Potpourri on a Wednesday Night

THIS STUFF MAKES ME MAD AND/OR SAD

1. Top Maryland cops ordered nonviolent peace activists’ names added to anti-terror, drug trafficking databases… – So a bunch of non-violent peace activists get entered into national terrorist databases, just because. Nice. Remember — don’t just look at laws and legal tools based on what their purpose is, but how it can (and, thus, will) be abused.
2. Fundies wail over Hallmark’s line of same-sex couple cards… – Includes a nice link to Hallmark’s feedback site where you can actually send them a thank-you note.
3. Clickjacking: Web pages can see and hear you – Mutter mutter mutter ….
4. Past 15 months have resulted in a $2 trillion loss in retirement accounts … – Um … good thing my retirement is just far enough away to either see the economy finely recover, or to make my comic book collection invaluable for its fire-starting capabilities.
5. Lawmakers steamed over ritzy AIG retreat after bailout… – Crikey. Even if a retreat were a good idea (which it may well have been), you schedule it for the local Holiday Inn and no room service, I mean it, guys!
6. Data-mining sucks: official report – “What? We read all your private information and we still can’t definitively tell you’re a terrorist! Rats! Back to the drawing board!”
7. “We as Christians, We are Persecuted and Oppressed” – “… because they won’t let us preach as state officials in the name of Jesus! That’s violating our First Amendment rights!”
8. New religious reality TV show: “The Holy Hookup.” – Or you can watch something a lot more wholesome and uplifting, like “Fear Factor” or “The Bachelor.”
9. the stupid, it burns – Now announcing the Global War on Student Pencil Sharpeners. Which is great, unless you’re a student caught with one.

THIS STUFF MAKES ME THINK

1. Decluttering for Geeks – Just for other people to read. I mean, it’s not that that I need help decluttering. No, really, I can stop with the clutter any time I want. No, really. Hey, why is everyone laughing?
2. Ford Announces Family-Friendly Safety Features – Some very spiffy safety features (and teen-control key systems).
3. Do Toddlers Dream of Electronic Pets? – Very cool — but “real” pets have some features that robo-pets don’t, teaching kids about life processes (and its value), the need care for others, and how you can’t just turn off everything that bugs you at 3 a.m. (though you can boot it off the bed).
4. The Toll of Coal – Even the “clean” kind.
5. ‘Intelligent’ computers put to the test – Not your father’s Eliza.
6. New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret – This is one of the most bizarre, yet intriguing, ideas to come out of Google Labs in some time. When you try to send an email late at night, it prompts you first with some math problems, to make sure you are thinking clearly (or soberly) enough to be sending an email you might otherwise regret.
7. Some folks substituting toys for candy on Halloween… – I’m okay with candy. Katherine has a ton of it, probably some from last Halloween, because it gets very slowly rationed out. The biggest problem with Halloween candy in our house is that we buy stuff to give away that we actually like. And there are always left-overs.

THIS STUFF MAKES ME HAPPY

1. Justice Delayed, But Justice Nonetheless – A federal judge orders that Gitmo detainees found not to be a threat can’t just be held indefinitely because the government isn’t sure what to do with them. Jeez, what concept.
2. APOD: 2008 October 5 – Earth at Night – Mary forwards a spiffy satallite image of the world at night. Purty.
3. Peugeot HYmotion3 Compressor concept is high tech,… – A high-efficiency, pretty-safe-looking motorcycle. Oooooooh …
4. 2008 Ig Nobels honor best, weirdest scientific research – Brilliant!
5. Suburban mom’s duet with Sting – A very cool story.
6. Educators Say Art Education Improves Test Scores – But it’s not the 3 Rs! It must be cut for more NCLB test prep!
7. PHOTOS: Best Science Images of 2008 Announced – National Geographical glee!
8. Internet Mad Scientist Has Best Personal Library in the World… – Money can’t buy happiness? This would make me damned happy every time I walked into it.
9. Replicate Yourself in LEGO … for just $60K – Okay, this would make me happy, too.
10. Cool Stuff: WETA’s $6000 Steampunk Raygun | /Film – Um … as would this.

THIS STUFF SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN A POLITICAL POST

1. PANIC! – A remarkable number of conservatives think Tuesday’s debate was the death knell of the McCain candidacy.
2. ANALYSIS: What The Primaries Can Tell Us About The Last Month Of The General Election… – An interesting analysis of the primaries, and how the two candidates’ experience affected the campaign to date. Ironically, while the bitter-to-the-end Democratic struggle was thought to have harmed Obama, it may have strengthened him against last-man-standing-by-default McCain. After all, there’s no accusation they can toss at Obama that he didn’t already have to answer to Clinton.
3. This Is How to Write an Endorsement – The New Yorker does a thorough analysis, and writes some very complementary words about Obama.