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Posted on June 27th, 2007 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, History & Politics, Business & Finance, Science & Technology, Sports & Health.
For those of you who have been monitoring the debate on gun control raging on VM over the past month, we have a recent comment that is defintely worth re-posting - courtesy of VM reader Erol Irez. If you need to catch up, here are the previous posts on chronological order:
Reader Response to ‘A Second Rant on Gun Control’
Gun Control Gauntlet Continued
Erol offers a fresh perspective on the issue, meeting in the logical middle ground. In his own words:
“I like the clear and concise arguments. Ironically, you wrote the solution: you must allow anyone to buy a gun once they have acquired a license for one. To acquire the license, you must take a state or federally approved gun class (similar to drivers education and state police test), or you must have served in the military and passed basic training.
Comparisons with other countries should not be dismissed just because of “differing cultures.” In countries like Switzerland and Israel, where everyone must perform military service and be in the reserves until their 40’s or 50’s, violent crime is low. This is because everyone is taught how to use a gun and must own several just in case they are activated.
Guns are an equalizing force, where the physically weak can now defend themselves from the physically strong. Banning guns makes the physically strong more apt to harm the weak. It is in human nature for the stronger to bully the weaker. You must make it hard and costly for the bully or criminal to attack you. If a criminal knows that he can be hurt he will think long and hard, and evaluate the risk to reward or his actions. Arming the citizens of the country makes it harder and costlier for criminals to harm you.
The NRA is wrong in resisting education and licensing. The anti-gun lobby is wrong in wanting to ban all weapons.
Here is some food for thought: If we are looking to curb gun violence while allowing people to improve their security, why can’t we buy non-lethal weapons that incapacitate assailants effectively? I know there are several technologies out there who do just that. This will disappoint the NRA and hunters, but if self-defense is the reason for gun ownership (how many gun owners are active reservists anyhow), who says you can only defend yourself with a lethal gun. What about paralyzing darts, projectile nets, foam, etc… Inventors - start thinking about these…”
Excellent points all around. I know that Taser (TASR) makes a very popular non-lethal weapon that is carried in a lot of plane cockpits, and I’m sure that there are many more options available.
Posted on June 27th, 2007 by Orlando.
Categories: Humor & Pop Culture.
I was at a Starbucks the other day and while at the counter ready to pay for my tall whateverccino mocha frapalatte drink, I realized I left my wallet in my car after I had taken it out to take a look at a business card of a client. I said, in a humorously mildly-wry fashion, “aw fuck–.” It was muttered pretty low in volume, I’m not really a loud person.
I was interrupted by this white, red-headed middle-aged woman who reeked of typical southern baptist. She said, “excuse you, young man!” At that moment, two things quickly scrolled through my head before I responded:
“Problem?” That’s what I said to her, and I had a very innocently quizzical look. She said, “that’s not the kind of language we use here.”
“Oh, sorry… coño, que mierda.”
What? I saw an opportunity, and I took it. The barista laughed.
She was visibly annoyed, so before she could even get another word out, I said, “I just noticed I left my wallet in my car, that’s all, no malice intended.” Her next line cued pretty much what I’ve been introducing all along for this blog entry: “Even so, choose a less vulgar way to express it; one that makes you sound more intelligent. You could have said,” and this is verbatim, “aw shucks, I left my wallet in my car.”
Aw shucks? AW-FUCKING-SHUCKS?! Get the fuck out of there.
This brings me to my point. Why is cursing so taboo? How can a simple word like “fuck” be so offensive to someone? Speech is nothing more than a set of auditory motions pieced together to create a series of vocalized words. That’s all. The words itself aren’t what can cause distress, it’s the context and/or concept being given.
Posted on June 26th, 2007 by Phil.
Categories: Media & Entertainment, Travel & Leisure, Philosophy & Spirituality, Philanthropy & Environment, Arts & Literature, Humor & Pop Culture, Coming Events.
This posting is designed is to provide those party/festival/electronic music enthusiasts out there with an updated calendar of spectacular destinations for the rest of 2007. This is not just a list of concerts and music festivals, but rather a specifically chosen catalog of international events that combine intriguing and engaging people, unique and beautiful venues, varied regions of the world, diverse art and culture, environments allowing for individual expression and personal introspection, and of course, the very best electronic music in the world.
This is an admittedly US and Euro-centric list, but hey, those are my homes, and host to most of the world’s best and biggest music-based events. This selection also focuses on the very largest parties in the world, but remember, it’s the people and the music that matter, not the numbers. I encourage you to view the websites for each event to learn more about them, but more so, to take a chance, hop on a plane, and go see for yourself…
Exit Festival
July 6 - July 9, 2007
Petrovaradin Fortress, Vojvodina, Serbia
www.eng.exitfest.org
200,000 people
Global Gathering
July 27 - July 28, 2007
Stratford-Upon-Avon, United Kingdom
www.globalgathering.co.uk
45,000 people
Zurich Street Parade
August 11 - August 13, 2007
Zurich, Switzerland
www.streetparade.ch
1,000,000 people
Creamfields
August 25 - August 27, 2007
Daresbury Estate, Cheshire, United Kingdom
www.cream.co.uk/creamsite
150,000 people
Burning Man
August 27 - September 3, 2007
Black Rock City, Nevada (USA)
www.burningman.com
40,000 people
Ibiza Summer Season Closing Parties
September 1 - 30, 2007
San Raphael, Spain
Lots of sites
Who knows…
Love Parade
January, 2008 (Exact Dates TDB)
Santiago, Chile
www.loveparade.cl
150,000 people
Posted on June 25th, 2007 by Phil.
Categories: Philosophy & Spirituality, Consumer Products, History & Politics, Business & Finance, Science & Technology.
Are you bored with your Legos and looking to step things up a notch? Well head on over to the J. Craig Venter Institute. Scientist there recently created a simple bacterium from scratch, one that is both alive and capable of replication, and have named it ‘Synthia’. Clever name, and probably one that will be well remembered. Many in the scientific community believe that the creation of Synthia is a much more significant event than the creation of Dolly the cloned sheep was ten years ago. After all, it’s one thing to copy existing life, but it’s a whole other ballgame to create it from scratch.
We’re not quite at the point of geneticists creating new designer pets (imagine a soft, rainbow colored elephant the size of a cat, that smells like flowers and glows in the dark), but it’s just a matter of time. This is only the beginning of the next bio-technological patent race to come. Massive amounts of human and animal genomes have already been patented, but soon corporations will be looking to synthesize and patent whole new life forms. Using their own words, Venter’s company is positioning itself to become the ‘Microbesoft’ of synthetic biology. I can only imagine the world that future generations will see. For now though, I’m still happy with having my good old Labrador Retrievers and a simple Homo-Sapiens girlfriend. Call me old fashioned.
Posted on June 23rd, 2007 by Marconi.
Categories: Humor & Pop Culture.
I have heard a joke yesterday that must be shared. Prizes may be awarded to the most egregiously astute responses (that use epistemology for instance) as well as for the correct answer in the comments section. Please feel free to ask for additonal information that you might need to answer this question.
Why did the beautiful and elegant model sit all morning staring at her glass of orange juice?
Posted on June 23rd, 2007 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, Philanthropy & Environment, Science & Technology.
The Brits seem to be pulling their weight when it comes to climate change. They have just unveiled a new zero-emission, carbon neutral home that sets a bold example for others to follow.
The design is very cool and quite practical to boot. The home has two bedrooms, solar panels, a biomass boiler, rainwater harvesting, unique insulating properties, and a clever architectural design that lends towards dramatically increased efficiency. The home is the first to reach the lofty “Level 6” requirements in the UK for energy efficiency. Moreover, it generates all of its own required energy based on full occupancy, meaning that when the house is not being used (vacations), it can send electricity back into the national grid, making money for the residents.
Costs to build the home are about 40% higher than the norm, though those costs are expected to drop significantly over time as well as with greater volume. The home’s annual energy bill on the other hand would be over 90% less than that of a standard new home. I want one.
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1. Wind catcher, for summer ventilation
2. Solar array at back of house for hot water and electricity
3. High-level of wall insulation
4. Biomass boiler
Posted on June 22nd, 2007 by Myk.
Categories: History & Politics, Philanthropy & Environment, Business & Finance.
Hey, don’t look at me. This is Mayor Bloomberg’s baby. He’s launched a program that will reward lower class inhabitants of NYC with cold hard cash for “good behavior. Here are some excerpts from the article:
Poor residents will be rewarded for good behavior - like $300 for doing well on school tests, $150 for holding a job and $200 for visiting the doctor - under an experimental anti-poverty program that New York City officials detailed Monday.
The rewards have been used in other countries, including Brazil and Mexico, and have drawn widespread praise for changing behavior among the poor. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg traveled to Mexico this spring to study the healthy lifestyle payments, also known as conditional cash transfers.
In New York, the two-year pilot program with about 14,000 participants will use private funds Bloomberg has raised because he did not want to spend government money on something that is highly experimental. More than $43 million has been raised toward the $53 million goal, Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs said.
The theory behind cash rewards is that poor people are trapped in a cycle of repeated setbacks that keep them from climbing out of poverty. A person who doesn’t keep up with his vaccinations and doctor’s visits, for example, may get sick more often and struggle to stay employed.
Among the possible rewards in New York’s program are $25 for attending parent-teacher conferences, $25 per month for a child who maintains a 95 percent school attendance record, $400 for graduating high school, $100 for each family member who sees the dentist every six months and $150 a month for adults who work full time.
The World Bank model for cash reward programs in other countries is that the value of the incentive should equal about a third of a household’s income to have any lasting influence on changing behavior. The average amount that a family or adult can earn through the rewards each year is about $3,000 to $6,000; a family of three living in poverty earns about $17,000 a year.
I like this idea. Economic incentives work because they can be felt. Not only will it incentivize non-performers to perform, but I quite like that it rewards those families/kids who are busting their asses to do well in hard circumstances. I’ll try to stay updated on this one and report how it goes.
Posted on June 21st, 2007 by Phil.
Categories: History & Politics, Science & Technology.
President Bush vetoed a bill that would have provided more funding for embryonic stem cell research yesterday, claiming that stem cell research is an “ethical line that should not be crossed.” The bill passed the House of Representatives last month with an overwhelming 238 to 194 vote, but in their own words, the White House “has just determined that it is morally inappropriate.” The people who vetoed the Trojan add on Fox News to support their pro-life agenda would be proud.
Public opinion polls show that more than 70% of Americans support stem cell research, which holds endless promise for combating a myriad of illnesses, from Parkinson’s disease to spinal cord injuries and strokes. It’s comforting to see that the President is yet again taking this country forward, and that national policy reflects the desires of the nation’s citizens.
The White house closed the press conference on the vote by saying that “the notion that we are against stem cell research is wrong.” They’re just not for it, really strongly, passionately not at all for it.
Posted on June 20th, 2007 by Myk.
Categories: Media & Entertainment, Consumer Products.
Here’s a story about love. Wait! Not only love but the pursuit of love. And the reaction of media. Ah yes the media. From Newsmax, we heard about a new ad campaign for Trojan condoms. It’s called Evolve with the tagline “Evolve. Use a condom every time.” First (as an aside), I have to question the accuracy of that message. If you use a condom EVERY TIME, how will Darwinian evolution ever occur? I mean, sometimes you gotta just…but I digress. This post is about media. The article is below:
The Fox and CBS networks have both declined to air an ad for Trojan condoms that features cellphone-carrying pigs on the prowl.
The ad depicts women in a bar surrounded by cellphone-toting pigs. One of the swine heads off to the men’s room where it obtains a condom from a vending machine — and “is transformed into a head-turner in his 20s,” The New York Times reports. “When he returns to the bar, a fetching blonde who had been indifferent now smiles at him invitingly.”
The commercial is part of a new ad campaign by Trojan called “evolve.” The message: “Evolve. Use a condom every time.”
In rejecting the ad, Fox sent a written response to Trojan that read: “Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy.”
CBS wrote that it did not find the ad “appropriate for our network even with late-night-only restrictions.”
The commercial will air on ABC, NBC, and nine cable networks, as well as in magazines and on Web sites.
Now, Fox’s reaction is kind of interesting, right? It’s a conservative company and the note they wrote is fairly obviously advocating a conservative viewpoint. Condoms aren’t for prevention of kiddos, rather prevention of disease. I’m not sure what CBS’s agenda is in keeping its airwaves clean but that indicates a family-oriented or conservative approach as well.
Whatever the rationale, the ad is clever. View it here.
Posted on June 19th, 2007 by Phil.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Consumer Products, History & Politics, Business & Finance, Science & Technology.
The first public trials of Australia’s biometric SmartGate project are set to begin in Brisbane in August. In development since 2002, SmartGate uses facial-recognition technology to verify the identity of travelers by comparing a scan of their face with a facial scan encoded in the microchip contained within the newly launched ePassport. The theory being that this will add a much greater degree of certainty to matching someone’s identity to their passport, saving time and increasing security.
To date, however, the plan has been fraught with problems stemming from what seems like an arduous check in process. The dual-scan design of the SmartGate system requires travelers to first submit their ePassport to a kiosk, where the passport information is scanned once, and an exit ticket is issued. Passengers then proceed to the actual ‘SmartGate’, submit the ticket issued earlier, and have their biometrics scanned against those contained in the electronic passport. Airport security has apparently been having trouble transferring information between the two sites, and with travelers who somehow lose or damage their tickets before they get to the gates. Sounds a bit tedious to me.
This one fairly idiotic logistical set-up aside though, I like the idea of biometric security systems very much. Airport security workers aren’t generally the sharpest tools in the shed, and they could use all the help they can get. This project in Australia is a good step, but we’ve got a long way to go. For one, I’d think the real key to not just verifying people’s stated identities, but also scanning the crowd for known targets. In fact, I’d be worried that the high tech wow factor of the system could in fact make life easier for any criminals or terrorists who have the means to acquire a fake ePassport. Regardless, you’d think the US Department of Homeland Security would be getting something like this rolled out here to protect America’s citizens at home, but maybe they’re watching their wallets right now. Actually, last I heard, our government is blowing all of its money on some kind of conflict oversees, so maybe that’s why.
