School bans singing of Happy Birthday

Another crazy teacher story. Apparently Chesterfield Elementary School decided singing happy birthday was offensive to kids who dont celebrate things.

““Singing is not permitted due to the sensitivity of all student beliefs,” wrote Principal Jodi Davidson in a letter to parents dated August 13. One of the things that she (Davidson) had explained to me is they always want to be sensitive to all children,” Cranston said. “And there are some children in their school – as there are in many schools – who don’t participate in holiday or birthday celebrations.”

Child abuse at walmart follow up

So, being unable to just forget about it, I drove out to the Sheriff's dept headquarters looking for answers regarding this contracted walmart deputy and his missing report.

Rättssäkerhetsorganisationen

Follow up on the Swedish railroad job of the Wikileaks guy. According to Swedish news the prosecutor who issues the warrant and "leaked"  news to the media is in trouble.  Rättssäkerhetsorganisationen and Justitieombudsmännen, private Swedish legal organizations involved with justice and due process have asked a judge to examine the prosecutors behavior. That doesnt really mean anything other than some lawyers unions think the prosecutor acted inappropriately and complained about it, but I couldnt pass up the chance to type "Rättssäkerhetsorganisationen" hehe.

The hands in the picture spell "Wiki".

DEA to hire translators for Ebonix

Apparently our government is looking for a few good men! To translate "Ebonics" , aka black slang. Basically they need people who can understand recorded tapes of drug dealers speaking street slang..It makes sense..but  Ebonics isnt a language..its a dialect..and I cant help but wonder if this is the case of a supervisor being overly PC with a black president in office.

South Florida Mass Grave

During the Hatian earthquake disaster CNN heavily covered the dump trucks of dead bodies being unceremoniously dumped in giant pits. On my "tour" of one of the urban areas in south florida we got to visit the south florida mass grave site of 1928. Apparently a bunch of people died during that hurricane and those who didnt have the money to pay for an actual grave were dumped together in a pit, which is now a lonely park.

When the "big one" hits Seattle I wonder what will become of the people not living on the Eastside.

No Snitching ?

There is an attitude out there that says you shouldn't talk to the authorities. The bad guys and the good guys spread this message for a variety of reasons, but its foundation is found in a mistrust in government. My instinct says involving government in anything will make the problem worse more often than it will make it better. Never the less I keep following up with authorities as the regrets and what ifs from the times I didn't are a burden.

So today I drove out to the sheriffs office to follow up on the indecent yesterday at walmart. I was shocked to discover that not only was there no report filed about an incident but the sheriffs office couldn't even tell what deputy was working that day. Apparently hours for sheriffs deputies are between a deputy and his sergeant and not registered or recorded on the dept computer. Can you imagine running a business with 4000 employees and not having a record of who worked when ? Anyhoo I'm waiting for a follow up call from the Sergent, who I guess is trying to figure out why this deputy didnt file any paperwork. But time matters with crazy people and for all we know this child is a floating dead in a retention pond or whatever.

Another day at walmart

So..once again I'm at walmart, minding my own business looking for a replacement mic in electronics, when this "momma bear" goes absolutely berserk on her daughter punching her repeatedly in the face and dragging her in a headlock towards the door. And of course no one does anything while this women is dragging her daughter by the neck screaming "You are mine you hear"...so long story short myself and another guy blockaded the women's car with our vehicles till the cops came and ordered us to let the women and her 3 young children leave together. This is the 2nd time I've called the cops at walmart, with plenty of witness' to the child abuse, including the warehouse managers, and the cops let the kids leave with the crazy people. Seriously, are the police just another jobs program for football players and ex military? It really leaves one in a daze..I mean if I punched a 10 year old girl in the face and dragged them in a stranglehold from one end of the walmart to another I know what would happen to me..but its ok for a parent to do it?

Pop up restaurants

Here is an interesting story I heard about on NPR this morn. Basically folks who want to run a restaurant but dont want to buy all the expensive cooking devices are renting out bakeries and whatnot during the evening on a temporary basis. Then through the miracle of the internet the foodies find these place and 'vala' instant trendy success.

This story focuses on trendy chefs but I think shows off the knife in the back of snobbery is the restaurant business. Now that word of mouth is so popular good food, not a chefs reputation or a french pedigree, will bring in customers. This makes me wonder if Haddies place could have been saved if it had just been born when there was an internet. 

Oz Politico

Australia had a major election recently. Here is an analysts of what happened. Here and here are opinions of what this means for Oz.

Syrjäytyneiden Akanvirta

syrjäytyneiden akanvirta in Finnish means "migration of the disadvantaged" ..Borrowed that from wikipedia

Gentrification is this weeks vocab word. Look it up. If urban renewal is considered gentrification what is building a Walmart called ?

Pity the real victums

(Update:Sweden has since dropped the charges as there was no evidence, but convicting him wasnt the point was it?)

This story came about today about the Wikilinks guy and its so frustrating. What is the point in claiming our civilization is one of laws when there are bodies of government out there have powers that make said laws toothless. This accusation is all about discrediting someone and nothing else. You got to roll your eyes here..I mean Sweden is the lightest country is the world when it comes to sex crimes. They give convicted violent incestuous rapists 2-3 months in a farming commune and pay them for their work. But it sure looks bad in the conservative press.

I'm my opinion this is a product of politics and government convalescing together..Why go to the effort to win elections with facts when you can slander your opponent with innuendo laced attack ads. Thats what this is- the politicians are in campaign mode and to distract from the actually facts about these damaging leaks they are attacking the rep of the person. In all likelihood because he is a pasty white male.

Gov cant spy on you but private business can ?

Real interesting story from NPR via the Wall Street Journal about the big money being made selling information about you from the web. The reporters studied how many tracking devices the 50 top most vistited websites on the web put on your computer and then who that information goes to.

And speaking of tracking - Facebook activated a new "feature" this week which sends the GPS location of where you log in to anyone who wants it. And yes, if you log in with your phone its going to track the phone. Its another "feature" you need to opt out of rather than opt in. 

Just my luck

Apparently this summer has been particularly lightning free..and since I moved to Florida for the lightning storms..well I cant help but feel the planet is plotting against me :) Tulsa certainly had stronger lightning strikes more often.

Here is what the paper had to say.

Bong photo causes mother's arrest

Here is one from Florida to think about. The mother who posted this photo of her baby and a bong has been arrested for "possession of drug paraphernalia". The baby tested clean and the mother was not charged with any child abuse charges since the bong wasnt actually used but rather put their as a prop for the photo. The child is now in the care of the grandparents.

I am all for taking kids away from actual drug users...but the State doesnt do that in fact is regularly places children in the custody of known active drug users. It seems to me this law exists to screw up peoples lives for the sake of ..what? Now this mother has to hire a lawyer and taxpayers get to pay for her arrest. And hopefully the case will be thrown out but then she will prob sue the taxpayers for thousands of dollars.

Meanwhile we have wonderful stories like this where the State is giving back kids to screwballs only to find them starving to death 3 years later..and only finding that out after another child died.

Starcraft 2 Verdict : Dont Buy

I'm going to do an about face on my earlier optimism and give a "Dont Buy" verdict to Starcraft 2. Why?

Study finds >1million kids misdiagnosed with ADHD

So I've always felt that ADHD is pseudoscience; a crutch used by lazy parents and bad teachers to scapegoat their poor skills relating to kids. Human beings arnt designed to sit in one place for long periods of time. Especially in uncomfortable plastic chairs under florescent lighting. In fact, anatomically speaking, bony young children are going to have the most discomfort sitting while fat old women are likely to find sitting very comfortable. And it doesnt take a psychotherapist to realize that the more you expose a mind to complex audio-visual stim the more that mind is going to want that to accompany any additional input. Like many functions of our society, both teaching and parenting are clinging to styles used a few centuries back. Coarse..it took years just to get left handed desks and scissors. I actually have held on to a memory of my kindergarten or maybe 1st grade teacher trying..gently..to get me to use my right hand over my left.  

Anyhoo  here is a link to a story confirming the many misdiagnoses of ADHD.

History of computer Symbols (*.*)

 If anyone was wondering what Asterisk Dot Crusade meant - its a search command in DOS for all files with the extension "Crusade".

Asterisk stands for "everything" so for example if I wanted the computer to list everything on the hard drive I would type *.*

Outside computers asterisk is used to denote something special or something angry/vulgar.

 This link from Wired.com tells the interesting history of a few other symbols..I felt they missed a few.

The many uses for homework

 Another reminder people, especially government people, can be mindbogglingly stupid and selfish.
Can this bring-your-own-toilet-paper policy really be saving any money ?

I cant but help wonder if teachers at this school are getting the coverage for their penile pumps and Viagra in their health package (in reference to this story)

Cat free to home (portland)

This is great..heard about it on Dori's show

Cat free to home

It takes a village

Here is a follow up to the idea that we as a society need to look at who has the "right" to have and raise children. A shout out to people like Pam Roach, who killed the foster parents rights bill because it gave rights to non-family members. Warning - The news story included within is kinda gross..

Doogie Howser is gay ?

I didnt know this..but apparently Neil Patrick Harris has a "long time partner" named David and they apparently are expecting twins from a surrogate..huh well good for them

I love how as a society we've sorta glossed over Octomom having a bazillion kids she cant raise or that no one takes issue over that with money you can rent a uterus (I mean how is that not prostitution) but god forbid these soon to be parents enjoy the benefit of marriage. Random people with enough money generating children artificiality is not a threat to society but marriage contracts are?

I -sorta- get the argument that encouraging homosexuality is bad for society but until we are willing to deal with much greater threats to society - like who should be allowed to reproduce, the marriage issue is jut political theater at the expense of real peoples lives.

Fleeting childhood

Ok...this is a 13yo player playing for for Newtown, Pennsylvania team in the little league world series. Yes he has a full mustache..do they drug test at the little league level ? Gotta wonder how this "kid" ended up being a dead ringer for Burt Reynolds..

Here is a link to a story about babies in china developing breasts

Happy Birthday Dora?

 So Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon's teaching tots show, turns 10 years old this month. Why do we care?  Because Dora is a volly of weapons fire in what some would call the Mexican-American "culture war"

Casting Crowns in Lynden,Wa Aug 19th

My favorite band in the whole world will be in Lynden,Wa of all places August 19th. If your in the area be sure to check them out!

Casting Crowns tour schedule

Shipwreck

This poor ship has seen better days..shes earthbound on the beach north of me..another truth that the south Florida beaches are inhospitable. Cant really see it in this photo but she's got a huge rock piercing the bow that goes under the sand there..

Heres a link to a song about a ship

A reason for the Season

I bought 2 pairs of these Ozark Trail (walmart brand) sandals for $12 a piece back in October of 2009. I am still wearing one pair as my primary foot accessory but it is in tatters. Apparently in Florida there is a "season" for sandals. As far as I'm concerned there are only 2 seasons in Florida and both of them involve sandals.  Further, if there were a "season" for sandals..wouldnt it be in the summer?

So I've been all over the State looking for a similar pair and not only can I not find anything remotely close to the quality but the price for crappy sandals at places like payless and kmart is ~$40. Even the internet is apparently sold out of strap sandals under 40 dollars.


Years ago, I learned the glory that is the walmart clothing lines when they came out with heavily quilted colorful tanktop and matching sports shorts that dont show a "bulge". Like with these sandals..I bought extra pairs as back ups..and it was not enough since they havnt sold anything near that quality since then. The lesson is - when you see something you know you like at walmart buy double the amount you think you'll need as they may never come again.

Employees paid well to do nothing then quit

 3 months of pay + 1 year healthcare to not work

/rant on ; see..the whole entitlement thing is going way way too far. We need to stop treating jobs like some sort of right and start treating them as a privilege. There are way too many people out their to treat everyone like they are a special little snowfake deserving to be treasured by society. We need give out minimum stipends to everyone with free no frills heatlhcare so people dont starve or decay then incentivize success for those that want to and can contribute. Jobs, at least in the public sector, should be where the successful people go not a place to go for the lazy to seek a free ride.

Persied Meteor shower this wednesday!

Earthsky shower guide for 2010

The nekkid truth about "degree" programs

My mother is always telling me how I should "get a degree". I'm always tell her that "a degree" is worthless in an economy where boatloads of people with Masters degrees or 20+ experience are forced into taking low level jobs for extra money. Here is story about someone who got that degree and ended up stripping to make a living.

See the naked truth here

Fanta soda - brewed from toxic Nazi runoff

Heard a great story about the history of Fanta soda on NRP today...apparently Fanta is the company that ran Coke's soda bottling in Germany. When the US declared war after pearl harbor, Coke withdrew their recipe..and the German owners had to come up with something. Apparently they literally used industrial waste.. 

"blended together an ever-changing combination of dregs, like leftovers from cheese production, the fibrous remains of apples that had been pressed for cider, and whatever surplus fruit he could acquire from Italy. He sweetened the soft drink with saccharin and named it Fanta, after the German word for fantasy or imagination"

The 2nd highest selling soda in Africa

100 Earth-like planets found

Now if we could just get there...

Habitable Planets Found

Health inspectors told 7yo she needed $120 permit to sell lemonaid

We can never rest our vigilance of government for even a moment

wow...people are so stupid

Poo powered car

10,000 miles on 70 flushes

Fewer teachers, but harder schools

Despite Layoffs, Teacher demand taxpayer funded Viagra because "Other options such as penile pumps and implants included in the plans "are far less desirable than oral medication," the filing said.

Penile pumps are already covered ? Really!? I mean they cant pay for this themselves?

Fewer teachers, harder schools

John Goodman loses 100lbs

 Apparently losing weight is "in" in hollywood...good to hear..I've always felt John Goodman is treasure. Anyone ever see his show "The Treme" ? I've never heard of it. 

Winning and Losing

China's new bus system

Its called the straddling coach. Its a bus that cars can drive under. Not gunna work in places with overpasses..but still..good thinking of multidimensional ways to use the roads we already have..

613 torah avenue

While on the subject of old media I was exposed to endlessly as a child, I found a video of some of the 613 toah avenue songs...the performance is painful to listen to but they get the tunes right...why is it I can still know the lyrics to many of these songs but cant remember the names of people I met today.

Why I am broken

I was brought up with values that do not in any way reflect real life. I recall being exposed to these hippy thought control videos at least once a week if not more when I was young and impressionable. I grow more and more convinced every day that, as the Buddha says, "life is suffering" and to raise children without it is a disservice to them. Interesting to see all the famous people in the 2nd video credits though.

Gasbuddy and pollution rankings

 I'm always amazed that people dont know about gas buddy...zoom in on the map to find the cheapest gas near you..

Gasbuddy!!!!

And fairly random - here are two lists of chemical pollution by county..in case you want to know the level of toxic dumping going on in your area

Pollution Scorecard
Water polluters near you

Prisoners threaten "strike" unless jail provides diapers

 In Europe even the prisoners go on strike...

oops I crapped my pants

Do Umbrellas stop solar plasma ?

This link is from my mother..apparently those of us in the northern US and Canada are in for a bit of a light show.

Ahhhh it burns!

Dog saves man's life by eating his toe

 Another story of weirdness..not in Florida though


Mmmmmmm toes

Starcraft 2 : Offline play currently impossible

Quick update to my Starcraft review - Apparently Blizzard designed Sc2 to require net validation in order to play so while there is an "offline" mod you can not access it without first logging on and verifying your account. So for anyone that was hoping to play the game on a airplane or at lunch or anywhere there isnt a internet connection forget it.

This is game company treating the customer like a criminal and its a black mark on Blizzards record