ha ha. I read this at Joe's Big Blog and it cracked me up.
Source
A gift intended to promote diversity in Oklahoma is generating controversy instead.
Several state lawmakers are returning copies of the Quran to a state panel on diversity after one lawmaker claimed the Muslim holy book condones the killing of innocent people.
NO! A Holy Book condoning killing innocent people. That's shocking.
Pot meet KettleSOURCE
This is interesting.
A MELBOURNE PhD student has developed technology to make broadband internet up to 200 times faster without having to install expensive fibre optic cables.
Of course the problem with standard telephone cabling is crosstalk (nothing religious) so...
Dr Papandriopoulos' research, which took a year to complete, uses mathematic modelling to reduce the interference that slows down downloading.
So with standard telephone lines and DSL hardware they can achieve speeds of up to 250 megabits/sec. That sure beats my 15 megabits now.
I found this wonderful site that asks all the necessary questions and answers them with the due care and respect deserved of the subject matter.
THE OFFICIAL GOD FAQ
Well worth the read.
I am fascinated by this woman. Ayaan Hirsi Ali talks of her upbringing and deconversion from Islam at the recent Atheist Alliance International Convention 2007.
Thanks to Rational Response
Part 2: Q&A
Direct from the Malaysian department of stupidity is this story.
source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22607206-23109,00.html
A YOUNG Malaysian couple caught making out in their car have caused a five car pile-up when they tried to speed off.
According to a report in The Star newspaper, the couple had been locked in an amorous embrace in a car park in the town of Muar when spotted by a police patrol car.
Realising they had been caught, the couple sped out of the car park and onto a main road, colliding with a passing car and causing three other vehicles to crash.
The couple, both Muslims aged in their 20s, have been detained and the man has been booked for reckless driving.
Muar traffic police officer Lim Aik Sin told the newspaper that the couple has been referred to the district Islamic religious department.
Unmarried Muslim couples who are found alone together can be charged with "khalwat" or "close proximity", which carries a jail sentence of up to two months.
Malay Muslims comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people, and are subject to Islamic morality laws.
I can't imagine living in a place that has religious police. I would be locked up for life I think.
How can these 16.2 million people be so deluded and let this shit happen in the 21st century WTF?
All for having a cuddle in a car (who hasn't done that?)
Lucky they weren't enjoying a nice glass of red at the same time.
I got an email from an importer yesterday discussing some new technologies in electronic equipment. The back of my head says it could be because this importer of very well known Hi-Fi, professional audio and video equipment knows something... something to ponder no doubt.
The article was about the construction of incredibly small circuits of components on flexible plastic put there by an Ink Jet printer and using the new technology of carbon nanotubes. [These one atom thick sheets of graphite are rolled into cylinders and possess some very fascinating electrical properties.] more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanotubes
source: http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/31378
"Ink-jet printing is one of the most promising techniques for making large area, inexpensive plastic electronics on which a range of electronic components can be printed. These include transistor circuits, photovoltaic films, organic light-emitting diodes and photovoltaic films...."
The physical size of electronic devices is suddenly drastically reduced...
In the news yesterday was a couple of interesting articles relating to miniaturization of electronics... and perhaps something to keep an eye on.
source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/12/1191696173795.html
“American researchers are breeding moths that can be steered by radio control. Next they may attempt to develop tiny cameras and sensors light enough to be fitted to the bugs……. The researchers created the radio-controlled insects by injecting computer chips into the larvae of giant hawk moths. When the larvae turn into moths the chips, activated by remote control, stimulate the flight muscles, allowing the bugs to be steered on the wing”
Of course this method isn’t particularly refined yet and is only in experimentation stages… or is it?
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/10/11/1191696075903.html
“VANESSA ALARCON saw them at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square in Washington last month.
"I heard someone say: 'Oh my dog, look at those'," the university student recalled. "I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But those are not insects."
Bernard Crane saw them, too. "I'd never seen anything like it in my life," the Washington lawyer said. "I thought: 'Is that mechanical, or is that alive?' "
That is just one of the questions hovering over a handful of similar sightings at political events in Washington and New York….”
And of course
“No agency admits to having deployed insect-size spy drones, though several US Government departments say they are trying. But several federally funded teams are growing live insects with computer chips in them, with the aim of mounting spyware on their bodies.”
Interestingly
“Pentagon documents describe nearly 100 different models of robotic fliers in use today, some as tiny as birds, and some the size of small planes. The nation's fleet of flying robots logged more than 160,000 flight hours last year - a fourfold increase since 2003.”
"America can be pretty sneaky," said Tom Ehrhard, a retired air force colonel and expert in unmanned aerial vehicles… "
Hmmmmmmm...
Thanks Fiery and Sean for the wonderful heartwarming comments on my pathetic attempt at blogging. I don't know why it seems so hard. It's mainly a time thing but everytime I start posting something I think "Who cares" and delete it... Maybe it's a learning thing for me.
However I was shitted the other day or was it more shocked...
I've been a bit crook the last week. I got a severe ear infection last Saturday and downed a box of painkillers hoping it would stay at bay until Monday when I could get to a doctor... by Sunday my face had swollen up and I was in agony. I remembered we have a customer who is a doctor and his last words were "If you every need any medical help... just ring" so on Sunday morning 8AM my wife rang his mobile and within half an hour we had a box of the strongest antibiotics known to man on the condition I saw him on Monday to get the official script to take back to the pharmacy (drug store Fiery).
On Monday I went to his practice to get a check over and the necessary script and was waiting patiently (excuse the pun) in his waiting room in central Bassendean. [Bassendean is known for it's great export to the world... Rolf Harris... who I'm sure everyone knows of] anyhoo I'm sitting waiting with a group of about 30 other people all watching a small TV. I'm opposite the group and can't see it but can hear it and observe all the others who are glued to it.
It became obvious pretty quickly it was the live telecast of a famous WA footballer's funeral.
I was fascinated by the intensity of the people watching this TV, nothing else mattered, they had tears in their eyes and looked at each other for support, holding hands etc quite moving I thought... BUT THEN 20 minutes of sermons and the praising of the lord and jesus dying for our sins and "he's" in a better place now and the final stupidity.... The Lord's Prayer... everyone bowed their head, men were teary, women were crossing their hearts, the receptionist ignored the phone... everything stopped and was silent except for the TV blurting out the Lord's Prayer... well almost silent... I couldn't help myself... through the intense pain I managed a small sheep's bleet... It was probably a bad thing to do but hey I was sick :)
I didn't get to see the reaction if any as it was my turn... and the first thing my doctor did was look in my other ear... to which I said "no it's this ear that's sore".. "Well god gave you two ears so I can see what a good one is supposed to look like" WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Get me outta here!!!
I'm OK now...
