Aug 20
Danger!
[...] websites are targeting your children with so-called digital drugs. These are audio files designed to induce drug-like effects.
All your child needs is a music player and headphones.
There are different slang terms for digital drugs. They’re often called "idozers" or "idosers." All rely on the concept of binaural beats.
[...]
Some sites provide binaural beats that have innocuous effects. For example, some claim to help you develop extrasensory powers like telepathy and psychokinesis.
[...]
However, most sites are more sinister. They sell audio files ("doses") that supposedly mimic the effects of alcohol and marijuana.
But it doesn’t end there. You’ll find doses that purportedly mimic the effects of LSD, crack, heroin and other hard drugs. There are also doses of a sexual nature. I even found ones that supposedly simulate heaven and hell.
A transcript of a Chris Morris Brass Eye special? No, it’s a loopy news story from CNN.
Aug 18
John McCain is surprisingly honest and direct about his desire to ban abortion:
John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench.
[...]
However, the reversal of Roe v. Wade represents only one step in the long path toward ending abortion.
The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. [...] These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level.
Straight talk indeed.
Aug 16
I subscribe to Nutrition Action Healthletter . A recent edition carried an article on ethical (and healthy) fish consumption. It included handy lists of fish that can safely be eaten, fish that are good alternatives in a pinch, and fish which you should avoid eating–either because of health concerns, or because they are endangered.
I just scanned, OCRed and edited the lists to put in my BlackBerry, so I thought I’d post them here in case you want to copy them to your own phone’s notepad.
Best choices
Arctic char (farmed)
Barramundi (U.S. farmed)
Catfish (U.S. farmed)
Clams (farmed)
Cod - Pacific (Alaska longline)
Crab - stone or Dungeness
Halibut - Pacific
Atlantic Herring/Sardines
Lobster - spiny (U.S.)
Mussels (farmed)
Oysters (farmed)
Pollock (Alaska wild)
Salmon (Alaska wild)
Scallops - bay (farmed)
Striped bass (wild* or farmed)
Sturgeon (farmed) or its caviar
Tilapia (U.S. farmed)
Trout - rainbow (farmed)
Tuna - albacore (U.S. or British Columbia, troll or pole)
Tuna - skipjack (troll or pole)
Good alternatives
Basa (farmed)
Clams (wild)
Cod - Pacific (trawled)
Crab - blue*
Crab - king (U.S.)
Crab - snow
Flounder (Pacific)
Lobster - American (Maine)
Mahi mahi (U.S.)
Oysters (wild)*
Scallops - sea (Northeast U.S. and Canada)
Shrimp (U.S. farmed or wild)
Sole (Pacific)
Squid
Surimi (imitation crab)
Swai (farmed)
Swordfish (U.S. longline)*
Tilapia (Central America farmed)
Tuna - bigeye (troll or pole)
Tuna - yellowfin (troll or pole)
Tuna - canned white (albacore)* or canned light
Fish to avoid
Chilean seabass*
Cod - Atlantic*
Crab - king (imported)*
Flounder (Atlantic)
Grouper*
Halibut - Atlantic
Lobster - spiny (Caribbean imported)
Mahi mahi (imported)
Monkfish
Orange roughy*
Rockfish (Pacific)
Salmon (farmed, including Atlantic)*
Scallops - sea (mid-Atlantic)
Shark*
Shrimp (imported farmed or wild)
Snapper - red*
Sole (Atlantic)
Sturgeon (imported wild)* or its caviar*
Swordfish (imported)*
Tilapia (China or Taiwan farmed)
Tuna - albacore (Iongline)*
Tuna - bigeye (Iongline)*
Tuna - yellowfin (longline)*
Tuna - bluefin*
* indicates mercury contamination is a concern, and you should limit consumption for health reasons.
And if you’re wondering why someone who doesn’t eat meat would eat fish, evidence is that humans evolved on a diet heavy in fish , which is why Omega-3 seems to be so good for mental health and skin problems.
Or as the cliché puts it: meat is murder, fish is justifiable homicide.
Aug 14
We should legalize drugs, and make poetry illegal. The Mafia would have to make money by running speakeasy underground poetry slams, smuggling Faber & Faber books from Europe, and offering schoolkids a free stanza or two to get them hooked. Kids would all be writing poetry in order to be cool.
Aug 14
What do you put mothballs in, if you don’t plan to use them for a while?
Aug 02
We bought this stuff:
But it’s exactly the same size as ordinary rice.
Aug 02
You know you’ve been playing a lot of Grand Theft Auto when you look at the Long Center and think "Cool, I bet if I get up on the roof there’s a weapon cache there."
Jul 29
On Sunday, I was sitting in the living room when one of our female squirrels came to the back door and tapped on the glass to ask for food.
Entirely too cute, so by way of balance here’s a cockroach story:
This morning rothko found a cockroach in her shoulder bag. So of course, she immediately said "Eww! Roach!" and tipped it out onto the living room floor, at which point it retreated to under the sofa. I decided I might be able to get it, but I’d only have a single chance, so I fetched the Dyson. Sure enough, when I moved the sofa it scuttled towards the exercise machine, but the vacuum did the job. My intention had been to release the insect outside, but it turns out that a 1000km/h cyclone leads to incipient cockroach moribundity.
At this time of year they mostly creep in under the front door in search of water. Three this year, which seems to be about the usual number.
Update: I spoke too soon. This evening I noticed Chester staring intently at something in the bottom of his cage…
Jul 28
I’ve finally done some online gaming a couple of times, playing GTA IV with a couple of people.
I also have The Orange Box. I bought it mostly for Portal, but I’m amenable to the idea of Team Fortress 2.
At some point I need to find out whether my USB headset works with the PS3.
Jul 27
Would you like to see some video of Chester enjoying his disco ball?
