Monthly archives: February 2003

Duck and Cover

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The US government has issued civil defence style booklets of what to do in an NBC attack, including a special kiddies version.

�You should have duct tape, plastic sheeting and scissors. Have an adult turn off air-conditioners, vents and fans,�

What was that about the terrorists only winning if they made you change the way you lived?

Strange Day

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Almost simultaneously (I was downloading my mail when I got the call) my mum called to tell me my old primary school headmaster has died and I got an email from my ex-girlfriend. Two gut punches in quick succession.

The phone call- He only taught me for a few months, but mum worked for him for a few years. He was an interesting guy, a fellow cyclist and a bit of a radical.

The email- she found my book on amazon and went looking for my email. (I’ve just noticed that they spelt my surname wrong, which is annoying. I’m sure it used to be spelt properly on there.) What do you say to someone who broke your heart 8+ years ago? Beyond the obvious, which I’m just too nice to consider. Mum had things to say on the matter, but decided not to in case I quoted her in the blog. We’re going to have to work out some sort of copyright agreement on our conversations- decide which bits are public domain and which are restricted.

On the subject of Another Education, one of the major plot points, students making money as escorts, has become a reality as they try to find any way to stay afloat as they study. (Download the story here)

While my guitar gently beeps

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Gibson have created a guitar with an ethernet port. Supposedly you can plug it into a computer and record it digitally. It even allows each string to be recorded separately. From the tech point of view this seems pretty cool (a WiFi connection would be cooler) however from a musical point of view it’s just plain wrong. Putting network hardware in a Gibson Les Paul is an insult to a classic guitar.

Lesser of Two Evils

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Toxins produced by E. Coli, prime cause of travellers’ diarrhea, inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the colon. Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the developed world, but far less common in countries associated with Delhi Belly. Of course, it’s not just the toxins that are the cause of this, the diet and lifestyle of Westerners probably contributes and longer term diseases are less likely to be spotted in the Third World when so many people are dying from diarrhea itself.

via Fark

Country Life

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I’ve been primarily urban for the last twelve-odd years, but I did grow up in the country and I want to go back. Unlike some townie journalists I do have a clue what sort of things to expect and some of the practical skills required to deal with them. I have some sympathy for the guy in the article but couldn’t help thinking ‘You didn’t take a torch?’ and ‘You DROVE the 1 mile to the beach? Even with a two year old that wouldn’t have been much of a walk!’

He probably drives along the lanes at twenty miles an hour as well.

You know you are thirty when….

This entry was posted in Drugs New York on by

you wake up, try to stand up, then immediately fall back down again because you are so dizzy you can’t even see straight! Hate to say it, but it happened to me yesterday and I ended up spending the whole day in bed! What luck! Apparently I have some problem with my inner ear. Joy oh joy.

Anyway, back to the events of life. Apparently Jacque Chriac tried to wave to people at the UN and he had to be told to sit down as the United Nations isn’t the place to surrender. Ta dun da.

Now I know I harp on enough about how the great the New York Times is, but nothing beats what I read today. The Arkansas state court has ruled that an inmate can be executed if mentally insane through the use of psychotropic drugs to make him sane at the time of execution. Now this is a new one to me. I can just imagine the warden going to the doctor at 2 till midnight, “are you sure you made him same? Does he need more prozac?”. One draw back to this link, the NY Times does require registration, but it is free and completely harmless. No junk mail or any of the sort.

More to the point today, what is going on with conservative newspapers. Ok, ok, I admit I read the Washington Times; one of the most conservative papers in the USA and even better yet owned by a religious cult called the “moonies”. So, imagine my surprise when I find this – a commentary supporting legalised marijauna!!!! What is going on here? Have the rules of media morphed into something out of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy?

Just so you know, the American Government has ordered over 70,000 body bags compared to the 16,000 for Gulf War 1.

I present to you the coolest thing of the day. Waste hours of time with the ASCII generator! If only windows was orginally this easy.!!

Good night.