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May 26th, 2009
12:19 pm - Balticon
I am not motivated to write a con report.
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May 8th, 2009
01:01 pm - Language (Programming) Humor
A Brief, Incomplete, and Mostly Wrong History of Programming Languages by James Iry
http://james-iry.blogspot.com/2009/05/brief-incomplete-and-mostly-wrong.html
(My favorite comment: "Jacquard's loom wasn't concurrent? It was pretty thoroughly multithreaded, I'd have thought!")
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May 7th, 2009
10:19 am - RIP Carol Butler
A coworker died yesterday. The clinic director Carol Butler succumbed to breast cancer a day or so after her first chemo treatment. Most of us didn't know she was ill.
As a film note, she has an IMDB entry from participating in the documentary Divine Trash about her friend and Baltimore raconteur John Waters.
Edit: Her title was Program Director for the clinic and in addition to knowing Waters she has some fame in her own right as a proponent of mobile drug treatment services. One example The Mobile Health Experience—A Blueprint for Expanding Access to Substance Abuse Treatment.
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April 17th, 2009
08:28 am - Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
We're having a press conference at work today. My boss is involved in a project called eGetgoing that enhances the counseling portion of drug treatment. Attendees include Congressman Elijah Cummings and Reg. General Barry McCafferey, Clinton's head of ONDCP1. The last two weeks involved cleaning and organizing. Yesterday was tech set up (gaffers tape is my friend).
It's showtime.
1. Office of National Drug Control Policy
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April 14th, 2009
12:33 pm - Names and Ethnicity
Quoting the Houston Chronicle:
Lawmaker defends comment on Asians
'A North Texas legislator during House testimony on voter identification legislation said Asian-descent voters should adopt names that are “easier for Americans to deal with.”'
and
'“Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it’s a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Brown said.'
Commentators have pointed out the "you and your people" portion and the similarity to Eastern European Jews shortening their (in my case our) names last century on immigrating to the US.
I first found this story in The Onion's false Person In The Street comments.
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April 7th, 2009
12:02 pm - Vermont and Gay Marriage
Vermont has legalized gay marriage, and is the first state to do so through a legislature vote. The governor vetoed it, so the state House and Senate were extra supportive in doing the override.
The NY Times just passes on the AP story here:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/07/us/AP-GayMarriage-Vermont.html?hp
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April 5th, 2009
12:36 pm - Technology Games
Four entries in half an hour...
I now have an old '80s 12" black & white TV showing the Discovery Channel through an old Tivo. Why? Because it's there.1
1. And now I can watch in the kitchen, which should keep me from getting bored while I cook and clean.
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12:35 pm - Birthday Wishes
Happy Birthday a day late to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tolkienkookad! Enjoy your mac and cheese...
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12:25 pm - Restraint
Not that kind of restraint. I went to the Stone Ridge used book sale and unlike previous years came away with only two books - both of them reference. Many of you may consider that heretical, but with my reading habits owning them is more of a fetish/obsession than a practical thing.
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12:04 pm - With A Little Help From My Friends
I have amazing friends. Three in particular helped me do something with the house I had put off for several years.
werefulf, Jason and Chris (Wrenn's housemate) came by Tuesday and helped me on a major job. As many of you know my house came with 17 garages/storage spaces. Most are unused for anything but junk - some mine some there when I bought the place, and construction debris. I've been using 1.5 doubles for my lawn mower, plywood, 2x4s and the like. The other half of one of the doubles had truck tires and engine parts, random metal, and stone knife sharpening wheels (three are a yard in diameter, one is slightly smaller and they are for sale). We moved all the useful things to one pair and all but emptied another pair1. It took a long evening, lots of muscle, and a few halogen lights. I am very grateful to all three friends.
(The complete junk is in another unit, waiting for Jason and his trailer to whisk it away.)
1. The disassembled wall unit from my living room is still there.
Current Music: "With A Little Help From My Friends" The Beatles
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March 30th, 2009
10:37 am - How Undersea Cables Are Repaired
Previously posted by j.
Who Protects The Internet? Pull up the wrong undersea cable, and the Internet goes dark in Berlin or Dubai.
http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-03/who-protects-intrnet
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10:35 am - Signs of Spring
The cherry trees are blooming on Charles Street in Baltimore.
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March 27th, 2009
04:08 pm - Radioactive News
"[Chinese o]fficials told the BBC that they had detected what may be the missing Caesium-137, adding that it may have been melted down."
More worrisome, "The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says China has an appalling record on industrial safety - there are around 30 cases of radioactive material being lost every year."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7967285.stm
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03:38 pm - Information - 20090327
This first one is a health and safety issue covered by four different sites:
Some Chinese drywall contaminated with sulfur, leading to health and house decay problems.
http://www.realestateproarticles.com/Art/5406/280/Drywall-Manufactured-in-China-is-Not-Dry-Neither-is-it-Safe.html
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/dec/24/chinese-drywall-causes-problems-treasure-coast/?feedback=1
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1887059,00.html
http://stayhealthyla.org/blog/?p=1349
Second:
Girl posts nude pics [of herself], is charged with kid porn
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29912729/
Third:
Serial killer may have been conjured by DNA blunder: Contamination suspected in 'Phantom' case
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/27/phantom_dna/
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4129872,00.html
That one also means that some real murderers have gone free.
Edit: This article has a better explanation of how the mistake was detected...
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,615608,00.html
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February 26th, 2009
12:40 pm - Free Orchestral Concert 3/7/09
The NIH [National Institutes of Health] Philharmonia will present a concert on
Saturday, March 7th at 7:30 PM at St. Elizabeth Catholic
Church, 917 Montrose Rd, Rockville, MD. Admission is free;
contributions are encouraged. A portion of the proceeds
support NIH charities including The Children's Inn, Special
Love, and Friends of the Clinical Center.
Program:
Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Haydn – Symphony No. 100 "Military"
Beethoven – Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"
More information about the orchestra can be found at:
http://www.nihphil.org
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February 24th, 2009
09:29 am - QOTD - Garrison Keillor
Quote of the day, thanks to the inimitable Garrison Keillor.
"A bit of advice: Stay off the obituary page as long as possible."
From http://www.salon.com/opinion/keillor/2009/02/18/obituaries/index.html
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) amused
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February 11th, 2009
11:06 am - Information - 20090211
Firstly, the vaccine/autism scare may be a fraud:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece
"THE doctor who sparked the scare over the safety of the MMR vaccine for children changed and misreported results in his research, creating the appearance of a possible link with autism, a Sunday Times investigation has found.
"Confidential medical documents and interviews with witnesses have established that Andrew Wakefield manipulated patients’ data, which triggered fears that the MMR triple vaccine to protect against measles, mumps and rubella was linked to the condition."
Second, very serious wildfires in Australia. They affect Victoria state, the area around Melbourne. Some seem natural, others may be arson. The death toll is at least 181 and well over 500,000 acres have burned.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/two-blazes-still-raging-out-of-control-20090211-84qz.html
The article is dated tomorrow since Australia is currently a day ahead of the US.
(A photo that would be beautiful if it weren't from a horrible event: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/02/bushfires_in_victoria_australi.html )
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February 6th, 2009
09:11 am - Brain Medicine - Malfunction
It looks like my recent extended down period - melancholy strong enough to keep me from doing much of anything - has been caused by my anti-depressant Lexapro. Not only has it stopped working but its action has flipped.
I am taking my other medicines.
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