Friday 19 April 2002

categories: Computationally Minded

New beta version of OmniWeb available [MacCentral] I downloaded this (4.1 b4 v382) last night, along with the 10.1.4 Mac OS X update. Much more stable than 4.1b2. I have been posting from it all day! I like. 10:51:05 PM    comment []

”The real problem here is that the Catholic church doesn't have a sufficient level of disgust for sexual predators.” [By way of Right Wing News] Now I don’t think that the Church Universal has this problem; it is the fault of the American episcopate, that has for years bought into a flawed model of psychological illness and how it relates to sin and redemption. It may well be that these ephebophiles are psychologically ill, but that does not mean that they are not to be held accountable for the acts they commit, even in sickness. Wait! I’m parroting this from somewhere, I think. US News & World Report? 10:05:56 PM    comment []

categories: Commonplaces

Napoleon Bonaparte. "The best way to keep one's word is not to give it." Benjamin Disraeli. "The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." [Motivational Quotes of the Day] Two other rules for consultants. 9:27:30 PM    comment []

categories: Hostage to Crap

Doc says, "Want to see what copyright term extentions do the the public domain?" Here ya go - "The Growth Rate of the Public Domain" Limit: To confine or restrict within a boundary or bounds. To fix definitely; to specify. Example: "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" [By way of The Shifted Librarian] 7:33:29 PM    comment []

langreiter.com plain, simple: 2 illustrative videos of Inattential Blindness. Watch the construction and door video to see what is meant by inattential Blindness [Roland Tanglao's Weblog] I actually saw this at ARVO in the mid-nineties, when I made my presentation with Maggie Shiffrar. The video examples are humorous, but the real laughs in the well-attended session came when the trick failed. A woman practically jumped out of her shoes then ran away when she looked at the new guy’s face. 6:50:39 PM    comment []

It’s always nice to know that I have alternatives. 5:33:41 PM    comment []

Trotskyist on a First-Name Basis to France. Arlette Laguiller may get as much as 10 percent of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections set for Sunday. [By way of New York Times: International News] I don’t know. I must admit an anti-Communist bias. Given that though I find the idea of someone who has never modified her opinions to be slightly creepy. It’s all well and good for the Catholic Church to have never modified her Divine Repository in two millenia, but I think it’s unnatural for people to have so fixéd a star. The lesbian angle sounds like a political manufacture. Why can’t a strong, opinionated woman not be dismissed as a lesbian? Why are lesbians dismissed? 4:06:35 PM    comment []

Reaction to a Controversial Decision Is Passionate. Reaction to the Supreme Court's decision to strike down a law prohibiting By John Schwartz. [By way of New York Times: National] ... virtual child pornography. I really don’t know how to react to this. The libertarian in me says it’s a good Constitutional ruling. The Catholic in me says that there is a larger issue involved, but I can’t quite verbalize it. A society has the right to protect itself. As a conservative, I believe that this is best left to individuals. But there are always individuals who just won’t conform to cultural norms or moral law. As a Catholic, I must believe that their consciences have been improperly formed. A person who writes about child fantasies or creates or draws realistic child pornography is someone a free society must tolerate; once he starts accosting children on the street, we must stop him. It is when he crosses the line from private fantasy to public action that we are mandated to stop him. Virtual child pornography may fit to this standard. These people may create these horrible images, but trafficking in them, offering them up rather than keeping them, is something a society well-ordered and just can and must stop. We must acknowledge that pedophiles have rights, but we must also acknowledge that their particular perversion is not something that we can allow them to indulge or propagate. As soon as they start selling or trading or offering their photorealistic child pornography, the just society has a mandate to stop them. Let it be an idiosyncrasy. If pedophiles or ephebophiles create these things, they must keep it to themselves—we as a society must not let them feel any camaraderie with others of their kind nor allow them to stain society. Let them have the right to assemble, but not to share. 3:58:05 PM    comment []

categories: Commonplaces

Dr. David M. Burns. "Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person. Franklin P. Jones. "Honest criticism is hard to take - especially when it comes from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger." [By way of Motivational Quotes of the Day] Some things for consultants to remember. 3:33:23 PM    comment []

Whoops. I spoke too soon... Google Answers: Live Researchers answer your questions on any topic for a fee. I checked this site a few times today, always looking at the Questions Currently Being Asked. When the RIAA and MPAA tell you that consumers won't pay for content they can get for free, don't believe them. This site is living proof, because every question I saw could have been answered for free with a simple call, email, or fax to your local public library. Sigh. Free answers @ your library should be a major cornerstone of ALA's campaign. [The Shifted Librarian] 2:16:44 PM    comment []

Middle East historical maps. 2:53:08 AM    comment []

Google Answers. Interesting.  [Scripting News] Wonder what Jenny the Shifted Librarian has to say about this. 2:07:02 AM    comment []

[By way of Tasty Bits from the Technology Front]: Make a Shorter Link. 1:56:44 AM    comment []