Today's Cool News

Weird Science ponders the inevitable stupidity of public transit - Ars Technica

2009-11-08T13:53:57-08:00

Weird Science rounds up the week's odd science news, including a bird-dropped baguette that interfered with the Large Hadron Collider, man-eating lions, and the daily irritations of public transit modeled mathematically.

via arstechnica.com

Ambush of the Common Sort

2009-11-08T11:50:57-08:00

Got a ping today about an attack on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul. It's a dangerous road and I don't like to drive it. The source has always been reliable, so I pinged Tim Lynch (who often is on that road), and Tim just sent these pics and a quick narrative. (Unedited, and my post also coming via Blackberry.) Tim writes:

via www.michaelyon-online.com

Hitler house sale alarms locals

2009-11-07T06:29:11-08:00

The sale of Adolf Hitler's family home in the Austrian town of Braunau am Inn has triggered concern that it could become a shrine for Nazi sympathisers.
The unassuming house where Hitler was born in 1889 has been put on the market priced at 2.2m euros (£1.9m; $3.3m).
Residents and local politicians fear that the property could fall into the hands of far-right extremists.
Braunau's mayor Gerhard Skiba wants to prevent that happening, but the council does not have the funds to buy it.
The building is currently used by an organisation helping the disabled and has at various times in its history housed a library, bank and technical institute.
Some historians have suggested turning the building into a museum.
However Mr Skiba vigorously opposes the idea, saying it would encourage people from all over the world to visit the site.
For the time being, the only reminder of the building's infamous past is a small memorial dedicated to the victims of the Nazis.

via news.bbc.co.uk

BBC NEWS | Technology | China plans for humanoid Olympics

2009-11-06T06:29:21-08:00

China is planning to hold a robot Olympics in 2010.
The international event will be held in the city of Harbin and will see robots take part in 16 different events.
Robots will be able to compete in familiar Olympic sports such as athletics as well as those more suited to machines such as cleaning.
Entry to the competition will be restricted to robots resembling humans. They must possess two arms and legs. Wheels are banned.

via news.bbc.co.uk

BBC NEWS | Americas | Brazil man appears at own funeral

2009-11-05T08:03:38-08:00

A 59-year-old Brazilian man has surprised his family by turning up at his own funeral, local media report.
Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, a bricklayer, had identified him as the victim of a car crash in southern Parana state the previous day.
Police told O Globo newspaper that relatives had trouble identifying the corpse because it was badly disfigured.
It emerged that Mr Goncalves had spent the night drinking a rum-like liquor called "pinga" with his friends.
He did not get word of his funeral until it was already happening on Monday morning, his niece Rosa Sampaio said.
She said some family members - including herself and the man's mother - had doubts, but an aunt and four friends had positively identified the body.
"What were we to do? We went ahead with the funeral," she told O Globo.
A police spokesman welcomed the happy ending: "Before long, the walking dead appeared at the funeral. It was a relief," the unnamed officer told the paper.
The body was correctly identified later, he said, and buried in another state.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Baby Neutron Star Found Inside Supernova Remnant | Wired Science | Wired.com

2009-11-04T13:15:07-08:00

Scientists have finally identified the mysterious source of X-ray emissions at the center of our galaxy’s youngest supernova: Inside the remains of Cassiopeia A sits a baby neutron star surrounded by a thin layer of carbon dioxide.

via www.wired.com

Illegal downloaders 'spend the most on music', says poll - Crime, UK - The Independent

2009-11-02T06:11:58-08:00

People who illegally download music from the internet also spend more money on music than anyone else, according to a new study. The survey, published today, found that those who admit illegally downloading music spent an average of £77 a year on music – £33 more than those who claim that they never download music dishonestly.

via www.independent.co.uk

Why gay marriage, getting high, and going to Cuba will soon be legal. - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine

2009-10-31T05:59:03-07:00

HOME / the big idea: The thinking behind the news.The End of ProhibitionWhy gay marriage, getting high, and going to Cuba will soon be legal.By Jacob WeisbergPosted Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, at 7:06 AM ET

via www.slate.com

From hotel to hospital - farewell to S.F. era

2009-10-30T22:56:54-07:00

As the last guest checks out of the Cathedral Hill Hotel today, a 44-year run of hotel hospitality will come to an end at the corner of Geary and Van Ness and put to rest a piece of San Francisco history.
The Jack Tar Hotel is going to be demolished.
For the first 22 years of its life, that was the name of the Cathedral, and it was as the Jack Tar that the building became notorious to a generation of San Franciscans.
The Jack Tar, opened in April 196o, was once an oasis of opulence and swank, the kind of joint where Don Draper from "Mad Men" might have stayed over for a martini or two.
It was also a gawd-awful piece of modernist architecture ridiculed for its boxy shape and checkerboard exterior.
In a city that loves to hate its buildings, perhaps no other structure burned so deeply into the civic consciousness.
Herb Caen, who jabbed at the pink and turquoise color scheme as often as he used an ellipsis, referred to another modern hotel built off Union Square as "the San Francisco Hilton, the box the Jack Tar Hotel came in."
And as late as 1983, a year after the Jack Tar had changed ownership and been drastically remodeled and repainted a sedate beige, a national wire service story about a fatal fire on the property noted, "A woman's body was found in the mezzanine ballroom of the 400-room, 12-story Cathedral Hill Hotel, formerly the Jack Tar Hotel."

via www.sfgate.com

BBC NEWS | UK | Cannabis row drugs adviser sacked

2009-10-30T15:52:23-07:00

"We can help them. We can give them very good advice, and it would be much more simpler if they took that advice rather than getting tangled up in other sorts of messages which frankly really do confuse the public."

via news.bbc.co.uk

Tiny banner ads attached to flies generate buzz

2009-10-30T05:34:01-07:00

The banners, measuring just a few centimetres across, seem to be causing the beleaguered flies a bit of piloting trouble. The weight keeps the flies at a lower altitude and forces them to rest more often, which is a stroke of genius on the part of the marketing creatives: the flies end up at about eye level, and whenever a fly is forced to land and recover, the banner is clearly visible. What's more, the zig-zagging of the fly naturally attracts the attention because of its rapid movement.

via www.wired.co.uk

Coal group, grassroots firm knew of forged letters before climate vote - TheHill.com

2009-10-29T17:48:23-07:00

Working on behalf of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), the firm Bonner & Associates has acknowledged that it sent about a dozen forged letters to three House Democrats who were seen as critical swing votes.

via thehill.com

Now The White House Is Fighting With Car Website Edmunds.com

2009-10-29T17:11:31-07:00

Now The White House is going after highly-respected and influential car site Edmunds.com.

They're actually using The White House blog to dispute the site's analysis of Cash-For-Clunkers (via Detroit News).
The post is snarkily titled: "Busy Covering Car Sales on Mars, Edmunds.com Gets It Wrong (Again) on Cash for Clunkers"

via www.businessinsider.com

NAACP calls on lawmaker to remove, apologize for 'other dark meat' video / LJWorld.com

2009-10-29T16:24:44-07:00

Topeka — The Kansas chapter of the NAACP on Thursday called on state Rep Bill Otto, R-LeRoy, to remove from YouTube his video where he criticizes President Barack Obama while wearing a hat that says “OPOSSUM the other Dark Meat.”

via www2.ljworld.com

The Associated Press: Wal-Mart starts selling caskets, urns online

2009-10-29T05:26:27-07:00

Prices range from $999 for models like "Dad Remembered" and "Mom Remembered" steel caskets to the mid-level $1,699 "Executive Privilege." All are less than $2,000, except for the Sienna Bronze Casket, which sells for $3,199.

via www.google.com

For those of you who wouldn't be caught dead in Wal-Mart

Calif. lawmaker holds hearing on legalizing pot

2009-10-28T17:12:58-07:00

No tie-dye was on display at a standing-room only hearing held by a California lawmaker on Wednesday in a bid to get his marijuana legalization bill taken seriously. More News Instead, suits and sober discussion were the rule at the state Capitol as Assemblyman Tom Ammiano presided over what his office said was the first legislative consideration of the issue since California banned the drug in 1913. Though both sides of the debate were heard at the hearing, Ammiano has long had his mind made up. At a news conference before the hearing, the San Francisco Democrat and former comedian called the criminalization of marijuana a failed policy that denies the state significant revenue. And despite opposition from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ammiano said he believed the bill put the state in a position to set the national agenda. "I think we have a real shot at it, particularly in the context of it being in some ways bigger than California," Ammiano said. His bill would tax and regulate marijuana in the state much like alcohol. Adults 21 and older could legally possess, grow and sell marijuana. The state would charge a $50-per-ounce fee and a 9 percent tax on retail sales. While at least one poll showed a slight majority of Californians would support a tax-and-regulate scheme for pot, the bill's chances remain hazy. Skeptics have questioned whether the state could truly enforce a tax on marijuana, especially since the paper trail could lead federal prosecutors straight to sellers' doors. Speakers at the hearing touched on most issues common to the marijuana debate, including whether legalization would increase or decrease crime, raise or cost the state money and help or hurt children. No vote was taken at the hearing, described as "informational." The proposal has been referred to the public safety and health committees, which will consider in January whether to send the bill to the full Assembly. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/10/28/state/n144146D70.DTL#ixzz0VHMp47Rq

via www.sfgate.com

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

2009-10-27T16:35:28-07:00

I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more attention. But imagine for a moment that the opt-out public option passes and becomes law (I give it a 65 percent chance at this point). Then what happens? Well, there has to be a debate in every state in which Republicans, where they hold a majority or the governorship, will presumably decide to deny their own voters the option to get a cheaper health insurance plan. When others in other states can get such a plan, will there not be pressure on the GOP to help their own base? Won't Bill O'Reilly's gaffe - when he said what he believed rather than what Roger Ailes wants him to say - be salient? Won't many people - many Republican voters - actually ask: why can't I have what they're having?

via andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

MAKE technology on your time

2009-10-27T12:54:26-07:00

MAKE technology on your time

October 2009: Nell Scovell on David Letterman | vanityfair.com

2009-10-27T10:08:26-07:00

At this moment, there are more females serving on the United States Supreme Court than there are writing for Late Show with David Letterman, The Jay Leno Show, and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien combined. Out of the 50 or so comedy writers working on these programs, exactly zero are women. It would be funny if it weren’t true.

via www.vanityfair.com

LAPD apologizes for flag faux pas | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

2009-10-27T09:41:20-07:00

The opening ceremony included demonstrations by SWAT team members who rappelled down the face of the new building, as well as the display of an enormous American flag draped vertically from the roof.

via latimesblogs.latimes.com

Links for 2009-10-05 [Digg]

2009-10-06T00:00:00-07:00

Christopher Hitchens on Roman Polanski
The law prosecutes those who violate children, and it does so partly on behalf of children who haven't been violated yet. We take an individual instance, whoever the individuals happen to be, and we use it for precedent. And we do not know how lucky we are to be able to do so.
Chris Heuer on Social Media
Chris Heuer on social media, after SMCPBC.

Links for 2009-08-17 [Digg]

2009-08-18T00:00:00-07:00

Yale University Press capitulates to religious extremists. -
The capitulation of Yale University Press to threats that hadn't even been made yet is the latest and perhaps the worst episode in the steady surrender to religious extremism, particularly Muslim religious extremism, that is spreading across our culture.

Links for 2009-06-15 [Digg]

2009-06-16T00:00:00-07:00

You Still Can't Buy a Vibrator in Alabama
Krassner's new book "In Praise of Indecency" attacks the taboos surrounding sex and pornography.

Links for 2009-06-10 [Digg]

2009-06-11T00:00:00-07:00

3 People Shot at U.S. Holocaust Museum
A security guard and two other people were shot today inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in downtown Washington, authorities said.

Links for 2009-06-09 [Digg]

2009-06-10T00:00:00-07:00

The Timothy Leary 13th Annual Death Day Commemoration
Ralph Metzner, John Perry Barlow, and Lisa Rein speak at the 13th Annual Timothy Leary Death Day Commemoration in El Cerrito, CA, May 30, 2009 by Brian Shields for the Timothy Leary Archive

Links for 2009-05-15 [Digg]

2009-05-16T00:00:00-07:00

Taunted by the GOP, Nancy Pelosi throws a punch at the CIA
Nancy Pelosi is tough. With Republicans already attacking her, she's picked a new, even bigger fight with the CIA.

Links for 2009-05-11 [Digg]

2009-05-12T00:00:00-07:00

Knee'd to Pee? Bizarre Bench Reduces Spills, Masculinity
"Japanese men brought to their knees by angry housewives"... this headline brought to you by the makers of the Tenshi no Hizamakura, literally "Angels Knee Pillow", designed to reduce the distance from the fountain to the pool by forcing men to kneel when urinating. I ask you, how could they stoop so low?