vendredi 9 janvier 2004

What the women are writing about Lee-round-a-few-corners has been having attractive man trouble and enjoying almost every minute of "the perfect occasion to prove to myself that I'm so over that, that I'm so cool now, that even if I were to have to join the single world again (ach!), I'd be so on top of it." Until ... she went all quiet again at Odessa St after giving us the story-so-far with scarcely a blush. Strictly between you and me, Lee's a far hotter chick than she thinks. For heaven's sake, don't tell her I said that. I'm not suicidal. She might instead have tried the "suave and sultry oracle of passion that will iron out your emotional panties", otherwise known as the 'Love Test' at TheSpark, a place whose online inquisitions interest either millions of people or the same person millions of times. That's via Trish, who's still In a Mood because "with windchill it feels like -32C or -25.6F in Oakville, Ontario." And still she posted a pic of a naked lady this week...) The 'unpredictable ... occurrence' said "now that I know I'll have a good chance of actually being able to blog, I might do so more often". That was on Thursday, Oct 30 at 'Vagary'. And still I'm keeping her in the blogroll! Dr 'Sydney' is getting extremely exercised because "a few of those who happen to be in the (US) military are trying to derail a vaccine that could make a difference between victory and defeat in the war on terrorism". That war again. The thing is, though, when the 'medpundit' tackles anthrax vaccine, she sets about it with the energy and rigour of an investigative journalist! Last night was Diablo's "first time at the Luxe as a spectator, and it felt very surreal. I've stripped at the Luxe more than any other club in this town, and just looking up at the neon signage on the facade of the building made me feel tired. Too many memories of shaking my can from evening 'til sunrise, doing nude arabesques for an empty room because it was 4:45 a.m. and the mustachioed managers were too greedy to close before 5." The planet's "best stripper" apart, you could read about Diablo Cody's new nipple rings and their possible effect on airport security devices at the 'Pussy Ranch'. That's courtesy of Belle de Jour, who's indeed to be proving a readable -- adult-rated -- replacement for the Reverse Cowgirl, and who's also been into inter-sex upsets so early in the year. Elsewhere: "This man I loved told me I was perfect. I had always wanted to be perfect and here was this person telling me I already was. I didn't feel perfect. I certainly didn't act perfect. I certainly was not perfect. But, he thought I was and that was enough. And isn't it true that we are all perfect really? Exactly as we are right now, this very second? Even with our flaws and ugly bits and self-destructive ways and unhealed wounds, aren't we all exactly wonderful and lovable and beautiful and perfect, just the way we are? I read that somewhere. He must have read the same thing because he spread that shit around like fertilizer. I met his friend Danika" (and the plot thickens at 'Womanchild', read on, Jan 7). Who today is posting a dire need of jokes. I know that feeling. Augustine, the angel, has promised to send me a copy of 'The Joy of Letting Women Down (secrets of the worshipped male)' by Natalie. Augustine's intuition must have perceived an emergency so important that I may even interrupt my plans to get into 'Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for an Ultimate Theory' for it. Oh yes and by the way, MK this week (at the Factory) finally told me what a "metrosexual" is. It was less interesting than I had imagined. If you're American, it's apparently been a buzzword since the summer of 2002. But not according to the 'Word Spy', who traces it back to 1994, and quotes the following (and more) from Alexa Hackbarth in the 'Washington Post': "At dinner the other night, my date listed the calorie count of the main entrees, raising an eyebrow at my chicken Alfredo selection after he had ordered a salad. I saw him check his reflection in the silver water pitcher three times. During dessert, he looked deeply into my eyes and told me he thought what we have together is very special. It was our third date. It was then that I realized why my dating life has been as mysterious as the Bermuda Triangle since I arrived in Washington." 10:51:18 PM  link   your views? [] Style points: moan of the week Most of us have linguistic bugbears. Roland Piquepaille looked to answers this week, rather than gripes: The difference between a *correct* and an *incorrect* word can send your text directly in the trash without having been read. And even this is valid for every kind of writer, it is even more true for a blogger who doesn't have an editor to help him clarifying his thoughts and to pick the appropriate word. So I want to thank Darwin Magazine for this new guide about avoiding mistakes in English, 'What Are Words For?'" That was at 'Technology Trends' (b'rolled). I've forgotten to ask Tony whether he's yet sent a certain missive to the Beeb about broadcasters' quirks that drive us both mad. At the Factory, I slap my hand every time I catch myself using "in terms of". Recently I heard that three times in one sentence on the radio. What it means is "err, I'm thinking" and can almost invariably be left out. I send rude notes to people who confuse "epidemics" with "outbreaks", especially if they call them "endemic". That's as common an error as the misuse of a word whose Latin origin is "one in 10", and if Merriam-Webster really thinks it's fine to write "firebombs decimated large portions of the city", I'd ask for my money back if the dictionary weren't free on the Net. I use elastic bands to shoot stinging paperclips at people who write "underway" instead of "under way". Unless they're reporting about boats or using it as an adjective. But I'm the first to admit I use too many of those! 7:52:13 PM  link   your views? [] What's more dangerous than terrorism? Look to the skies The BBC on LW rudely cut short the interview to go to Westminster where upstanding and Honourable Members were giggling over some new sex gadget. So I missed what Sir David King had to say about that buffoon in the White House who'll pretend there's insufficient evidence of global warming until his arse catches fire. Still, you can always catch up with the UK government's chief scientific advisor at Today's Listen Again (RealAudio clip 3'58"). "Global warming is 'the biggest challenge to governments for this century (...) the degree of warming that we've had to date, of course, is very small compared to that which is predicted over the coming century, so this is a problem of massive proportions (...) 'We all recognise that this is a problem that crosses national borders and requires international action,' King told John Humphrys. 'What exactly is your charge sheet against George Bush?' 'There isn't a charge sheet; (...) what we're seeking from the United States is to join with us in taking effective action to deal with this major threat and of course also to take a leadership role with us in seeking for international action... (That the Bush administration pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol) is of major concern to us'." A small media storm about how King laid into Bush was started by an article he wrote for the latest Science, but you have either to buy it or subscribe to read it all online. In fact, the senior scientist has been arguing for months that global warming is a bigger threat than terrorism. King said as much last November in Ottawa, addressing Canada's National Research Council: "He pointed to the almost 30,000 people who died in heat waves that broiled Europe this summer, and warned that more such natural disasters will occur as global warming progresses. 'We have an effect that is bigger in its manifestation than any terrorist action that has taken place.' The global climate today is warmer than at any time in known history, Sir David said. Scientists of the International Panel on Climate Change believe Earth will continue to heat up, warming as much as six degrees over the next century. The cause of the rapid warming lies in the Industrial Revolution, when humans began burning massive amounts of coal, oil and gas to power factories, electrical generation plants and vehicles. By burning those fossil fuels, humans today are pumping six million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every second, Sir David said" (report at SPEC, from the 'Ottawa Citizen'. In five weeks, King's set to address the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "Human induced climate change could result in the extinction of more than a million terrestrial species in the next fifty years," reckons the World Wildlife Fund. Last month's 'Science et Vie', a magazine so first-rate that I've taken out a subscription, ran a 70-page dossier on climate change which Bush might do well to read when he's not busy chasing terrorists. Like each of the magazine's monthly specials, it tackles this alarming topic from all angles under a range of headings, too detailed to sum up. I learned many intriguing new things. European architects, for instance, are doing far better -- as they think back to last summer's killer heatwave which we'll see many more of this century -- largely to forget air conditioning and consider rooftop gardens instead. While the former is a costly panacea that actually worsens the global warming problem with its by-products, nature itself can offer a relatively inexpensive and aesthetically pleasing solution. The Japanese, Germans and residents of Chicago are apparently learning that eight centimetres (3.15 inches) of earth and lawn on the roof can slash the temperature inside a one-storey building by up to 25 percent. Oh, and it stays warmer in winter too. Go on, plant a flower! Grow a park! On the health front, the malaria belts are expected to have broadened potentially to affect two-thirds of the world's population by 2050. Yellow fever may reach parts of Europe. That ferocious storms, heavy floods and murderous mudslides are on the increase and will remain so is a matter of banal fact for anybody who keeps even a sporadic weather eye on the multitude of websites less obtuse than Bush & Co stuck up their gumtree. What interested me most of all, however, amid the details and maps of rain and temperature forecasts, the hot spots in cities and shifts in ocean currents is that scientists worldwide have at last got a coherent, working model of Planet Terra to use as a basis for analysis, prediction and recommendations. But that statement is an over-simplification: the global scientific community still has about a score of models, which climate expert Jean-François Royer of France's National Meteorological Research Centre says "reflect the variety and uncertainties in each individual approach." Scientists from countries on several continents tell the magazine that now humankind finally has the sheer computer power needed, to combine all these models into one -- of immense complexity, of course -- is a kind of Holy Grail sought by researchers. At present, however, "we'd rather retain the 'biodiversity' of the models," as Royer put it. When it comes simply to global warming, many sites like the US Metropolitan East Coast (MEC) Assessment refer you to two principal models, the "Canadian" one and the "Hadley one" (MEC). It was to Britain's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research that Sir David King referred in that interview I finally heard this afternoon. I've in previous entries spoken of the world's key reference forum, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose site I check out from time to time, but when it comes to a user-friendly website, as rich in content as it is helpful with links, you could do far worse than to start out at Hadley. Their site alone covers much of what you always wanted to ask but didn't dare for fear of looking as wilfully ignorant and pig-headed as Dubya, from exactly what ozone is and does to such apparently difficult subjects as "thermohaline circulation". "What circulation?" I hear some cry. You shouldn't be put off by big technical or jargon words. If you read a few paragraphs, you'll learn that it's all about heat, salt and seas. Little words with immense implications when what we get up to in our everyday lives begins to affect the way they all interact. Mr Bush has other ideas. But when it comes to his announcement due next week that he plans to send Americans to Mars (BBC Science), I really wouldn't like to see him or any of his kind anywhere near the list of candidates. At the moment, I note that the vote -- I speak not of next year's US presidential election, but of whether it's a "good idea" to launch a manned mission to Mars -- stands at four-to-one in favour. Myself, I think it's a splendid idea, but then I've always had my head in the clouds. If I had my naïf way and the power, I'd ensure that the first bunch of human beings to set foot there would include men and women from every continent. Not me, though. It's bad enough in Paris. Mars is far too bloody cold, but not increasingly damp every winter! If I tell you about this month's 'Science et Vie' in due course, the teaser is in the title of the dossier: 'Le singe, l'homme, et après..." ("the ape, man and after..."). You'd think a subject like that would need a question mark. 6:56:49 PM  link   your views? []

nick b. 2007 do share, don't steal, please credit under artistic licence terms; contributing friends (pix, other work) retain their rights.