Response to "if you don't like it, move to another country."
[written in response to someone in the local paper's comments section who said that if someone didn't like Fox News, they just shouldn't watch it.]
Certainly *one* of the choices someone has is to not watch something they don't like. But if the something is, in one's opinion, giving false information to a huge swath of the citizens of the country, then one has the right, and some would say the responsibility, to speak up. As the quote goes: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Note that I'm not passing any value judgment on Fox News here, I'm just tired of hearing people say "if you don't like it, don't pay attention to it" or even better: "if you don't like it move to another country." That's not how it works. Individual citizens can shape reality with their opinions just as much as a news organization can, and it's part of the checks and balances of society. You change your country and your society by voting (or choosing not to vote), speaking out or keeping silent; by how you spend your money; and in many other ways.
Certainly *one* of the choices someone has is to not watch something they don't like. But if the something is, in one's opinion, giving false information to a huge swath of the citizens of the country, then one has the right, and some would say the responsibility, to speak up. As the quote goes: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Note that I'm not passing any value judgment on Fox News here, I'm just tired of hearing people say "if you don't like it, don't pay attention to it" or even better: "if you don't like it move to another country." That's not how it works. Individual citizens can shape reality with their opinions just as much as a news organization can, and it's part of the checks and balances of society. You change your country and your society by voting (or choosing not to vote), speaking out or keeping silent; by how you spend your money; and in many other ways.
Separate truths
"It is misleading — and dangerous — to think that religions are different paths to the same wisdom"
Quote of the Day
"Today our society places great emphasis on specialization and focus. Students used to go off to university with the idea of broadening themselves; now it has become a mostly vocational experience. Students use higher education as a means to develop a skill that will make them attractive to employers. We place so much emphasis on being good at what we do that we fail to realize that getting better at what we do might be best achieved by getting better at other--and wildly different--things."
- Garry Kasparov, chess player and politician, from his book How Life Imitates Chess.
Kitchen Hack: One-Minute Bread
"Oven-fresh bread is one of life’s simple joys. Ciabatta, a crisp-crusted Italian bread with hints of sourdough and loads of crannies longing for butter, is one of the easiest breads to make at home. "
How I Mastered the Power Nap
"Daniel Tenner has spent a lot of time thinking about (and taking) naps. What follows is his experience learning to master 20 minute power naps even though he normally takes 30 minutes to fall asleep."
What's the Best Way to (and Why Should I) Create a Home Inventory?
"Taking a home inventory isn't really hard, it's just time consuming. It's also extremely important; a good inventory will speed up the insurance claims process and ensure your insurance takes care of everything you lost. (You do, of course, need the insurance.)"
Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Making Your Stuff Last Longer
"We live in a disposable world, but just because things weren't made to last doesn't mean you can't make them. These 10 tips and tricks will help you squeeze more life from your batteries, appliances, flowers, razor blades, and more."
The Psychology of Spending Money: 25 Tricks You Need to Know
"Here are 25 tricks for understanding the psychology of spending money and maximizing your ability to be in control."
La Gaite Lyrique
Excellent video. And no, I don't know what it means either.
Full-screen it for best view.
Full-screen it for best view.
One of the ugliest noises
One of the worst ways to wake up is to the sound of your cat barfing, and you have to just lie there and wait for her to finish, because if you try to get her to linoleum she'll just run to her go-to spot under the bed, and that will massively complicate the clean up effort.
I watched our other cat throw up once, and it was such a massive load that he actually backed away from it as he was puking, like a dump truck moving as it tilted out a dozen cubic yards of whatever. I remember that incident well, because it was then that I learned an important lesson: never pick up brand new cat chunder, because it is the temperature of the inside of a cat, and that warmth increases the gross factor by a lot. Ya gotta let 'em cool down.
Our cats are very good at remembering to do the technicolor yawn right in the major carpeted walkways, but one accidentally threw up in the kitchen once, and it was so easy to clean up I barely remember it.
I wonder if there's a website where you can find out which breed of dog is most likely to find cat puke tasty? Or even better: which breed will be most likely to just eat your cats.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go accidentally leave the front door open.
I watched our other cat throw up once, and it was such a massive load that he actually backed away from it as he was puking, like a dump truck moving as it tilted out a dozen cubic yards of whatever. I remember that incident well, because it was then that I learned an important lesson: never pick up brand new cat chunder, because it is the temperature of the inside of a cat, and that warmth increases the gross factor by a lot. Ya gotta let 'em cool down.
Our cats are very good at remembering to do the technicolor yawn right in the major carpeted walkways, but one accidentally threw up in the kitchen once, and it was so easy to clean up I barely remember it.
I wonder if there's a website where you can find out which breed of dog is most likely to find cat puke tasty? Or even better: which breed will be most likely to just eat your cats.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go accidentally leave the front door open.
Quote of the Day
"The very notion that on any given story all you have to do is report what both sides say and you've done a fine job of objective journalism debilitates the press. There is no such thing as objectivity, and the truth, that slippery little bugger, has the oddest habit of being way to hell off on one side or the other: it seldom nestles neatly halfway between any two opposing points of view. The smug complacency of much of the press--I have heard many an editor say, 'Well, we're being attacked by both sides so we must be right'--stems from the curious notion that if you get a quote from both sides, preferably in an official position, you've done the job. In the first place, most stories aren't two-sided, they're 17-sided at least. In the second place, it's of no help to either the readers or the truth to quote one side saying, 'Cat,' and the other side saying 'Dog,' while the truth is there's an elephant crashing around out there in the bushes."
-- Molly Ivins, columnist.
-- Molly Ivins, columnist.
DIVOGA 8-Pocket Folder
Here's my review of this folder. I really have looked at a lot of these folders lately, and this is clearly the best one I've seen so far. The writing may be a bit over the top, but I believe in this folder, and it is never more than a few feet from me (except when I'm paragliding, of course).
This pocket organizer impresses me with the following qualities:
-- The metal wire binding is smaller and much more robust than the plastic slot-based ones I've found on other similar organizers (some of those didn't even make it to the checkout counter before the tabs had come apart).
-- This is not a cheapie corkscrew/spring binding, but a well-designed 2-coil per hole locked design that feels sturdy, yet accommodates easy movement of the covers and folders
-- The folder opens flat and stays flat, and you won't have to worry about plastic fatigue as you would with the other all-plastic bendy organizers, or the tearing that happens after even moderate use of the paper-based pocket folders.
-- The pockets are attached on three sides, keeping in what you put in them (nothing can slide out the into the middle as happens with the pockets that are only attached at the bottom and the outside edge)
-- The front and back pockets, being part of the cover, are black; but the inside pockets are translucent, so you can easily if a smaller note or sticky note is still in there
-- being metal (the wire binding) and plastic (everything else), this folder can take almost infinite use without scuffing; and will not suffer the indignity of doodles-- the smooth black lightly-textured surface remains clean and new-looking
-- an ebony monolith protecting your contents. This folder is the office supply equivalent of the little black dress: always in style, and useful for so many occasions of varying formality
This product meets all of my needs, and I'll be on the lookout for other Divoga products. (I had not heard of Divoga before yesterday: I am just an office drone who appreciates a stylish and well-designed product).
This pocket organizer impresses me with the following qualities:
-- The metal wire binding is smaller and much more robust than the plastic slot-based ones I've found on other similar organizers (some of those didn't even make it to the checkout counter before the tabs had come apart).
-- This is not a cheapie corkscrew/spring binding, but a well-designed 2-coil per hole locked design that feels sturdy, yet accommodates easy movement of the covers and folders
-- The folder opens flat and stays flat, and you won't have to worry about plastic fatigue as you would with the other all-plastic bendy organizers, or the tearing that happens after even moderate use of the paper-based pocket folders.
-- The pockets are attached on three sides, keeping in what you put in them (nothing can slide out the into the middle as happens with the pockets that are only attached at the bottom and the outside edge)
-- The front and back pockets, being part of the cover, are black; but the inside pockets are translucent, so you can easily if a smaller note or sticky note is still in there
-- being metal (the wire binding) and plastic (everything else), this folder can take almost infinite use without scuffing; and will not suffer the indignity of doodles-- the smooth black lightly-textured surface remains clean and new-looking
-- an ebony monolith protecting your contents. This folder is the office supply equivalent of the little black dress: always in style, and useful for so many occasions of varying formality
This product meets all of my needs, and I'll be on the lookout for other Divoga products. (I had not heard of Divoga before yesterday: I am just an office drone who appreciates a stylish and well-designed product).
The Wisdom of Wikipedia: Mean World Syndrome
"Mean World Syndrome is a phenomenon where the violence-related content of mass media convinces viewers that the world is more dangerous than it actually is, and prompts a desire for more protection than is warranted by any actual threat."
Survey pitfalls and suggestions
Surveys are everywhere these days, and a lot of them bug me. Here's some tips for those creating surveys:
- Keep your survey short: a long survey is less likely to be taken in full, or at all, and my guess is that the longer a survey is, the more skewed the resultant data will be, because only those with really strong opinions (positive or negative) will slog on through it all. The longer your survey is, the less reflective of reality will be the results. Don't believe that since you've "got" the user you can ask them every question you always wanted to ask them; your users realize that your survey is an expenditure of their time for a pretty small payoff (the slight chance that their data will effect some change in a product or service).
- It is certainly the case for me, and I suspect others as well, that the sheer number of feedback I'm asked for makes me engage in only the ones for which I feel very strongly (positively, or especially negatively), which skews the results.
- Don't say it should "only take about 5 minutes" if it has more questions than can even be *read* in that amount of time.
- Consider using binary choices ("I am [] satisfied [] unsatisfied") to gather data, rather than a 1-10 range or something similar. When you use a choice, you can report that "customer satisfaction is up 3% compared to last month", instead of saying "customer satisfaction rose from 72% to 78% from last month to this month, but the standard deviation is 18% and rose 7% from last month". Keep it simple.
- When I see a big grid of a dozen 1-10 range "how important is this to you" questions, it makes me mad… see point number 1
- Ranking lists of things in order of importance is also something I dislike, because it takes a long time, and I never seem to be happy with the choices I make overall
One-Minute Bread
"I wanted something very, very simple that delivered great results in 60 seconds of prep time or less. It may take you a few tries to get below the one-minute mark, but I think you’ll enjoy the results every time!"
What a daft way to stop your spaniel eating the milkman
"As we know, one man once got on one plane in a pair of exploding hiking boots and as a result everyone else in the entire world is now forced to strip naked at airports and hand over their toiletries to a man in a high-visibility jacket."
Quote of The Day
"...the purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline - a problem that largely goes away if you have the right people in the first place. Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to manage the small percentage of wrong people on the bus, which in turn drives away the right people on the bus, which then increases the percentage of wrong people on the bus, which increases the need for more bureaucracy to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline, which then further drives the right people away, and so forth."
- Jim Collins, from Good to Great.
Pork's Dirty Secret: The nation's top hog producer is also one of America's worst polluters
"America's top pork producer churns out a sea of waste that has destroyed rivers, killed millions of fish and generated one of the largest fines in EPA history."
Pain 'should be viewed as a disease in its own right'
"Chronic pain needs to be recognised as a disease in its own right, experts say."
Quote of The Day
"Extroverts are energized by people, and wilt or fade when alone," writes Jonathan Rauch in The Atlantic. "In contrast, after an hour or two of being socially `on,' we introverts need to turn off and recharge. This isn't antisocial. It isn't a sign of depression. It does not call for medication. For introverts, to be alone with our thoughts is as restorative as sleeping, as nourishing as eating. Our motto: `I'm okay, you're okay - in small doses."'
- Wendy Dennis, in House and Home magazine, December 2009
Don't confuse them with facts
"You see, like me, she can remember a time when facts settled arguments. This is back before everything became a partisan shouting match, back before it was permissible to ignore or deride as "biased" anything that didn't support your worldview."
"If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep,..."
"If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. If you have any money in the bank, your wallet and some spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation, you are luckier than 500 million people alive going through this suffering. If you can read this message you are more fortunate than the 3 billion people in the world who cannot read at all.”"
Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?
"The diamond invention—the creation of the idea that diamonds are rare and valuable, and are essential signs of esteem—is a relatively recent development in the history of the diamond trade."
Rules To Live By
1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
2. Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.
3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
25. It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.
26. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
27. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
28. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
29. You should not confuse your career with your life.
30. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
2. Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often.
3. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.
4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
8. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
12. A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.
13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.
14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.
15. No man has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
19. Junk is something you've kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it
20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
23. Thou shalt not weigh more than thy refrigerator.
24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
25. It ain't the jeans that make your butt look fat.
26. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
27. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
28. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
29. You should not confuse your career with your life.
30. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
WIth friends like these…
"Ever wondered why your friends seem so much more popular than you are? There's a reason for that"
Beyond Comprehension: We know that genocide and famine are greater tragedies than a lost dog. At least, we think we do.
"We don't feel 20 times sadder when we hear that 20 people have died in a disaster than when we hear that one person has died, even though the magnitude of the tragedy is 20 times as large. "
YouTube - MOVE YOUR MONEY
"If you leave your money with the big banks, they will use it to pay lobbyists to keep Congress from fixing the problem."
Errors and lies thrive in cold weather
"... a bout of extreme weather does not prove anything about climate change. Climate is the average weather over decades."
Avatar and My Strabismus
I recently saw Avatar in 3-D. Or should I say everyone else in the theater did: because I have suffered from strabismus (wandering eye) my whole life, I can't see in 3-D. My eyes look fine, due to 3 eye operations as a kid and over a decade of wearing glasses, but I see primarily out of my right eye. I have excellent peripheral vision in both eyes, I just can't do the 3-D thing. I had to wear the glasses just to see the movie, but the colors appeared rather muted. Add to that the ho-hum story line, and it being way too long, and I'd give the movie a C.
Stop the panic on air security
"The Underwear Bomber failed. And our reaction to the failed plot is failing as well, by focusing on the specifics of this made-for-a-movie plot rather than the broad threat. While our reaction is predictable, it's not going to make us safer."
Tips for Internet Explorer (and some other browsers)
Try them right now if you'd like
Ctrl-F (hold the CTRL key and press F) brings up a search box which will find text on the current page.
You may double-click the title bar of an IE window to toggle between maximized and regular size windows. If you'd like to permanently change the position and size of your non-maximized IE window, hold down the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys while you move your IE window (by dragging the title bar) and resize it (by dragging any corner of the window), and, while still holding down those three keys, close the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner. From now on IE will open in that same place and size.
Do you want to visit a link or links on a page, but want to leave the page open so you don't have to use the Back button so much? Hold down the Shift key while you click on links, and the links will open in a new window. If you are using IE7 or higher, Ctrl-click will open the links in a new tab in the same window.
If you need to print just part of a web page, select the material you wish to print with your mouse (by highlighting it), then go to File/Print; and in the Page Range area, choose "Selection"
Ctrl-F (hold the CTRL key and press F) brings up a search box which will find text on the current page.
For longer pages that require scrolling:
- the spacebar jumps down screen at a time
- the Home key sends you to the top of the page; the End key takes you to the bottom
You may double-click the title bar of an IE window to toggle between maximized and regular size windows. If you'd like to permanently change the position and size of your non-maximized IE window, hold down the Ctrl, Shift, and Alt keys while you move your IE window (by dragging the title bar) and resize it (by dragging any corner of the window), and, while still holding down those three keys, close the window by clicking the X in the upper right corner. From now on IE will open in that same place and size.
Do you want to visit a link or links on a page, but want to leave the page open so you don't have to use the Back button so much? Hold down the Shift key while you click on links, and the links will open in a new window. If you are using IE7 or higher, Ctrl-click will open the links in a new tab in the same window.
If you need to print just part of a web page, select the material you wish to print with your mouse (by highlighting it), then go to File/Print; and in the Page Range area, choose "Selection"
How Can I Remember Annual Maintenance Chores Around the House?
"You're smart to stay on top of maintenance around your home. It helps you catch issues before before they become huge or costly repair problems, and keeps your home and appliances running smoothly."
Random Thoughts (thanks, Dad!)
I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
There is great need for a sarcasm font.
How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Mapquest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day, "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?
I think the freezer deserves a light as well..
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
There is great need for a sarcasm font.
How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Mapquest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this -- ever.
I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day, "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?
I think the freezer deserves a light as well..
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
Credit Report Card: A Truly Free Look at Your Credit Record
"(it's free; using it won’t affect your credit score; you can request a new report card every 30 days; there are no strings attached; and the data you provide to generate your report will not be used for any other purpose)."
Don't be a jerk during your next fight
"A relationship is only as strong as how well the two can deal with their weakest moments and how well they handle conflict."
The Lung Flute: A Sort of Gross (But Important) Medical Innovation
"The Lung Flute is a simple device that uses sound waves to vibrate wads of mucus in your chest cavity until they rip apart and become more easily cough-up-able. "
My New Theory
Dryer lint is the failed attempts of socks to return from the other dimension in which they are trapped.
This explains the two things that are odd about dryer lint:
This explains the two things that are odd about dryer lint:
- the color is of the lint is not related to what you are drying
- despite removing massive amounts of dryer lint, your clothes don't seem to get thinner
Also, beware, people: it just cost us $83 to get our dryer fixed -- one of the protective thermostat thingies blew because our family members don't clean the lint screen at each use even though someone has been harping on them to do just that. Having a clogged vent pipe can do the same thing (as well as be a fire and carbon monoxide hazard)... we change our vent tube yearly, because it's the flexible corrugated foil kind that's easy to install but impossible to keep clean.
U-M Research Shows Chronically Ill Patients Might Be Happier if They Give Up Hope
"'Hopeful messages may not be in the best interests of the patient and mayinterfere with the patient's emotional adaptation,' Ubel says. 'I don't think we should take hope away. But I think we have to be careful about building up people's hope so much that they put off living their lives.'"
Verifying email-based information
For some reason emails with giant fonts and multiple exclamation points seem to get forwarded around a lot. I try as often as I can to check these out and see how truthful they are, and they're almost always partly or completely untrue.
Here's how to check things out for yourself:
Here's how to check things out for yourself:
- go to a site that investigates such things... I usually use Snopes.com, as they are the most comprehensive and well-researched*, but I also use
UrbanLegends.About.com
TruthOrFiction.com - take a unique word or phrase from the email (an uncommon name, perhaps) and use the Search function on the site to look for it
- read the article
- do a reply-to-all and let everyone know that the message is not correct, and include a link to the article you found
Some people think such emails are harmless, but they aren't: they use up everyone's time, and they increase the amount of lies and false information floating around that people use to form opinions and make decisions, and those opinions and decisions can have a very real negative affect on their lives and the lives of others. Please don't be someone who increases the amount of untruths in the world: check out emails when you get them, and especially before you forward them.
* for those who think Snopes isn't a reliable source, please see:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/internet/a/snopes_exposed.htm
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/snopes.htm
http://www.factcheck.org/2009/04/snopescom/
There is a deliberate campaign going on to discredit Snopes.com, but the site is a good resource.
Appositives and Possessives
"Is the Saturday market in the town square a farmers market or a farmers’ market?"
The Climate Race
"How global warming is already affecting us and the tough choices we have to make."
The Name Engine - Correct Name Pronunciation
"The Name Engine provides the correct name pronunciations of athletes, entertainers, politicians, newsmakers, and more... Better yet, you'll actually hear the right answer."
Crusty pots and pans come clean with an overnight dishwasher detergent soak
"The next day, all of the food was dissolved--no scrubbing necessary--even the scrambled eggs and the roasting pan came clean with just a soapy rinse and a wipe."
Irritation of the day
I get a lot of urban legend and hoax emails, and I usualy try to teach the sender how to check things out before they forward something. But sometimes, when the people don't care and just keep sending stuff, I just reply-to-all (and try to include as many people from previous forwards, becasue they're usually still there in the message, of course). This is a reply I just made to a "Obama called for Muslim Christmas stamp!!!1!1!!" message:
The message below is built of lies, misunderstandings, and what seems to be most of the world's remaining supply of exclamation points. Please see:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp
if you care to know the truth.
Please, for the love of all that is good and truthful, check these things out before you forward them on. Do you want to be someone who increases the amount of lies and misunderstanding in the world? What is the cost of these messages, in time wasted, in people not having the right facts, in people getting angry and maybe taking some action based on a lie you've told them?
The message below is built of lies, misunderstandings, and what seems to be most of the world's remaining supply of exclamation points. Please see:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp
if you care to know the truth.
Please, for the love of all that is good and truthful, check these things out before you forward them on. Do you want to be someone who increases the amount of lies and misunderstanding in the world? What is the cost of these messages, in time wasted, in people not having the right facts, in people getting angry and maybe taking some action based on a lie you've told them?
What Should You Worry About
"Identity theft? Killer sharks? Disease? We're bad at assessing risk—we panic about the wrong things. "
Remove Pet Hair With Rubber Gloves
"All you need is a pair of typical rubber gloves found in the cleaning aisle at your local grocer or big box store. Slide them on and you're set to get frisky with your sofa and car interior."
Top 10 Time-Saving, MacGyver-Style Cleaning Tricks
"Very few people truly enjoy spending time cleaning, and fewer still love buying expensive cleaners for every little task. Here's a handful of clever, time-saving DIY substitutes for common household cleaning jobs."
Fallacies: a list with examples of each
"A fallacy is, very generally, an error in reasoning. This differs from a factual error, which is simply being wrong about the facts. To be more specific, a fallacy is an 'argument' in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support."
How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
"By contrast, this newest volume is based on her stay in a world that she became intimately familiar with: the smiley-faced, pink-ribboned, positive-thinking culture that surrounds breast cancer patients. "
A Doctor's Advice On How To Read Health News (And Know Whether It's Full of Crap)
"If you've just read a health-related headline that's caused you to spit out your morning coffee ('Coffee causes cancer' usually does the trick) it's always best to follow the Blitz slogan: 'Keep Calm and Carry On'. On reading further you'll often find the headline has left out something important, like 'Injecting five rats with really highly concentrated coffee solution caused some changes in cells that might lead to tumours eventually. (Study funded by The Association of Tea Marketing)'."
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Response Center
"Use the Flu Self-Assessment, based on material from Emory University, to:
-- Learn whether you have the symptoms of H1N1 flu (swine flu)
-- Help you decide what to do next"
-- Learn whether you have the symptoms of H1N1 flu (swine flu)
-- Help you decide what to do next"
Sleeping (or lack thereof)
My posts from a recent Facebook discussion about old TV shows showing married couple using twin beds:
Twin beds rock: http://www.divinecaroline.
The wife and I use two twin beds pushed together (which makes a king). So we have independent suspension (and memory foam toppers, oh yeah!) But most importantly: we use different covers, because she likes 3 feet of lead-based quilts and comforters, and I get sweaty head just *thinking* about all that insulation. The bedmate irritation is much minimized by those two things.
The new big thing affecting our sleep: we just adopted a new cat, and she weighs about as much as a VW Beetle, and she thinks that the middle of the night is the purrfect time to walk all over the hoomans and get some attention. Since she's new, and rarely comes out from under the bed (as she has not, as we say, fully integrated into the current feline power structure), we put up with it, but she does that thing that cats do where they concentrate all of their weight on the tips of their paws and just. stand. on. you. When she lays down it's great, it's as comforting as those lead vests you get to wear at the dentist, but she rarely lays down, just walks laps around the bed, up and over the humans, stopping to deliver pressure point attacks. She also head-butts us to get attention, and she's very strong, so it's like, well, being struck by a VW Beetle.
Antibacterial Soap Danger Still a Hot Topic
"Additionally when triclosan, the antibiotic used in these products, combines with chlorinated tap water, a super dioxin is formed."
Mental health nurse's comic about schizophrenia
""Daryl Cunningham (a student mental health nurse based in London) is working on a comic book called Psychiatric Tales, due out in early 2010. On his LJ he posts a chapter on schizophrenia." "
Quote of the Day
"A physician takes an oath to put his patient's interests ahead of his own. A corporation is legally bound to put its shareholders' interests first. And this is part of the inherent conflict between health care as a business, part of our economy, and health care as a public good and part of our society. Health care has become a growth industry. That means higher health care bills. That means more and more middle class people cannot afford health care in this country."
- Maggie Mahar, author of the book Money-Driven Medicine, appearing in the documentary film of the same name (shown on the PBS television program Bill Moyers Journal, 2009-08-28).
- Maggie Mahar, author of the book Money-Driven Medicine, appearing in the documentary film of the same name (shown on the PBS television program Bill Moyers Journal, 2009-08-28).
http://www.moneydrivenmedicine.org/
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08282009/watch.html
Why Cholesterol May Not Be the Cause Of Heart Disease
"Cholesterol is only one factor of many -- and not even the most important -- that contribute to your risk of getting heart disease."
9 Ways Marketing Weasels Will Try to Manipulate You
"This isn't just a 'gee-whiz' observation; understanding how and why we behave irrationally is important. If you don't understand how these irrational behaviors are triggered, the marketing weasels will use them against you."
What's the harm in going to a chiropractor?
"Here are 312 people who were harmed by someone not thinking critically."
Learn how to protect yourself from identity theft
"... we talk with an expert and offer tips on what regular people can do to ensure their identities stick with them instead of other shady characters."
Turn down your car stereo
"Lorain City Council says yes to an officer removing a car stereo that's too noisy."
Whatever Happened to Gary Cooper?
"As a society, we've become so addicted to militarism that we don't even notice the way it surrounds us or the spasms of societal 'roid rage that go with it. The fact is, we need a detox program."
Quote of the Day
"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."
John Ruskin (1819-1900)
John Ruskin (1819-1900)
How Safe Are Vaccines?
"Spurred by claims that vaccinations can be linked to autism, increasing numbers of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines, far from panaceas, are actually harmful to children."
Twice Branded: Western Women in Muslim Lands
"A couple of years after I stopped visiting, a horrific fire broke out in a school in Mecca, home to the Muslim world’s holiest site. Fifteen girls burned to death because morality police standing outside the school wouldn’t let them out of the burning building. Why? Because they weren’t wearing headscarves and abayas, the black cloaks that girls and women must wear in public in Saudi Arabia."
Stop Doing Sit-Ups: Why Crunches Don't Work
"The section with the most nerves (and most potential for nerve damage) is in the back of the spine, which is the very part that bends and strains during a sit-up."
Farmacology
"Johns Hopkins researchers are investigating a troubling potential source of resistant pathogens: the American farm."
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