Thursday, December 23, 2004
The last post
for 2004 (probably)
As the office is closing down for holidays, that's probably it for 2004, folks! But y'all come back in 2005 now, y'here!
for 2004 (probably)
As the office is closing down for holidays, that's probably it for 2004, folks! But y'all come back in 2005 now, y'here!
And the winner is...
The 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
Somehow I missed this, but even though a few weeks (!) old, it’s worth recording. In a year when the world was turned on its head, these awards seem oddly appropriate (and the projects were genuine).
MEDICINE: Steven Stack of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA and James Gundlach of Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA, for their published report "The Effect of Country Music on Suicide."
PHYSICS: Ramesh Balasubramaniam of the University of Ottawa, and Michael Turvey of the University of Connecticut and Haskins Laboratory, for exploring and explaining the dynamics of hula-hooping.
PUBLIC HEALTH: Jillian Clarke of the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, and then Howard University, for investigating the scientific validity of the Five-Second Rule about whether it's safe to eat food that's been dropped on the floor.
CHEMISTRY: The Coca-Cola Company of Great Britain, for using advanced technology to convert liquid from the River Thames into Dasani, a transparent form of water, which for precautionary reasons has been made unavailable to consumers.
ENGINEERING: Donald J. Smith and his father, the late Frank J. Smith, of Orlando Florida, USA, for patenting the comb-over (U.S. Patent #4,022,227).
LITERATURE: The American Nudist Research Library of Kissimmee, Florida, USA, for preserving nudist history so that everyone can see it.
PSYCHOLOGY: Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard University, for demonstrating that when people pay close attention to something, it's all too easy to overlook anything else -- even a woman in a gorilla suit.
ECONOMICS: The Vatican, for outsourcing prayers to India. PEACE: Daisuke Inoue of Hyogo, Japan, for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.
BIOLOGY: Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia, Lawrence Dill of Simon Fraser University [Canada], Robert Batty of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, Magnus Whalberg of the University of Aarhus [Denmark], and Hakan Westerberg of Sweden's National Board of Fisheries, for showing that herrings apparently communicate by farting.
The 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Winners
Somehow I missed this, but even though a few weeks (!) old, it’s worth recording. In a year when the world was turned on its head, these awards seem oddly appropriate (and the projects were genuine).
MEDICINE: Steven Stack of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA and James Gundlach of Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA, for their published report "The Effect of Country Music on Suicide."
PHYSICS: Ramesh Balasubramaniam of the University of Ottawa, and Michael Turvey of the University of Connecticut and Haskins Laboratory, for exploring and explaining the dynamics of hula-hooping.
PUBLIC HEALTH: Jillian Clarke of the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, and then Howard University, for investigating the scientific validity of the Five-Second Rule about whether it's safe to eat food that's been dropped on the floor.
CHEMISTRY: The Coca-Cola Company of Great Britain, for using advanced technology to convert liquid from the River Thames into Dasani, a transparent form of water, which for precautionary reasons has been made unavailable to consumers.
ENGINEERING: Donald J. Smith and his father, the late Frank J. Smith, of Orlando Florida, USA, for patenting the comb-over (U.S. Patent #4,022,227).
LITERATURE: The American Nudist Research Library of Kissimmee, Florida, USA, for preserving nudist history so that everyone can see it.
PSYCHOLOGY: Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard University, for demonstrating that when people pay close attention to something, it's all too easy to overlook anything else -- even a woman in a gorilla suit.
ECONOMICS: The Vatican, for outsourcing prayers to India. PEACE: Daisuke Inoue of Hyogo, Japan, for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other.
BIOLOGY: Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia, Lawrence Dill of Simon Fraser University [Canada], Robert Batty of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, Magnus Whalberg of the University of Aarhus [Denmark], and Hakan Westerberg of Sweden's National Board of Fisheries, for showing that herrings apparently communicate by farting.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Santa Claus obesity indemnity
I think the following is a send-up. But in today's mad world, who knows? The headline reads:
Leave Cookies for Santa Claus Without Fear of Obesity Lawsuit - Eat, Drink, And Be Merry With Our Christmas Cookie Liability Waiver
Washington, DC – Millions of Americans will soon renew the time-honored tradition of leaving a plate of cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. In today’s era of frivolous lawsuits, serving the already obese Saint Nick baked goods could put you on the receiving end of a devastating lawsuit if he has a trial lawyer elf on retainer. For legal protection, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) suggests leaving Kris Kringle a "Christmas Cookie Liability and Indemnification Agreement."
With this waiver, kids can keep the food police like the Center for Science in the Public Interest away from their stockings. They can also protect themselves from lawsuits filed at the encouragement of attorneys like John “Sue the Bastards” Banzhaf, who is threatening to sue restaurants, food companies, school boards, doctors and even parents for the nation’s extra pounds.
I think the following is a send-up. But in today's mad world, who knows? The headline reads:
Leave Cookies for Santa Claus Without Fear of Obesity Lawsuit - Eat, Drink, And Be Merry With Our Christmas Cookie Liability Waiver
Washington, DC – Millions of Americans will soon renew the time-honored tradition of leaving a plate of cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. In today’s era of frivolous lawsuits, serving the already obese Saint Nick baked goods could put you on the receiving end of a devastating lawsuit if he has a trial lawyer elf on retainer. For legal protection, the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) suggests leaving Kris Kringle a "Christmas Cookie Liability and Indemnification Agreement."
With this waiver, kids can keep the food police like the Center for Science in the Public Interest away from their stockings. They can also protect themselves from lawsuits filed at the encouragement of attorneys like John “Sue the Bastards” Banzhaf, who is threatening to sue restaurants, food companies, school boards, doctors and even parents for the nation’s extra pounds.
PC madness extends to other holidays
The PC madness is not confined to Christmas, apparently. In Hillsborough, New Jersey, you can no longer celebrate St Valentine's Day. It is now "Special Person Day." And in East Lansing, Michigan, the Easter Bunny has, for several years, been called "The Special Bunny." What a rabbit delivering colored chicken eggs has to do with the Resurrection of the Savior escapes logic.
The PC madness is not confined to Christmas, apparently. In Hillsborough, New Jersey, you can no longer celebrate St Valentine's Day. It is now "Special Person Day." And in East Lansing, Michigan, the Easter Bunny has, for several years, been called "The Special Bunny." What a rabbit delivering colored chicken eggs has to do with the Resurrection of the Savior escapes logic.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Christmas statistics you need to know
According to Statistics NZ, 8,613 New Zealand residents have their birthday on Christmas Day. (I have always been thankful my parents arranged for mine in the middle of the year.) And going on past experience, Stats NZ expects 105 children will be born this Christmas Day. Bad planning, folks!
According to Statistics NZ, 8,613 New Zealand residents have their birthday on Christmas Day. (I have always been thankful my parents arranged for mine in the middle of the year.) And going on past experience, Stats NZ expects 105 children will be born this Christmas Day. Bad planning, folks!
Monday, December 20, 2004
Now here's a bold attempt to change the system
If you don't like the heat get out of the kitchen, goes the saying. But here's a turnaround: If you don't like the kitchen, get in and remodel it.
A bold plan in the United States, the Free State Project, is trying to persuade 20,000 or more liberty-oriented people tomove to New Hampshire, where they may work within the political system to reduce the size and scope of government. According to the website, "The success of the Free State Project would likely entail reductions in burdensome taxation and regulation, reforms in state and local law, an end to federal mandates, and a restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the rest of the nation and the world."
If you don't like the heat get out of the kitchen, goes the saying. But here's a turnaround: If you don't like the kitchen, get in and remodel it.
A bold plan in the United States, the Free State Project, is trying to persuade 20,000 or more liberty-oriented people tomove to New Hampshire, where they may work within the political system to reduce the size and scope of government. According to the website, "The success of the Free State Project would likely entail reductions in burdensome taxation and regulation, reforms in state and local law, an end to federal mandates, and a restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the rest of the nation and the world."
Christmas fights back #3
County officials in Florida have reversed a decision that banned display of Christmas trees in public facilities, including libraries, recreation centers and community centers. Pasco County, north of Tampa, made the reversal 24 hours after the American Center for Law and Justice sent a letter to officials. "We are pleased that the county admitted its mistake and reversed its legally flawed decision removing Christmas trees from county facilities," said ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow. "The law is very clear about this issue -- the display of Christmas trees is constitutional and the county had no legal basis in removing them."
Elsewhere: In a dramatic about-face, a Wisconsin school district has reversed its decision to bar high school students from handing out Christmas cards containing the story of the religious origins of the candy cane. The reversal derailed a federal lawsuit at the last minute. District Superintendent David Shapley initially told five members of a high school Christian student club that the card could not be passed out to their classmates because of its religious message. As explained in the card, the candy cane was shaped like a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. "The color white stands for the pureness of Jesus. The color red represents the blood of Jesus shed for us," the card read, concluding with a "Merry Christmas" wish to the reader. Permission to distribute the card was first denied by Principal Cassandra Schug, and then by Shapley. The five students sought legal advice from Liberty Counsel, which received no response from the district school board to a faxed letter earlier this month. The legal firm began to prepare a lawsuit, and planned to file that lawsuit on the morning of December 14. But Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver says the district backed down at the eleventh hour.
In Chicago, a Nativity scene has been given police protection after a life-sized model of the infant Christ was briefly stolen before being recovered earlier this month. In the Oklahoma City suburb of Mustang, voters angered by a school board's decision to remove a Nativity scene from a school play demonstrated their fury at the ballot box last week. They rejected the board's plans to raise $11 million (£5.7 million) by issuing bonds. Also last week, a court challenge began in New York to overturn a policy that allows the Jewish menorah and Islamic crescent and star to be displayed in schools, but forbids Nativity scenes.
County officials in Florida have reversed a decision that banned display of Christmas trees in public facilities, including libraries, recreation centers and community centers. Pasco County, north of Tampa, made the reversal 24 hours after the American Center for Law and Justice sent a letter to officials. "We are pleased that the county admitted its mistake and reversed its legally flawed decision removing Christmas trees from county facilities," said ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow. "The law is very clear about this issue -- the display of Christmas trees is constitutional and the county had no legal basis in removing them."
Elsewhere: In a dramatic about-face, a Wisconsin school district has reversed its decision to bar high school students from handing out Christmas cards containing the story of the religious origins of the candy cane. The reversal derailed a federal lawsuit at the last minute. District Superintendent David Shapley initially told five members of a high school Christian student club that the card could not be passed out to their classmates because of its religious message. As explained in the card, the candy cane was shaped like a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. "The color white stands for the pureness of Jesus. The color red represents the blood of Jesus shed for us," the card read, concluding with a "Merry Christmas" wish to the reader. Permission to distribute the card was first denied by Principal Cassandra Schug, and then by Shapley. The five students sought legal advice from Liberty Counsel, which received no response from the district school board to a faxed letter earlier this month. The legal firm began to prepare a lawsuit, and planned to file that lawsuit on the morning of December 14. But Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver says the district backed down at the eleventh hour.
In Chicago, a Nativity scene has been given police protection after a life-sized model of the infant Christ was briefly stolen before being recovered earlier this month. In the Oklahoma City suburb of Mustang, voters angered by a school board's decision to remove a Nativity scene from a school play demonstrated their fury at the ballot box last week. They rejected the board's plans to raise $11 million (£5.7 million) by issuing bonds. Also last week, a court challenge began in New York to overturn a policy that allows the Jewish menorah and Islamic crescent and star to be displayed in schools, but forbids Nativity scenes.
Christmas fights back #2
A US school that censored expressions of Christmas has been taken to court. The Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Legal Institute haved filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against the Plano Independent School District for a discriminatory policy that censors the Christmas religious expression of students and their parents.
“The policy is a perfect example of politically correct extremism,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “School officials have gone so far as to prohibit students from wearing red and green at their ‘winter break’ parties because they claim they are Christmas colors. Even the plates and napkins must be white. The district’s policy is ludicrous to even the most common observer.”
In addition to banning Christmas colors, school officials have prohibited students from exchanging candy canes and pencils with religious messages on them, using reindeer symbols, or writing “Merry Christmas” on greeting cards to U.S. soldiers because the phrase might “offend someone.” The district has even applied its policy to parents involved in school activities, barring them from exchanging “religious” Christmas items with other parents.
A US school that censored expressions of Christmas has been taken to court. The Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Legal Institute haved filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against the Plano Independent School District for a discriminatory policy that censors the Christmas religious expression of students and their parents.
“The policy is a perfect example of politically correct extremism,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “School officials have gone so far as to prohibit students from wearing red and green at their ‘winter break’ parties because they claim they are Christmas colors. Even the plates and napkins must be white. The district’s policy is ludicrous to even the most common observer.”
In addition to banning Christmas colors, school officials have prohibited students from exchanging candy canes and pencils with religious messages on them, using reindeer symbols, or writing “Merry Christmas” on greeting cards to U.S. soldiers because the phrase might “offend someone.” The district has even applied its policy to parents involved in school activities, barring them from exchanging “religious” Christmas items with other parents.
