Archive for July, 2008
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[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 16, 2008 by admin in Politics
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008Feeling a little “voter remorse” because of Barack Obama’s recent FISA stance? Create your own Obama “Change” poster.
Remember back in the ’04 elections, when those pesky liberals turned the create-your-own-poster gizmo on the Bush-Cheney web site against itself? Well, in the interest of equal time, have at it, all you No-We-Can’ters. Just type your own phrase in the little box below Obama’s picture, and voila, your own campaign poster. This site doesn’t appear to belong to the official Obama campaign, so maybe it’ll be around for a while. Have yourself some fun, whoever your candidate may be.
Our Time Is Up
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 15, 2008 by admin in Popular Media
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008What would therapy be like if the therapist wan’t counting on your recurring billing?
This award-winning short from 2005 really made me think about using my time more honestly today. The synopsis: When therapist Dr. Leonard Stern finds out he has six weeks to live, he adopts a fresh method of treatment: brutal honesty. For example – Client: “I’m just glad I found an effective weight loss technique…” Therapist: “You mean vomiting?”
View full-size video on YouTube here.
FISA: A Big Barack Obummer
[ 4 Comments ]Posted on July 14, 2008 by admin in Politics
Monday, July 14th, 2008How much deceipt will Democratic voters accept in the name of winning?
The passage of the FISA bill in congress last week reminded me of how glad I am that I’m usually able to maintain my ignorant dreams of utopia. This ability comes in handy at times like these, when a politician I thought I really admired so whole-heartedly caves in and signs off on what I consider to be one of the most un-American pieces of legislation to slither through the gutter that is the U.S. Congress. Hey, B.O.! You really let us down on this one! It was only October last year that Obama’s spokesperson Bill Burton said “To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies” . October Surprise, indeed. If you want to learn more about the FISA bill, Glenn Greenwald had an informative piece on Salon, and here’s the Wikipedia entry. If you want to take action, you can support the ACLU, which has filed a lawsuit questioning the bill’s constitutionality, or support the EFF, with their Continue the Fight Against Warrantless Wiretapping campaign.
Vive La Revolucion!
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 14, 2008 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, July 14th, 2008Either celebrate the french revolution, or shut up and eat your fries.
If we stormed a prison in America today, we’d only be freeing a bunch of corrupt politicians. That is, if our justice system worked. Hats off to the French in celebration of the republic. We could use a little revolution ourselves about now. And for all you France-bashers out there: shut up and eat your fries. All 24 pounds of them. Any country that has Carla Bruni as First Lady is doing things better than we are.
Get In Touch With Your Inner Deity
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 12, 2008 by admin in Popular Media, Technology
Saturday, July 12th, 2008Space simulation software that lets you play God. At least on your Windows computer.
Man. Why didn’t they have stuff like this when I was a kid? Universe Sandbox is a space simulator that gives you the power to “control gravity, time and everything in it”…at least on your Windows-based computer. Although the developer says you can “smash planets together, introduce rogue stars, and build new worlds from spinning discs of debris”, some of the planetary impacts were a little disappointing. Moons might just sort of stick to the planet they hit. Hardly a significant drawback; the available simulations and the ways in which you can control them are amazing. One of my favorites right away was under “Fun Things To Do > Speed of Light”. Launch a light pulse from Earth and watch the circle slowly (on the grand scale) spread through the solar system. Knowing intellectually that light takes 8 minutes to reach us from the sun versus watching it happen was quite mind-expanding. This would be a great tool in the classroom and a blast for a science-minded kid. Take note though: strangely, the version you download is a 60 minute trial version. Kind of weird, but on the bright side, the purchase price is set by you if you decide to buy. Pretty cool.