hippoblog

Judgmental

Here's an email that's being re-circulated:

Question 1:

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the answer for this one.

Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A -

Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B -

He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C -

He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.

Which of these candidates would be your choice? Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for the answer.

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Candidate B is Winston Churchill.

Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.

And, by the way, the answer to the abortion question: If you said yes, you just killed Beethoven.

Pretty interesting isn't it? Makes a person think before judging someone.

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: Amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.

Can you imagine working for a company that has a little more than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

29 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet?

It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

* Ray, 10/17/2003 03:03:05 PM

Everything old is new again. Or even older.

EGM asks kids to play classic arcade games and review them. Funny and sad how old we're gettin'. Some excerpts:

Pong
Niko: Hey--Pong. My parents played this game.

Brian: It takes this whole console just to do Pong?

Kirk: What is this? [Picks up and twists the paddle controller] Am I controlling the volume?

John: I'm just going to do this [twists the paddle controller as rapidly as possible].

Tetris
Tim: Which button do I press to make the blocks explode?

EGM: Sorry, they don't explode.

Becky: This is boring. Maybe if it had characters and stuff and different levels, it would be OK. If things blew up or something or--

Sheldon: If there were bombs.

Becky: Yeah, or special bricks. Like, if a yellow brick touched a red brick it would blow up and you'd have to start over.

John: Why haven't I won yet? I've paired up so many of the same color.

EGM: Don't worry about colors.

John: I just lined up six of the same color. Why didn't they blow up?

EGM: Nothing blows up.

E.T.
Tim: [Points to lava lamp on TV stand] That thing's more interesting.

John: Yeah, let's watch the lamp. It's more fun and less predictable.

Space Invaders
Kirk: And you can't pick up an AK-47 and go kill--hey, those aliens on the top row, you use them in EGM for stuff.

EGM: Yeah, we use them to end our articles. They do kinda look like they're from Space Invaders, don't they?

Tim: They're going to sue you.

Kirk: I'm sure everyone who made this game is dead by now.

* Ray, 10/17/2003 02:04:21 PM

Sox win, according to NY Post

It's not exactly "Dewey Defeats Truman," but the New York Post made a colossal error today on its editorial page. The paper somehow printed an editorial bemoaning last night's Yankees loss to the Boston Red Sox, noting that the "Curse of the Bambino boomeranged this year" and that the Bronx Bombers "couldn't get the job done at home." The editorial concluded, "Wait'll next year!" Obviously, the Post piece was drafted while the Yanks were trailing the Sox, but was--unbelievably--not yanked when the club tied the game in the eighth inning and won it on Aaron Boone's walkoff home run in the 11th.

The Smoking Gun: Archive

* Ray, 10/17/2003 01:22:54 PM

Made in Taiwan

Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building.

* Ray, 10/17/2003 01:04:47 PM

It's like 30-something, for kids

Sequel to Sixteen Candles in the works: 32 Candles.

* Ray, 10/16/2003 06:13:27 PM

IA

Internet abbreviations

* Ray, 10/15/2003 01:44:42 PM

Mystery from The Memory Hole

The Memory Hole >Associated Press Deletes Crucial Portion of Witness Statement

The first version of the article, "Deadly Bomb Explodes Near Baghdad Hotel," was filed on 12 Oct 2003 at 8:01 AM. It contained the following paragraphs:

Sabah Ghulam, 37, was in a car right behind the one that exploded.

"I was in my car and the car in front of us, a 1990 Toyota Corolla, suddenly turned into the hotel. I saw the driver. He was not an Iraqi, he had a lighter complexion. He did not have a beard and was wearing a hat. We were protected by the wall. A policeman shot at him four times, and then there was the explosion." He said the windows in his car were shattered."

Just seventeen minutes later, the AP released another version of the story onto the newswire. Now titled "Deadly Car Bomb Rocks Central Baghdad," this 8:18 AM version had some new details--and a gutted witness statement.

The AP used the ellipsis (...) to delete Ghulam's description of the driver as a light-skinned non-Iraqi.

* Ray, 10/15/2003 01:36:38 PM

Lawn Pants

Halloween lawn ornament, Central Square.

* Ray, 10/15/2003 09:37:35 AM

Cold Room

The xray/lab room at Mt Auburn Hospital. Really kinda terrifying, with that lead Biohazard box in the middle of the room, a water cooler with no water, flourescent vibration, and 6-foot partitions in an 8-foot room. But I wonder, what kind of atmosphere builds trust in a place that's about to zap you with xrays and draw your blood? Should it be cold and scientific, like this? Or warm and inviting, as if mutagenic xrays and needles were a regular part of life?

* Ray, 10/15/2003 09:36:40 AM

1950/2000 Theater of Italian Creativity

Interesting-looking exhibit, free, 545 West 22nd St, Oct 10-26.

* Ray, 10/14/2003 11:20:33 AM

The Fascist in print

NY Times reviews Eisenman's massive book on Terragni.

* Ray, 10/14/2003 11:18:03 AM

From Bauhaus to Just Shut Up Already

Tom Wolfe expounds on 2 Columbus Circle in two NYT op-ed's. Part 2 here.

* Ray, 10/14/2003 11:04:08 AM

Quarters

ebay has a $2mil apartment done up like the Enterprise. But better still, it's going to be featured in Trekkies 2. TREKKIES 2. Awesome.

* Ray, 10/13/2003 11:46:03 PM

Now fear water

My current impression is that they're trying to eliminate the EPA by making it impossible for anyone who gives a crap to work there. The latest scary water stuff:

The discovery of rocket fuel pollution in groundwater nationwide has raised new questions about federal safety standards.
Manufacturers use perchlorate -- a fast moving, long-lasting chemical fuel for rockets, missiles, fireworks and road flares -- in 39 states.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 25 states have detected it (PDF) in their groundwater.
...
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, set off a furor earlier this year with a study that found significant perchlorate contamination of winter lettuce grown in California.

The state Department of Health Services disputed this, stating on its website (PDF) that the findings were not "credible and reliable" and that "it is premature to draw any conclusions."

Both the California Department of Health Services and the federal EPA confirm that perchlorate has severe health effects, disrupting the thyroid gland and potentially causing tumors, affecting metabolism and fetal development, and causing behavioral changes and mental retardation in children.
...
The EPA has been studying perchlorate as a potential hazard since 1997, and has required all large public water systems to monitor for the chemical.

In 2002, the agency proposed a strict standard of one part perchlorate per billion parts of water -- compared to California's proposed standard of between two and six parts per billion, and the Pentagon's hopes for a permissable level of as much as 200 parts per billion.

* Ray, 10/13/2003 05:52:42 PM

You may now kiss the geek

For everyone who thinks they have a wedding story, make what you will of this Jedi couple. I wonder, do girl geeks think boy geeks are as hot as boy geeks think girl geeks are?

* Ray, 10/13/2003 04:40:01 PM

Sign here if you're a good soldier

Identical letters signed by different soldiers describing their accomplishments in Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the United States.

* Ray, 10/13/2003 04:36:38 PM

Diebold

This story still isn't getting enough attention. Every week something else comes out about Diebold's voting machines. In today's Wired News

a former worker in Diebold's Georgia warehouse says the company installed patches on its machines before the state's 2002 gubernatorial election that were never certified by independent testing authorities or cleared with Georgia election officials.

Last week Wired reported on the machines' security flaws.

The [Alameda County] training session revealed the following:
Officials leave voting machines at polling stations days before the election. The machines contain memory cards with ballots already loaded on them. This means before the election, someone could alter the ballot file in such a way that voters would cast votes for the wrong candidate without knowing it.
The memory card rests behind a locked door on the side of the voting machine. But supervisors receive a key to the compartment the weekend before the election. The same key fits every machine at a polling station.
Poll supervisors are selected with no background checks and are given keys to buildings where they can access the machines several days before the election.
The machines, worth around $3,000 each, are locked on a trolley at polling stations with only a bicycle lock. The combination, which anyone could crack in a couple of tries, is the same for every polling station in the county and is given to poll supervisors during their training.
Although the machines have two blue tamper-resistant ties threaded through holes in their carrying cases, the ties can easily be purchased on the Internet. Supervisors open at least one case the night before the election to charge the machine inside, which means the case remains unsealed overnight.

The Seattle Times at least has a good chunk of it. Good background.

* Ray, 10/13/2003 11:40:38 AM

Ecoterror: These people are mahogany fundamentalists

The Federal government prosecutes Greenpeace itself. Their view: "The heart of Greenpeace's mission," they wrote, "is the violation of the law."

From Greenpeace: "If we were to lose this trial," Passacantando said, "it would have chilling effect on Greenpeace and on other groups that exercise their First Amendment right aggressively. The federal government is using 9/11 to come down harder on an action like this, which was a good and dignified and peaceful action."

* Ray, 10/13/2003 11:30:18 AM

The Matrix Regurgitated

Matrix stands for Multistate Anti-Terrorism Information Exchange and was created to track terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Florida has used the database for more than a year.

First of all, I wish people had the sense to stop using the word "matrix." Secondly, people should also have the sense to not release all the information the state has on you.

Georgia officials plan to contribute confidential driver's license and auto tag information from millions of Georgians into a crime-fighting database, even as five other states have backed away because of concerns about cost and personal privacy.

The detail in the data is astounding: Past addresses and telephone numbers. Neighbors' addresses and telephone numbers. The make, model and color of registered cars. Business associates. Speeding tickets. Arrests. Marriages and divorces. Names and addresses of family members. Driver's license photos. Social Security numbers and birth dates. Credit information. And all a click away.

Thirdly, at a time when states are missing their budgets in a nontrivial way, why pay into this project?

Georgia and Florida are among 13 states that agreed in June to share data as part of a pilot project to expand Matrix. The federal departments of Justice and Homeland Security are helping with a $12 million grant.

Three states -- Kentucky, Oregon and South Carolina -- have dropped out of the program, citing cost concerns. Two other states, Texas and California, showed early interest in the project but didn't sign the June agreement.

Texas opted out of Matrix, in part, because the state would have to pay $1.7 million a year to gain access to the database once the pilot project ends, said Marshall Caskey, chief of criminal law enforcement for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Georgia likely would face similar costs.

Fourthly, fifthly, sixthly, this could go on and on...

* Ray, 10/13/2003 11:17:46 AM

Suing Harvard

Remember our GSD librarian, Desiree Goodwin? She's suing Harvard for discrimination. I'm still not clear on whether she's saying it's because she dressed sexy or because she's black. The Post's auto-advertisement script shows one ad for "Discrimination Lawyers" and two for "White Blouses" so I guess it's a dress sexy thing.

Harvard has motioned to dismiss the complaint. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination have both dismissed the case.

Where does one get the money to sue Harvard?

* Ray, 10/13/2003 11:08:19 AM

Scandinavia has the best sports

Canadian couple wins wife carrying event. Sunday River hosts race involving men carrying women through mud and other obstacles. Winner gets weight of woman in beer and $650. Extra fun tidbit: this year's winners not married and too young to drink. They are now on their way to the World Championship Wife Carrying Contest in Finland.

Finland also hosts the Air Guitar World Championships. This year's winner: David "C-Diddy" Jung, America's entry. I hung out with Dave at Dave Yoon's wedding last year. Nice guy. Had no idea he was headed to international stardom. (He wasn't wearing a Hello Kitty breastplate at the time.) Links to the video on site.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 11:48:35 PM

What media's for

There's a Frontline airing now called "Truth, War and Consequences." It covers the lead up to and current occupation of Iraq. Frontline hasn't been all that hard-hitting this past year, and there's been talk of PBS playing it safe in order to maintain funding. But this one had some of the fire Frontline's famous for. They cover issues that have been largely absent from the media so far: Chalabi's role, the State Department's real, practical plans for reconstruction (discarded by the DoD), warning against the definite possibility of widespread looting (ignored), and footage of the US Army in action.

The piece opens with a tank crushing a car because its occupants were found looting several pieces of wood. "If you loot, we crush your car. US Army Hoo-ah." Then the tank rolls back and forth over the car with the boys hooting the whole time. The driver tells Frontline he's a taxi driver, and that was his car.

Later there's a scene where Task Force 20, the group assigned to find Saddam Hussein, blockades a few blocks of Baghdad to conduct one of its searches. Two confused drivers find themselves in the wrong street and get shot. Women and children killed, you've heard it all before. Or have you?

Look for Task Force 20. I have a feeling in a few years there are going to be some sorrowful ex-soldiers writing lots about what's going on.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 11:20:03 PM

Fake Celebrity

Wired has an article on The Fake Detective, a retired guy whose hobby is to point out doctored photographs of celebrities, specifically celebrities with visible nipples. He documents not only the original celebrity photo but also the nude used to splice together the fake. Very entertaining, considering the people who make the photos generally don't care about passing them off for real. The fake-detective.com site has a big warning to not link to his page, I suppose to keep his pages from becoming a major download target. Now that it's in Wired we'll see how successful he is. There are over 300 nude celebrities on there. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Aniston and Jennifer Love Hewitt appear a lot, apparently because their faces are symmetrical, which allows for mirroring when the shadows don't align correctly. Add this to the research that shows symmetry as a factor of perceived beauty. Signals good genes and works well in Photoshop.

The business of making fakes picks up on a theme in the issue about open source. It's not spelled out precisely, but it's been said before, that all these coders, hackers and Photoshoppers who work through the night work for nothing other than recognition. That is, if you can't get the executive title, the mansion and the Ferrari, then maybe you can get something else, maybe something bigger. Real, deserved respect, or as our friend David Yoon says, Respeckt. Church.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 11:15:00 PM

Esquire still proud of itself

70th anniversary: The Greatest Stories Ever Told. Norman Mailer et al.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 05:19:18 PM

Your money or your life

Smoking Calculator in case you need more encouragement to stop smoking.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 05:13:52 PM

Horse vs. Ape

Jeff Smith, 43-year-old pastor of Young Memorial Baptist Church, is riding horseback for 400 miles to promote creationism. "What they need to do is teach the scientific facts. If they do that, evolution will fall by the wayside." Yes, damn that evolution. Evolving is bad.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 05:12:04 PM

We're sorry, but it's your fault, say Yanks, Sox

Two Yankees may be charged with assault following yesterday's bullpen brawl. Both teams still pointing fingers menacingly.

* Ray, 10/12/2003 05:08:24 PM

Big Mac

Virginia Tech links 1,100 Apple G5 towers together and makes the world's most powerful homebuilt system. 17.6 trillion floating point operations per second, 176 terabyte storage. "Running 1,100 computers in a 3,000-square-foot area sends the air temperature well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat is so intense that ordinary air conditioning units would have resulted in 60-mph winds. Specialised heat exchange cooling units were built that pipe chilled water into the facility."

* Ray, 10/12/2003 04:53:54 PM

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