Cute Baby Lemur

I'm downright chipper today. I have a weekend of festive excesses planned that will whisk me away from work early. To appease my coworkers I've brought in mince pies and it worked! Hooray for the magic of spiced fruit.

Have a baby lemur:

From Last Refuge

Jews for Jesus not feeling very forgiving

via CNet

A blogger who is critical of some of Jews for Jesus' has prompted a lawsuit against Google. JFJ is a group that attempts to convince Jewish people that 'exist to make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide.' They have a series of essays, FAQs and articles designed to convince people that Jesus was the messiah (instead of a very naugty boy) and bring Jewish people over to Christianity.

The Jews for Jesus blog's mission statement is a: 'a forum for those interested in exchanging both the positive and the negative aspects of the missions methodology, the state of relationship between the organization (or the church, etc) and the Jewish community at large, and the inner workings of the organization as compared to other missions/ministries/corporations in the United States and throughout the world.'

That doesn't sound overly threatening, especially considering the majority of posts on the JFJ Blogspot have to do with the new lawsuit. The contention by the JFJ organization is that they should have control over the subdomain because it contains their trademark. That's right, no one else can have an organization called 'Jews for Jesus.' I think that might actually be a good thing.

And these people do need to be criticized. In the comments section of the first post the author gets such insightful gems such as the following:

'Too bad you didn't spend more time on your mission, now Google is getting sued on account of you! Best wishes and ~Peace~' by Leigh Ann Little

I'm sorry Leigh Anne but you don't get to eradicate the malice and misplaced blame with a little bit of 'Best Wishes.'

Good luck Whistle Blower. I hope you win.

Babes of Christmas part 2

There seem to be some gentlemen who are checking my blog for lovely ladies of Christmas. I hate to let you down guys but I was not a babe of Christmas and have, out of embarassment, taken the link down. Suffice to say I didn't come close to most of them. What I will provide is a link to the finalists:


The finalists are here

Including my friend Cryx

Have fun.

Tags: Babes of Christmas

200th post! Women getting gadgets for Christmas

I can't even begin to describe how much the news that men are buying their women gift buddies gadgets for Christmas. Even better, not a single gadget on the list traditionally comes in a pastel shade.

The shop assistant is also addressing the issue of men being addressed at the techie counter instead of women. Rather unbelievably, this does happen and it happens to me. My husband, a hairdresser, has been bombarded by details about mega pixel requirements and flash card capacity. Needless to say he just kind of gets this glassy eyed look and doesn't have a clue about what the guy is talking about. Yet, even when I speak up, the salesman usually still addresses him. I refuse to shop at places like PC World and Curry's because of this kind of behavior. Instead, I purchase most of what I want online. Less people, less opportunity for attitude.

According to the article I'm not the only one:

"I buy online because I find going into electronic stores so annoying," says Ms Heffernan, who says she would like an iPod pre-loaded with her music collection this Christmas.

Women tempted by gadget gifts

Tags:

• women
• technology
• gadgets
• Christmas

Teenager's confession linked to Blurty blog

I wish people would stop thinking that what they do on the Internet is at all anonymous. I could get into the various facets of IPs, visitor tracking, WHOIS, ARIN and the rest of that malarkey but it's really not worth it. Suffice to say that speaking on the Internet is very similar to shouting things on the train. People might not recognize you immediately but after you call attention to yourself, they will forever after.

This teenager confessed to causing a car accident and then retracted it, all on his blog. I supposed it's a good thing really. At least he was charged appropriately.

Tags:

• blogs
• criminals
• florida
• confessions
• blurty

Seagate buys Maxtor? Ugghhhhhhhhh

Oh dear. I'm not sure how I feel about Seagate buying Maxtor (via Techzap.) Purely anecdotal ranting? I have about 56 Seagate harddisks and about 15 Maxtor Diamonds. Out of the 56 Seagate disks I've lost 2 and have replaced them with Seagates or Hitachis. (Whatever is close to the spec and in stock.) The 15 Maxtors? They are younger than the Seagates by 6 months but out of the 15 I've lost 6. All of them with bad blocks. Don't get me wrong, the Maxtor diagnostic program is fantastic at fixing what it can but when these things die, they fucking die. The thing that really makes me hate Maxtors is the 1 year warranty as well. Not only do the shoddy things die after 18 months but you can't return them to Maxtor... you have to purchase new. In comparison, on our Seagate disks we had a 3 year. 3 years! It's as if Maxtor wasn't comfortable with their product or knew that they'd been naughty.

So, tentatively, I'd say the purchase is a good thing. Perhaps all the crappy Maxtor disks on the market will improve. Sadly my cynicism barely lets me believe that and I think I'll probably just go Western Digital from now on.

Tags:

• computers
• hard*drives

Smith and Wesson Anniversary Gun

According to the fine folks at Smith and Wesson these particular guns would be ideal for my home security needs. I like how they assume that I'm in the US and old enough to purchase one. I must admit they have made a quality effort to keep their pistols pretty.

And if you don't know what to get the gun weilding maniac in your family for Christmas, then why not consider the Walther PPK? It turned 75 this year and was apparently what made James Bond famous.

Tags:

• guns
• smith*and*wesson

Top 10 sought after out of print books

Bookfinder.com has a list of the top 10 sought after out of print books. Don't any of these people use Amazon?

1) Sex (1992) by Madonna; The pop icon's first book, featuring erotic
photos and more

2) Sisters(1981) by Lynne Cheney; Frontier lesbian romance in 19th
century Wyoming

3) The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel (1981) by Felicitas D. Goodman; An
account of the case that inspired the 2005 film The Exorcism of Emily
Rose

4) Where Troy Once Stood (1991) by Iman Wilkens; Posits that the Trojan
War took place in England, and that The Iliad and The Odyssey are based
on oral histories of a major war between Celtic peoples circa 1160 BCE

5) The Principles of Knitting (1988) by June Hemmons Hiatt; Methods and
techniques of hand knitting, the ultimate resource

6) General Printing (1963) by Glen Cleeton; Everything you ever wanted to
know about letterpress printing, but were afraid to ask

7) New Soldier(1971) edited by John Kerry; Vietnam Veterans Against
the War's account of a mismanaged war

8) The Lion's Paw (1946) by Robb White; An enduring children's adventure
story

9) Dear and Glorious Physician (1959) by Taylor Caldwell; A novel based
on the life of Saint Luke, patron saint of painters, physicians, and
healers

10) The Book of Counted Sorrows (2003) by Dean Koontz; The suspense
novelist brings to life the fictional book of poetry he's been referring
to in all his novels

The only one I couldn't find on Amazon was the Book of Counted Sorrows by Dean Koontz. On Bookfinder I located it for... get this.... over over 900 GBP. And that was the best price.

I know what to keep an eye out for!

Baby Animals - Otter

I upgraded Firefox yesterday and promptly broke the script that does the technorati tagging thing. Ugh! I also can't seem to figure out how to fix it.

To cheer me up I located a picture of a baby otter:



Say AHHHHHH.

Tags:

• cute*animals
• baby*otters

Confessions of a Camarilla Member - White Wolf Watch

I am a card carrying member of the UK Camarilla. I joined because it seemed like a good way to make new friends and vent a little bit. I like roleplaying, I like adult make believe and more importantly: I enjoy violence-less combat.

Over the last 3 out of 10 years I've watched the Cam go from a large gaming group where people might have hated each other but it was fun to a society where no one cares. The apathy has been fuelled (dowsed?) by a combination of WW take over, end of chronicle and subsequent vast ineptitude. We're now so wrapped up in red tape that the STs can't move, the players can't move and the Coordinator chain is at a loss to how to explain it all to to new folks.

Their list of crimes?

1. Not providing us with a coherent universe before they ended the Masquerade one - It was a sort of cart before the horse situation. We played off Table Top rules for the first 8 months of the new game. Then the Mind's Eye Theatre addendums were added and changed quite a lot. Books are contradicting other books and there is absolutely no tension to inspire good games.

2. The Camarilla database is shit - At the moment no one can logon. Yet this is where our characters and prestige information is stored. And, even better, it's supposed to be on for the end of the year or we get desanctioned. But I can't get on it at all.

3. The absolutely ridiculous fiasco of licensing from a few months ago - Basically, WW decided that all players should have to pony up if they were taking money for small games, regardless of profits or where the money went.

4. 1337 h4x0rz have stolen our information - From this CNet article

I can't believe they've turned something so fun, that had some kind of creative life, into such a cesspool of incompetence. The only amateur dramatics happening at the moment are coming from White Wolf themselves.

Tags:

• WhiteWolf
• Camarilla
• gaming
• roleplaying
• hackers
• security
• stupid

Ex pats and Turkish Delight

Slate has an article bemoaning Turkish Delight. I, for one, really like it. It doesn't taste of roses but more violets. It's a taste that, like Marmite, is either hit or miss. For me it's unique because it tastes a bit like what I would imagine a flower to and I have it covered in Dairy Milk.

Long live Turkish!

(via PCJM

del.icio.us Tags: Narnia Turkish*Delight Candy Britian England ExPat

Tags: Narnia , Turkish Delight , Candy , Britian , Expat , England , Food

NatWest takes clocks out of banks

Oh Jesus. A few months ago I wrestled with NatWest in an effort to get about 120 pounds back that they'd charged me for after I cancelled their 'Advantage Gold' account. In the end I made off with a pitiful 56 pounds since they refused to refund the preceeding 6 months. Apparently I should have 'caught the mistake' by then by checking my bank statement. A lesson in always triple checking your documentation surely.

So when I check the Consumerist and discover that this very same bank is banning clocks in the branches to keep people ignorant of how long they've been waiting, I'm not surprised.

Pitiful, isn't it?

del.icio.us Tags: natwest banks bad*customer*service

Tags: natwest , banks , natwest sucks , bad customer service

Ford says they will advertise in gay oriented publications

On Tuesday evening I had a chat with a friend I used to work with. He is gay and has a long term partner that he's settled in with rather nicely. Recently civil partnerships for homosexual couples were approved in the UK. Are they taking advantage? Damn right. And they'll have a registry at John Lewis.

After I stopped squealing in delight for the two of them at Mr. Me the thought came loud and strong: 'This is strange.' As a child, could I have imagined that my gay friends would be allowed to marry just like my husband and I? Probably not. I do think it's wonderful for a number of reasons. For one, promiscuity in the gay scene is absolutely rife. In fact, unlike heterosexual standards, it's considered odd if you and your partner don't participate in sex parties. I'm not going to speculate as to why that is. Seeing as I'm not a gay man, I don't have first hand experience. What I am saying is civil partnerships will help to make gay long term relationships more acceptable and in turn, more mainstream.

It doesn't just appear that it's the UK who is venturing a bit towards tolerance. Forbes has published an article describing how Ford has given the finger to the AFA and others like it. Despite a previously reported decision to the contrary they will now continue to advertise in publications meant for the gay community. Ford says they value "all people--regardless of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and cultural or physical differences." Especially if, as the writer for Forbes points out, they need to buy a car.

del.icio.us Tags: media advertising gay*rights

Tags: media , advertising , Forbes , Ford , gay rights

Video games and violence?

(via ghacks)

An essay on the PBS site details the myths of video game violence. The writer isn't a gamer, or at least not from introduction, he's an MIT professor named Henry Jenkins who specializes in media issues. In his essay he contends that despite the daily torrent of reports to the contrary, playing video games does not necessary have a link with violence. He goes even further to say that media alarmisim over violence in video games is actually doubly harmful because 'It has led adult authorities to be more suspicious and hostile to many kids who already feel cut off from the system.' So what, you're mean to the kids that already have problems and they get meaner? Who knew?

What I'm most interested in his is refutation of a point regarding video games as being 'valid forms of self expression.' Roger Ebert created a shit storm in the gaming world when he said that video games would always be inferior to novels or a great film as forms of expression. In a coherent response many came out to argue that the whole merit of gaming is due to it not being a static art form such as novels or films and are actually limited when derived from such. Gaming is interactive and can subsequently do things that reading a book can't. I'd agree, I don't think 'gaming as art' can use a definition threshold based on it's fixedness. If you apply that standard to games to define them as an art then they will lose every time.

The gamer and developers as an artists and the game as an art form are difficult concepts to digest. It's an industry, surely. It's a group of professions as well. But the controversial end product does venture into realms of a work of art and beyond something that's simply consumable. Take an opera as my example of legitimate art form, it's meant to engage, sometimes consider social issues and hopefully be pleasurable. Operatic theatre is also a source of several professions; lighting, costume design, make-up, music, acting and sets. The final product is based off its merit to move and how well people respond or how good it is. Similarly gaming is a conglomeration of professions with an end product that's meant to what, engage, comment and please the consumer? Taken apart, opera and gaming both look like art forms and none too dissimilar at that.

I think the game industry overall gets its credibility smacked by assumptions based off the titles that draw the most publicity. GTA, for example, is the game industry's Terminator. Doom is the uh, Doom. They are definitely violent, mindless, silly, consuming and bloody or exactly what the media says they are. But all forms of expression or art have aspects that focus one one thing intently. What you don't see with books (or a legitimate form of expression) is people responding to the readers of Tracy Quan novels by saying all women are becoming obsessed with becoming expensive hookers. Or when a young lady is cuffed for working that it was because of the book she ended up in prostitution. No, Quan's books are part of a genre that is a separate and distinct type from what say Salman Rushdie writes. And everyone knows that books don't necessarily make you do things right? Games also have distinct categories; they can be violent, psychological, strategy, simulation, puzzle.... The problem is most people don't bother make the distinction between the Terminators and the Walk the Line.

The games industry isn't, in my opinion, ready to create as sophisticated products as the new-ish film industry. But the potential to excel definitely is there. Many talented artists, photographers, developers, writers and musicians are all a part of gaming. These are people who have mastered their talent in more mainstream arenas, such as Kurt Harman of the band Information Society who has worked on the score for an incredible amount of video game titles. It's worth remembering that at one point neither films or photography were considered art and the people who created them were definitely not seen as artists.

del.icio.us Tags: games gaming essays writing

Tags: games , gaming , essays , writing , violence and games , art , essays

Jon Stewart wishes Bill O'Rielly a Merry Christmas

Jon Stewart is evil and hates Christmas.

I'll be at Osama's too!

del.icio.us Tags: Jon*Stewart Comedy*Central humor politics funny Daily*Show

Tags: Jon Stewart , Comedy Central , humor , politics , funny , Daily Show

Lighter Evenings

I imagine the House of Lords as a bunch of old drunks who slur around their corridors and say things like 'we can't let the plebs think we're not on their side. They may stop subsidizing my cornish game hen farm!' I believe many others hold this picture, with varying degrees of pleasure. But it's usually these guys who don't believe in detaining people without charge instead of the people's representatives. The reality is many times the Lords appear to be less drunken charlatans and more suited to government than many of the hand puppets in elected parliament.

This stark situation, in my opinion, is due to the House of Lords being made up of say 50%* people who read the Financial Times instead of the majority of the British public who glance at The Sun. The Lords, owing to a number of financial and social factors have the good sense to realize tossing people into the gulag without a reason could possibly be a waste of public funds. They realize wasting money is a bad thing. It leaves less for things like healthcare and the military. The elected Labour government, however, tend to richly bleed all over the carpets when it comes to having a few pennies in their pockets. What's a little more to fight the English spat over terror? Who cares if it takes the next 10 years of tax payers money to lock up the whole of Huddersfield? It will make the barely literate constituents feel so much better and there are always gold reserves if things get desperate.

Overall I approve of many of the Lords' decisions. But there are always exceptions, such as their insistence that fox hunting is the only possible way the farmers of England can have their chickens protected. According to them, the most efficient way to be rid of vermin is to dress up in riding gear, take out the hounds and spend a day drinking brandy whilst the dogs sniff around in the bushes. It's not just an excuse for a traditional aristocratic party, it's pest control! So there is just a little bit of madness in the House of Lords to be enjoyed.

Most of the Lords' insanity is contained in small and easy to overlook bites. Most recently it's coming from Lord Tanlaw who has proposed a bill to advance time by one hour throughout the year for an experimental period. It would mean that we would set the clocks two hours back as opposed to one and set them ahead accordingly in Spring. The justification for the bill isn't included but can be assumed to draw from a certain amount of yearly griping from the Brits over BST. Or possibly and more likely meant please his fellow members of the British Horological Institute. All of the winding and rewinding necessary to accomodate forgetfulness and the extra slight turn of the dial might mean a bit more money for them. As said above, Lords like money.

I'm not entirely sure what positive difference this would make. I may be able to wake up after dawn all the way into mid December but the nights will also be colder and deeper. Instead of it just being cold when I walk to the tram it would be getting colder and my bits would be even more freezing during my frequent waits. On the other side during the summer it might be nice to go to bed at 11:00 pm when it's actually dark. I couldn't find any actual debate from the Lords about the bill at the time of making this discovery but eagerly anticipate what they may have to say.

Lord Tanlaw, as a bit of background, has a stellar record of finding clear and present threats to English society:

Protecting the Earth from giant asteroid collisions: "Does the government not have an obligation to future generations to look beyond the event horizon of the next general election and to prepare to mitigate future risks from near space?"

British space exploration: "I shall go right back in time. As I said, I am quite out of depth on the economics of the debate. But, I dream that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren might be given an opportunity, such as the issuing of letters patent as happened in the old days, to explore the regions of space by private voyagers and private merchant venturers."

del.icio.us Tags: house*of*lords British*government England bills law government

How to not blow up during the holidays

Despite the massive, fun as an umbrella on a windy day success that was Operation Lose Double Chin I've managed to stack on 5 pounds since I went back to Portland for Thanksgiving. I did gorge and you know what? I loved it. I liked drinking highly alcoholic drinks at Embers, I enjoyed sampling Pumpkin beer because itwasthere. I liked imbibing everything that made me shudder. With glee I padded out my belly with flavors that had to be tasted and mashed vegetables that had to be smothered in gravy.

Thansgiving Holiday is bliss.

But now I've succeeded at my anticipated mother induced stratospheric rise to obsesity once more and will have to dive back into my regime of salads and fruit. I don't really want to have to thwart off another 17500 calories with dieting over the next month. As much as packing them on was fun the end result removal is not a nice experience. So how do I keep it off? And, more importantly, how do I assure that I can fit into my leather pants for the new year?

Peter Davidson has the answer (via Lifehacker)