Miscellaneous-Musings

Apparently, Janet Jackson "accidentally" exposed her right nipple during the halftime show of the SuperBowl. Justin Timberlake ripped of a "tear away" piece on her outfit as part of the act. In case you missed, here it is. Okay, now that you've seen it...tell me, did you suffer outrage, anger, embarrassment and serious injury. How about several billion dollars worth? No? Well, apparently an astoundingly litigious and presumably remarkably sensitive woman named Terri Carlin in Knoxville, Tennesee, suffered so. I'm amazed at the outcry. These are the same people that scrunch up all close to the TV screen when someone gets their brains blown out during some action show during prime time, or better yet during the News on CNN. The same society that happily tunes in every week for another episode of Temptation Island, wherein hot tub shenaningans often reveal a lot more skin then Janet did, and where the entire plot line is based on cheating on your loved ones. And apparently a 2 second shot of someone's breast is enough to destroy their fragile grip on reality, and cause them to lose all faith in their glorious culture. Good lord...give your heads a shake, people! It isn't really important whether you believe Justin's story that the move was a last minute unrehearsed addition by Janet. You could doubt Janet's story that her breast wasn't supposed to be exposed, there was supposed to be a lacey bra there but that it "slipped". But its just a breast, for crying out loud. No doubt you've seen them before. Breast feeding women are even allowed to expose them in public places in most metro areas. I've watched news reports, prime time TV shows, and movies that showed longer and more erotic imagery. 13 year old girls prance around in malls with their G-strings showing on their ultra low rider jeans, and Momsy and Dadsy are right there, buying them another pair. But I guess the SuperBowl is no place for that kind of moral decay. Yep, a 3 hour ritualized battle involving full contact often resulting in broken bones and permanent injury watched by men and women guzzling huge quantities of booze is good, clean, and American. Follow that up with a couple of hours of Temptation Island or I Married a Millionaire, and don't forget an incredibly frivilous multi-billion dollar lawsuit, and you've captured all of those special values that make America great. But keep your damn titties out of it!

Some advertisements speak volumes about the quality and suitability of their product. Others don't ... and don't try this at home, kids :-) Note: link above requires Windows Media or…

President George W. Bush Jr. is now pushing for a new manned space program.   This really puts me in a bind. My feelings about Bush ("Dubblya" to his friends) are akin to those I had regarding Reagan in the early years. Fear, anger, frustration and amazement. Warfare, "evil empire" type hawkish statements, and huge growth in military spending...where could this all lead.   Yet, ultimately, my feelings about Ronald Reagan changed. He became chummy with the then-USSR. The Berlin wall fell. The Cold War ended peacefully. And arguably, at least some of that result can be attributed to President Reagan.   And now Bush wants to put people back in space in a big way.... Human space exploration is, to me, pretty much the most important thing on my "list". Yes, we must not "foul our nest", but failure of humanity to make its way into space would be a terrible failure and a loss to the human spirit of unmeasurable magnitude. To me, if we give up on exploration, on making our way to other planets, on going "to the next horizon", its tantamount to a declaration of the end of our civilization. Balance in all things, as they say, but here is where my balance tilts. I can accept gradual, sustained improvement in health, poverty, peace, the environment...but I can not accept this from space exploration. We have to get a move on...   So, Bush's push to put a permanent manned base on the Moon as a stepping stone to getting to Mars...well, it was exactly what I wanted to hear from a President. Unfortunately, its something I expected to hear from a President I at least *respected*, if not liked.   Maybe this is all political grandstanding. Maybe its all about filling the pockets of his big corporate buddies. Or maybe, just maybe, Bush isn't the complete ignoramus I take him to be. Either way, if it gets us back into space in a big way, I'm for it. Good job, Dubblya: now, if you can just prove that some of your other actions aren't as stupid as I took them to be...

I’m 40 years old today. Its just a date on the calendar, like any other. But this particular period of life, two score years since birth, is often freighted with meaning by people. Lordy lordy, look who’s forty…mid-life…over the hill… (more…)

I was reading a story the other day about how Apple’s $600 iPod is actually a disposable music player. Basically, its rechargable battery isn’t replacable. And, at least initially, Apple’s policy was to charge for $300 for full refurbishment when the battery inevitably died. (more…)

I was reading a story today about France outlawing headscarves and other religious symbols in their schools. The stance being taken is that these types of symbols divide people and, instead of teaching tolerance, encourage cultural isolation. (more…)

My reaction when I read about Saddam Hussein being captured was to say “about bloody time”.

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My wife's (Irene) parents came over from Victoria to visit this past weekend. Irene's Aunt from Zimbabwe was also here, staying at Judith's (Irene's *other* aunt) home. Simultaneously, friends from Edmonton (Hi, Janet and Gord!) were in town.

Right off the bat, anyone who really knows me will realize that all these people, despite the fact I love them all, are a problem for me. You see, I'm anti-social...
I've trained myself through years of practice to not visibly panic when faced with a social situation. Now I safely internalize all of that uncertainty and fear. Well, more or less safely...

Don't get me wrong: I'm not like some people who go off the deep end in a social situation. I do okay. I just am not a "natural", and when its all over, I feel like I've done something very strenuous...like the Grouse Grind...twice...wearing a 50 kilogram pack.

So now the house is quiet. The visiting is done, the uncomfortable silences when I wonder if I should say something, the awkward moments when I'm not sure whether a handshake or a hug is in order, and end up doing both and bonking my head or something...all of those little things the socially inept like myself worry about. Funny thing is, I sort of miss all the people...

I've got to tell you...I am getting a little sick and tired of spam email. You know, all that "V!agra c.heap!", "E.n.large your m&anhood", and "E.xxtreme h&amster S.E.X.X!" crap that clutters your inbox.

I have two different spam filters, and receive an average of 80 email messages a day...of which six pass through my filters, and four are legitimate email messages. The pathetic lowlifes who send this barrage of crap into my life are beneath any contempt. Lengthy sessions in jail with V!agra overdosed E.n.Larged cellmates would be appropriate. I also think there should be a special hell reserved for the businesses that fund these spammers, and the ISPs that turn a blind eye to their activities.

But I think it is possible to go too far ...
The gentleman in the linked story here who sent threats to the people who distributed his particular spam is probably a good example of a man pushed too far. Threatening terrorism (distribution of anthrax) or violence against specific spammers is not really the best course of action.

What can we do, then? Well, start with what I did: filter the heck out of the crap coming into your inbox. Then never respond to a single SPAM message, and certainly don't click on any embedded links. And push your local legislator to make distribution of spam illegal, and to implement fines (and serious ones) against ISPs who permit their infrastructure to be used for spam distribution, and to businesses that contract for SPAM advertising.

To me, getting a little bit of advertising, wanted or not, in my inbox is tolerable- something like all the adverts I get in my postal mail, which account for maybe 20% of what is in my postal inbox each day. But when unwanted advertising accounts for 90% of what comes to my electronic inbox each day, and particularly when it borders between obscene and grotesquely disgusting...well, its time to look at laws to do something about it.

I live in a coastal rainforest region. We had a dry summer this year, and water rationing including anti-sprinkling bans, which is really unusual.

It started raining pretty heavily this week, which is great. It got a little out of hand, though. Its a reminder of that old cliche, it never rains, but it pours… (more…)