabama..
5 comments:
Groovy Hoboken coffee shop sells Obama blend:
http://hoboken411.com/archives/16202
I still maintain my Gaggia espresso machine is the most pleasurable purchase I've ever made.
In West Virginia, no surprise, we learn all about the split. We have a class called "West Virginia History," which is taught in the eighth grade. We learn all of the counties in the state and their seats, along with all the highways and rivers. We learn about the state government, too. And, strangely, the books I remember using in that class spent several chapters talking about the importance of organized labor (unbiased education not withstanding).
Every year, a test is given on all of these issues to the eighth graders called the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe. Each county (and we have only county school systems in WV--very strange) is apportioned a number of knights that can be accepted from the top scorers on the test. If you make the grade, you get sent to Charleston where the governor dubs you a Knight of the Golden Horseshoe (with a civil war sword and everything). The honorary is named from Virginia Governor Alexander's Spotswood's safari with several of his foppish friends from England into the territory beyond the Blue Ridge. Spotswood gave all who accompanied him on that journey little golden horseshoes to honor their accomplishments.
You know Virginia once claimed all the way to the Forks of the Ohio (Pittsburgh) and a large chunk of Western Pennsylvania was organized into the Virginia county of Youghiogheny. When the border was confirmed by the extension of the Mason-Dixon line, Virginia was given a strip of land along the Ohio downstream from Pittsburgh. We now call this the Northern Panhandle.
West Virginia was originally all part of Augusta County, Virginia. But then it was reorganized as the Territory of West Augusta, which went theoretically all the way to the Pacific. The state was also part of an inland colony that was proposed called Vandalia, but this never took off.
And one other factoid: John Denver's song about West Virginia is geographically incorrect. The Shenandoah River runs only but a few miles into West Virginia. The three Easternmost counties (which lie just outside the Beltway) in WV are actually counties that were given to the Union government of Virginia at Wheeling as the result of the Federal Army's capture. Those were mainly secessionist counties during the war, and when an election was held in two of them in 1863 on which state they should join, most of the adult male population was in the Army of Northern Virginia.
The Blue Ridge only enter West Virginia at the easternmost tip. Thus, John Denver knew nothing about the state.
In fact, it was later revealed that the song was about western Virginia (which makes more sense) than West Virginia. He just didn't know that West Virginia was a separate state.
And now I'm finished.
Ok, where in the heck did you find the lead illustration? It's a hoot.
And in reference to earlier communication, yeah, this green is happy.
Oh my goodness. I don't believe putting Social Security numbers in your cell phone is a good idea AT ALL. It's easy to lose a cell phone, or hack it; there are a number of ways to compromise cell phone information. It would not be a good idea to store any critical personal identification information in something so vulnerable.
How you put a number into a phone is important -- you do not have to ID it or make it simple to find. Simply stringing the digits without a dash is enough to make it nonsense to most people.
That said, though you may not know it, your Social Security number is commercial information and is actually sold to be appended to other data bases. I used to take names and street addresses for a huge membership data base (more than 800,000 people) and append not only SS#, but birth dates, credit card ownership information, etc. It's all public. In fact, many states still use the SS# as your driver's license number and it is common to write it down on the backs of checks, etc. Go to the time clock at your grocery store, and the SS# of the employees are probably on the punch tickets, out for everyone to see. For more, see >> http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs10-ssn.htm
P
Post a Comment