Papa Vox

	Monday, December 5, 2011 PSA of the week: Why Burn Doctors Hate Instant Soup Science: Curing cancer with electromagnetic waves: So Crazy It Just Might Work Does anyone actually need this? 20-second laser procedure that turns eyes blue Just when you thought you were secure: Researchers show how to break quantum cryptography Why, indeed, Is China Building These Gigantic Structures In the Middle of the Desert? Are they Spy Sat Calibrators? King-Sized Jokes? China’s Colossal Structures Confound More predictions that will look ridiculous when the actual date arrives: How We'll Live In 2100 Extinction theory of the month: Massive Volcanoes AND Impacts Wiped Out Dinosaurs. On the other hand, The Great Zap! New Discoveries about the Permian Extinction of 90% of Earth's Species Modern Life: Tasty, easy, a big hit, and a way to use that fondue pot you got for a wedding present in 1972: Making Swiss Cheese Fondue Things south of the border are a disaster: Cartel Plot: Use U.S. Guns for Massive Mexico City Attack The Tsunami hit and now, after Japan nuclear disaster, a wasteland. The exclusion zone is massive: Off-limits They only way this will change is when good citizens haul these thugs into court and sue the hell out of them: Cops stun-gun a disabled 61 year old man while he was riding his bike. He died. A big deal in some parts of the country, unknown in others: How to cook perfect cheese straws The 5 Best Toys of All Time (Hint, all five can be "purchased" for pretty much free.) Halloween for dogs, taken to extremes: bengalpooch (JPEG Image, 500x374 pixels) History: Was Jane Austen Murdered? It was named after a bird? The Origins Of Pie: The Magpie But did they stick olives on the ends of their fingers? First Thanksgiving Dinner: No Turkeys. No Ladies. No Pies. #Occupy: Going home -- again: Scott Olsen, Marine vet injured by police at Occupy Oakland, is released from hospital A radical idea for reforming politics: Get Money Out Police spring into action to protect America from peaceful protest: Police officer pepper-sprays seated, non-violent students at UC Davis Protecting America from the Terror of Non-Violence: Update: 'Occupy' crackdowns coordinated with federal law enforcement officials What just a little paint can do for you: protest-paint-win.jpg Bankers just HATE the OWS movement: Memo to American Bankers Association from lobbyists spells out $850,000 anti-OWS plan Retired police chief arrested in full uniform at Occupy Wall Street Police spring into action to turn peaceful citizens into quivering, hearing damaged, convulsing-in-screaming-agony "object lessons:" NY Police Using LRAD Sound Cannons Against Protesters Now that you mention it, why HASN'T this bunch been pepper sprayed? GodHatesFagsNot Sprayed Wall Street dose NOT want you to read this: Secret records of US bank bailout released, over howls of protest Saturday, November 19, 2011 Reviews for "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" “But a significant number of its 117 minutes do seem like hours, and whenever certain actors take the lead and set the pace of the dialogue, time itself begins to crawl backward...” – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune “By any normal standard, this is a terrible movie, with stilted dialogue and leaden pacing—every 15 minutes or so, the action stops for a musical montage involving slow-motion handsomeness. But the Twilight saga stopped being normal a long time ago.” – Dana Stephens, Slate “What we learn in this all-pain/no-pleasure episode is that marriage feels like a life sentence, weddings are miserable events, honeymoon sex is dangerous and leaves a bride covered in bruises, and pregnancy is a torment that leads to death in exchange for birth. Also, during pregnancy, families fight like werewolves and vampires. Way to go, [young adult] message.” – Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly “Breaking Dawn is both overlong and understuffed. I lived a thousand lifetimes watching it, and died a thousand deaths.” – Dan Kois, Village Voice “Forget that the film is too long and not very exciting, that the dialogue is still as deadly as a vampire bite (sorry — the lame writing must be contagious) and that some of it is SPOKEN BY WOLVES.” –Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic “Twilight is to real horror as cotton candy is to real food. But only if the cotton candy is spun out of arsenic and crystal meth, because for the metaphor to be accurate, it needs to be something that is sickly sweet but genuine poison.”—Drew McWeeny, HitFix “The movie’s tagline states, 'Forever is only the beginning …' After a few minutes of viewing this lifeless pap, we realize that it’s not a slogan at all. It’s a warning.” – Kimberly Gadette, Doddle Monday, November 14, 2011 As mentioned earlier, 'tis the season to be very careful driving out on the open road, especially at dusk and dawn: Deer collisions per month, Kentucky Oh, Dear God: Wal-Mart Wants To Be Your Doctor -- and they announced this just after they cut medical insurance for their own employees. Science: Education makes you smarter: these guys do interesting physics in small, enjoyable doses. minutephysics's Channel One wonders: Chris Birch, Former Rugby Jock, Claims Stroke 'Turned Him Gay' A beautiful computer simulation of two galaxies colliding: Merging Spiral Galaxies A fat pill -- which beats up your kidneys: Drug helps monkeys lose weight -- humans next? The beauty of math: astronomers couldn't explain the current position of the planets. The math just didn't work out. But when you theoretically add an extra planet that got a gravity slingshot out into space, it suddenly all makes sense: Clues Suggest Solar System Originally Had Four Giant Planets History: Historians are all aflutter over the new and very sensationalistic movie about Shakespeare. While there have been various theories about other possible authors -- Bard Wars -- most experts agree that the theory in "Anonymous" is claptrap: ‘Anonymous’ and the Shakespeare conspiracy theory. The movie itself is receiving mixed reviews: Review for Anonymous. It's probably good fun if you don't actually believe the content. Food: And I can assure you that the China honey tastes like paint thinner: Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn't Honey Getting awards and great reviews: Velton's Coffee Roasting Company Occupy: (3) Wall Photos: Amazing beautiful, inspiring photos of the #Occupy movement, posted by participants on FaceBook, updated constantly. What Would Jesus Do? He'd do this: wwjd.jpg Ten OccupyPortland protesters arrested for asking why they were being arrested Army veteran injured in Oakland clashes with police Occupy the Hood: Communities of color and the Occupy movement Wells Fargo Tries To Hitch Its Wagon To 1 Percenters Photographer shot by Oakland Police with "less-lethal" round, for no apparent reason The 10 firms that rule the world Progressives Win Big In Ballot Measures Nationwide Culture: Just plain funny: Ninja Improv Fun, but can they actually make a living at this? Hoxton Street Monster Supplies Street art is beautiful, amazing, inspiring, subversive, and a sign of intelligent life out there. You've all heard of Banksy -- or at least you SHOULD have heard of him -- but there are others: STREET ART UTOPIA \| We declare the world as our canvas. A short story idea that has already been bought -- and it isn't even finished yet: RomeSweetRome Technology and Gadgets: Al Franken: Net Neutrality Is Under Attack... Again Alvin Kum Pencil Sharpener Cool Tools: Kraftform Kompakt 11 Screwdriver Set Tuesday, November 8, 2011 Fact: CO2 (Carbon dioxide) is a "greenhouse gas." More CO2 in the atmosphere will cause higher global temperatures. Fact: CO2 levels are now at a record high for the entire history of Planet Earth's life-bearing age. Fact: those record-high levels of CO2 came from humans burning fossil fuels. Fact: people who hate the entire idea that humans may be causing global warming (which they claim doesn't even exist) believe that there is no correlation between CO2 levels and global temperatures. And now, a graph: (source article) Tuesday, November 1, 2011 And in further news: For The First Time, 50 Percent Of Americans Say U.S. Should Legalize Pot Ten Years After the Patriot Act, a Look at Three of the Most Dangerous Provisions Affecting Ordinary Americans TSA goes through woman’s luggage, finds sex toy, leaves pervy note (update: and gets fired) Mountain Lion and Cat in Boulder S#*@ scientists say as opposed to what they SHOULD say instead. How to cook perfect tarte tatin Self-Starters Eat Up This Slow-Cooking Technique Drinking Whiskey In The Spirit Of George Washington Kentucky State Police: Deer / Automobile Collisions LikelihoodCollisionWithDeer.pdf "He seemed like such a nice guy... kinda quiet..." ‘Dangerous Instincts’: FBI profiler explains the dangers of that ‘nice’ neighbor First, the manual for an 18th century secret ophthalmologist's society, next the Voynich Manuscript: Translation algorithms used to crack centuries-old secret code What's making us fat: Triticum Fever, by Dr. William Davis, author of Wheat Belly Is our children learning? Yes, they is: Officials use false terror alarm at high school to do drug search Wednesday, October 26, 2011 Sunday, October 16, 2011 "Occupy Wall Street" is getting interesting: some brilliant posters, innovative protest methods, and a message that is shaping up to be a coherent and concise concern over the way the ultra-wealthy elite treats -- and controls -- America. Mostly it's a safe, fun environment, but there have been some inexcusable incidents with thug cops and a few peaceful protestors have been injured. For history nuts, a forgotten war, covered by the winners: An 1812 overview worth watching \| Toronto Sun Security: Qui Bono? The Dead, the Dollars, the Drones: 9/11 Era by the Numbers And also: $31 Billion wasted in war contracts A terrorist attack on the US that was never answered: Justice Department Trips in Anthrax Case — Again Is the TSA finally take a step or two toward sanity? Bruce Schneier’s Telepathic Takeover of the TSA They say it's true: ‘Body Bombs’ Are a Good Sign The persecution of people who tell the truth: Secret US Court Order demands email data for WikiLeaks volunteer Jacob Appelbaum Food: (It's not): Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? The best food article I have read in years: In Search of Bolivian Dark Chocolate \| Outside And more on the topic: In Peru, A Hunt For Chocolate Like You've Never Tasted It And where you can buy all of this fabulous stuff; Chocosphere Swiss-style hash-browns (which are actually really tasty) How to cook the perfect rösti. (Hint; microwave the potato for 90 seconds before grating.) Deer Science: Mostly, deer don't seem to notice cars. And they are hit by cars 1.5 Million times a year. Deer, in general, don't recognize approaching headlights as being a threat: they seem to be almost invisible to a deer. Hence the massive numbers of deer killed at night. For my entire life, the only behavior I ever observed was that deer completely ignore approaching cars at night. If you tap your horn at them, they recognize that the sound is "getting closer" and they will turn and run away from the sound, but the car itself always seems to be something that doesn't even register. Then, three or four years ago, I noticed that deer were stating to take better notice of approaching cars, especially at night. This is important, and it's very significant. And it's a perfect example of natural selection at work. Smarter Deer? Smarter Drivers? Both? Fewer Being Killed On Roads A few facts you may not know: 1. if you swerve to avoid a deer and hit something else, even if it's just a fencepost, you're "at fault" and your insurance will charge you accordingly. 2. swerving to avoid a deer often results in a catastrophic collision with an oncoming car. 3. if you're about to hit a moose or a horse: duck! The bulk of the body mass will come through the windshield, your best bet to survive is by being below the dash line. 4. most deer collisions happen at dusk and dawn. 5. November (peak of the rutting season) is the worst month for deer collisions. October and December come in a close second. More Science: This is what happened to the falling NASA satellite: NASA satellite falls on car The title says it all: The giant, prehistoric squid that ate common sense Or not: Scientists '95 Percent' Certain They've Found Elusive Siberian Yeti Interesting articles on the Black Death, which seem to contradict each other in some significant ways: Genome from mass grave shows the Black Death introduced the world to the plague Black Death And Modern Plague Microbes Nearly The Same Scientists sequence Black Death bacteria DNA Black Death Pathogen Extinct Wednesday, October 5, 2011 Science: Earth's Oldest Known Woolly Rhino Or not: Iceland's Laki Volcano may be Poised for a Massive Historic Eruption We all knew from the start that aluminum burns beautifully, once it's hot enough. A little water just makes it explode. A thermite reaction on 9/11? This is cool: fly through the solar system in High Def: OUTSIDE IN: space film for IMAX™ Well, the Universe (ours) is just under 14 billion years old. And since nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, even if it has been expanding at the speed of light ever since the Big Bang (and it certainly hasn't) then it simply can't have a diameter of more than 28 billion light years. So then why is it 90 billion light years across -- or maybe 250 times that size? Is the Universe Bigger Than It Ought to Be? Technology: Sick of bogus Non-Negotiable "Terms Of Service" that you are forced into agreeing with before you can use every single computer program out there? TOSAmend: The easy way to modify web Terms of Service agreements Big Brother: Facebook tracks your activities online, even when you’re logged out of Facebook And: Logging out of Facebook is not enough Finally, really good LED bicycle lights: Cool Tools: Lupine Bike & Adventure Lights Old, yet horrifying news -- and we MUST fix this: Diebold voting machines can STILL be hacked by remote control And they call themselves "patriots." Audience boos gay soldier at GOP debate, Santorum promises to reinstate don’t ask, don’t tell Faster than light? After Report on Speed, a Rush of Scrutiny The real truth about climate change deniers Saudi women given right to vote, run for office -- but not drive Cracked, which is among the more annoying sites out there, nails this one: The 6 Most Horrifying Lies The Food Industry is Feeding You And I'll admit that Cracked does open a normally-hidden can of (more or less) true worms here: 5 Bizarre Dark Sides to Modern Orchestras Good program. It's free. Lets you change useless audio formats into useful ones. Format Factory Fun -- and possibly very useful -- gadgets: CountyComm Modern life: The Koch Bros. buy America for a mere $50 Billion Money in Politics: “Everything is for sale.” Amazon gets your information -- for free: Amazon's "Fire" Browser "People who cringe at the data-mining implications of the Facebook Timeline ought to be just floored by the magnitude of Amazon’s opportunity here." Breast cancer survivor forced into invasive patdown by TSA, even after submitting to backscatter imaging scan This gives an idea of what's inside of a conductor's mind, while conducting Beethoven Symphony No. 5 This has got to stop: Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Hit $660 Billion by 2020 Government touts fruit and vegetables while subsidizing meat Thursday, September 22, 2011 From somewhere on FaceBook: "I'll believe Corporations are people when one is executed in Texas." Wednesday, September 21, 2011 The state of Georgia EXECUTED an innocent man tonight. Tuesday, September 20, 2011 DADT is finally gone. It's about time. Monday, September 19, 2011 Life in post - "Patriot Act" America: "We need this power to protect America from Terror." Yeah, right. Patriot Act search warrants overwhelmingly used for drugs I have had it with this crap: NFL adopts TSA-style full body pat-downs for fans at stadiums And this: Racial Profiling First Hand And this: “Half-Arab, half-Jewish housewife” terrorized on 9/11 for Flying While Dark-Skinned But at least it's worked out well for someone: 9\|11: The Winners The "Surveillance Society": Man faces 75 years for recording police Glenn Reynolds: “You have a right to record the police” Federal Court: recording cops an unambiguous first amendment right Science: "... just before the earliest humans appeared, Africa was thick with all sorts of ape-but-not-ape creatures. The evolution of big-brained, walking, tool-making primates was like a river splitting into numerous streams." Has the Long-Sought Link to Modern Humans Been Found? Why was it so deadly? It was the plasmids. Scientists sequence Black Death bacteria DNA Good news: Black Death Pathogen Extinct ( ... but now, how do we do the research to protect us from things like this?) Make your Honda Civic look really weird, but get 85 mpg: civic hatchback - improving aerodynamics Splendid idea. I think I'll get right on that: Take a Nap! Change Your Life Culture: One of my "Bucket List" items is Burning Man. But it's getting harder and harder to go: Growing Pains for Burning Man Festival (Except it's pronounced like "spinning:") Pining for Twinings: Furious Earl Grey drinkers Well, duh: Getting tattoo is easy. Undoing it is no pretty picture Nice to know Bush gave these guys billions after they screwed us: Bankers will take $5 trillion from American economy over the coming decade Saturday, September 10, 2011 Simon Glick Versus Boston: finally, as of August 26, 2011, the US Federal Court affirms in a unanimous decision that YOU DO HAVE THE RIGHT to video a cop in the public performance of their duties. The Decision, in PDF. It may be worth printing out all 24 pages just so that you can present it to any police officer who threatens to arrest you for having a video camera in public. Also: Monday, September 5, 2011 A rare nod to sanity in the Republican race for the 2012 presidential nomination, from Jon Huntsman: “To be clear: I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.” Sadly, it's only a brief nod, then he returns to indulging in the GOP's rabid "I despise the very air Obama breathes" crap. (See the "Archives" for previous posts -- here's the most recent) Proud to be a "True Blue" American.	Papa Vox Archives: April, 2011 through Aug, 2011 Sept 2010 through March 2011 July through Oct, 2010 Jan through June, 2010 Oct, Nov, Dec, 2009 July, Aug, Sept, 2009 April, May, June, 2009 Jan, Feb, March, 2009 Oct, Nov, Dec, 2008 July, Aug, Sept, 2008 April, May, June, 2008 Dec 07; Jan, Feb, Mar, 2008 Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, 2007 May,June, July, 2007 April, 2007 March, 2007 February, 2007 January, 2007 December, 2006 November, 2006 October, 2006 September, 2006 August, 2006 July, 2006 June, 2006 May, 2006 April, 2006 March, 2006 February, 2006 Hacking yourself: An experiment in the supposition that shoes are bad for you with reviews of various "nearly barefoot" alternatives to the evil shoe. An experiment in lowering the set-point as a means of safe, rapid, nearly-effortless weight loss. The miracle of medical massage. Where do your tax dollars go? Want your vote to count? Cool links: Your daily Peanuts ® Astronomy Picture of the Day BoingBoing Investigate: Don't be suckered by a dubious email that smells like an urban myth. Look it up and find out: snopes.com breakthechain.org truthorfiction.com Recommended: David Brin's Blog One of today's greatest SciFi authors. A rational, scientific approach to modern life and governmental policy -- what a radical concept! Websites worth visiting: AMERICAblog Big Brass Blog Black Box BRAD BLOG Center for American Progress Crooks and Liars Daily Kos Dem Underground Economist Greenwald-Salon Groupnews Blog Huffington Post Left in the West Media Matters MM News MotherJones Nation NO QUARTER Susie Bright's Journal ThinkProgress TPMmuckraker TruthOut Papa's Reading list: Good books . Freedom in America today Contact your members of Congress: Sourcewatch.org Educate yourself: WebMD.com The US Cabinet Your State Government Executive Orders Amnesty International Recommended Software: Free Anti-Virus programs. I currently use: avast! anti-virus download Ad-Aware anti-adware download Spybot anti-spyware download CCleaner system & registry cleanup download All are free, all work great. They all update themselves when you ask them to -- which you should do once a week before you run the cleanup program. I've never had a single problem with any of them. Firefox is the browser recommended by computer security experts -- it's fast, safe, powerful, and free. Thunderbird is a free email program with superior security and great features. "Eudora OSE" Eudora-style version of Thunderbird -- free Stable release 1.0 Miro is a free open-source media player. Secure, private -- and it plays just about everything. LINUX Ubuntu READ CAREFULLY. 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