margonaut.com
(formerly practicalhippie.com)
ARCHIVE
October 2004
Saturday, October 30, 2004happy birthday to meToday's my birthday and I celebrated last night after midnight and continue to do so today :) Here's my low budget Halloween costume for this year, a tin foil hat:  posted @ 04:25 PM PDT Wednesday, October 27, 2004quote of the dayI have a great fondness for early American history and the ideals of American government... Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God. -- Thomas Jefferson posted @ 11:19 AM PDT Monday, October 25, 2004improving your Scrabble gameOne of the best ways to improve your Scrabble game is to learn these useful word lists. posted @ 10:44 AM PDT Friday, October 22, 2004good news on the environmentThe Kyoto Protocol has finally been ratified by enough nations to go into effect! Unfortunately, the USA (aka the world's biggest polluter of the air) didn't sign on, but this is definitely a step in the right direction. Opinion: Kyoto Clears Final Hurdle http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1369437,00.html For environmentalists around the world, Friday was a day worthy of celebration: after years of waiting, Russia finally agreed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global warming. As the 29th of 36 large industrial countries, the signing of the international climate treaty by the Russian parliament, or Duma, means the UN accord will finally go into effect worldwide. posted @ 01:19 PM PDT whatever you're watching, you're still spending your life on the couch I want one of these! It would be tempting to walk down suburban streets with it however... Public TV zapper hot product http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/10/21/tvbgone041021.html The TV-B-Gone ($14.99 US) remote control was made public Monday in Wired magazine and on the web. "I thought there would just be a trickle, but we are swamped," the inventor, Mitch Altman of San Francisco, told the Associated Press. "I didn't know there were so many people who were into turning TV off." posted @ 01:19 AM PDT Thursday, October 21, 2004parastic campaigningI can think of a few ways that this money could have been better spent. I would also like to see a ban on campaign TV commercials... Nearly $4 Bln Spent on Election Campaigns http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=6574058 The total is fueled largely by individual donors, who gave $2.5 billion to candidates and parties -- $1 billion more than in the 2000 election cycle. The center said the increase is the result of a doubling of the legal limit for individual contributions to presidential and congressional candidates, even though changes in campaign finance law in 2002 were intended to beat back the influence of money in politics. posted @ 06:44 PM PDT Earthdance I recently went to an amazing party in Vancouver called Earthdance. Earthdance parties are held all over the world on the same day with intentions towards human cooperation and healing the Earth. In Vancouver, the party was held in gorgeous Stanley Park and people of all ages attended. It was a grey and rainy morning, but the clouds split just in time for the party and I danced in the sun all afternoon. I had a magical time!  more pictures... posted @ 12:25 AM PDT Tuesday, October 19, 2004should you get a flu shot?When I worked for the US Government we were strongly encouraged to get a flu shot since it "saves sick days" etc. I've never been completely comfortable with the idea of these shots, as I prefer to let my immune system do its job and I am suspicious of anything that the government wants to shoot everyone up with... Look into the matter a bit before you decide whether to get one this winter! Your doctor may be under the influence of drug company advice... Why I never get flu shots http://www.mercola.com/2000/nov/26/flu_shots.htm Do you want any of the following vaccine constituents in YOUR bloodstream?
posted @ 06:30 PM PDT Monday, October 18, 2004news from the campaign trailBe careful what t-shirt you wear, the thought police might get you... Teachers' T-shirts bring Bush speech ouster http://www.bend.com/news/ar_view^3Far_id^3D18712.htm Three Medford school teachers were threatened with arrest and escorted from the event after they showed up wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Protect our civil liberties." All three said they applied for and received valid tickets from Republican headquarters in Medford. The women said they did not intend to protest. "I wanted to see if I would be able to make a statement that I feel is important, but not offensive, in a rally for my president," said Janet Voorhies, 48, a teacher in training. ˆ£We chose this phrase specifically because we didn't think it would be offensive or degrading or obscene," said Tania Tong, 34, a special education teacher. Thursdayˆ¢s event in Oregon sets a new bar for a Bush/Cheney campaign that has taken extraordinary measures to screen the opinions of those who attend Bush and Cheney speeches. For months, the Bush/Cheney campaign has limited event access to those willing to volunteer in Bush/Cheney campaign offices. In recent weeks, the Bush/Cheney campaign has gone so far as to have those who voice dissenting viewpoints at their events arrested and charged as criminals. posted @ 12:07 PM PDT Sunday, October 17, 2004freedom newsI'm glad someone in the U.S. Justice system has their eyes open... Terror fears don't trump Constitution, court rules http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/10/16/protesters.terrorism.ap/index.html We cannot simply suspend or restrict civil liberties until the War of Terror is over, because the War on Terror is unlikely ever to be truly over," Judge Gerald Tjoflat wrote for the three-member court. "September 11, 2001, already a day of immeasurable tragedy, cannot be the day liberty perished in this country. posted @ 12:56 AM PDT Saturday, October 16, 2004wtf?This is one of the weirdest stories I've seen in a long time. I can't say that I disagree 100% with the basic concept, but somehow this seems like one of those signs of the fall of Empire... Orgies are the way to ease social tensions, claims US judge http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1317386,00.html He is the conservative bastion of the US supreme court, a favourite of President Bush, and a hunting partner of the vice-president. He has argued vociferously against abortion rights, and in favour of anti-sodomy laws. But it turns out that there is another side to Justice Antonin Scalia: he thinks Americans ought to be having more orgies. posted @ 05:33 PM PDT Friday, October 15, 2004funny (& sad) because it's trueI saw a t-shirt recently that said, I'LL TRY BEING NICER IF YOU TRY BEING HOTTER It made me think about all the girls I see with jerks who flatter them. That ego boost that comes with having someone think you're attractive is not the same thing as love. This is a common mistake in our culture of insecurity... posted @ 04:07 PM PDT Wednesday, October 13, 2004way to contribute to societyThere are people out there who get paid to think things like this up, create them, and write press releases for them.... First-Ever Interactive Urinal Communicator Targets Men http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-11-2004/0002272040&EDATE= "Target marketing" takes on a whole new meaning in the first-ever viral marketing use of an interactive urinal communicator in America. The deodorizing urinal drain filter cover -- featuring a waterproof anti-glare lenticular viewing display -- has a pre-recorded greeting by a woman that commands, "Don't miss OUTLAWS on CMT. You seem to miss everything else!" The CMT OUTLAWS 'Wizmark' has flashing lights and is motion-activated: step up to the urinal and the unit starts flashing, talking and alternating pictures. posted @ 11:48 AM PDT Tuesday, October 12, 2004freedom of the press?Here's something that goes against everything America is supposed to be about.... Yay freedom! FBI Seizes IMC Servers http://www.indymedia.org/en/static/fbi.shtml On Thursday, 7 October around 18 GMT two Indymedia servers hosted by Rackspace in the UK went down. The servers (ahimsa) host the sites of more then 20 local collectives, radio streams for several radio stations, BLAG (a Linux distribution as well as miscellanous other projects. Indymedia was not informed prior to this action, nor have we been given any information why the hardware was taken, by whom and who holds it now. Indymedia issued a press release that has been taken up globally. It was followed by a lot of specualtions worldwide on the reasons. The next day, 8 October Rackspace stated that they responded to a "Commissioner's subpoena". "Rackspace is acting as a good corporate citizen and is cooperating with international law enforcement authorities. The court prohibits Rackspace from commenting further on this matter." posted @ 02:08 PM PDT Wednesday, October 6, 2004bear storyWhen I was on the Coast, everyone was talking about bear sightings. While they're just black bears (who don't normally have any interest in hurting people) they're still quite imposing creatures.  Here's a story from North Vancouver, where human sprawl is encroaching on wilderness habitat... Pie-gobbling bear crashes dinner http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/05/blackbearcub041005.html A black bear cub raided a North Vancouver kitchen, gobbling a blackberry pie intended for a dinner party. Lynn and James Hill were expecting their guests Sunday night, when the young bear apparently walked right into the couple's kitchen, attracted by the smell of the freshly baked pie. posted @ 03:11 PM PDT Saturday, October 2, 2004laptop nomadI finally joined the wireless revolution and now am able to connect to the Internet using my laptop wherever there's a WiFi hotspot. I know this has been around for years, but it's new for me and it's going to improve my quality of life :) I've been able to get online for free from the hostel I'm staying at courtesy of someone with a wireless router in one of the numerous apartment buildings nearby. Wireless routers are cheap, and in Vancouver, there's a lot of people working towards making it free as many places as possible. The speed of it reminds me of dialup sometimes, so I'm going to keep carrying that network cable around... posted @ 09:11 PM PDT Friday, October 1, 2004going with the flowI found a great place to live for November 1st, so I'll be travelling until then. I'll be in Toronto for a few weeks, so if you see me there don't freak out, I'M JUST VISITING. Right now I'm back in Vancouver where I have some shopping to do and some parties to attend. I spent today walking around in amazing Stanley Park. The weather is spectacular so I haven't really felt like being online much. I still haven't had a chance to hook my laptop up to the Internet, so photos will have to wait a bit longer (hopefully not as long now that I'm in the city...) Life is good and I know how lucky & blessed I am. posted @ 09:21 PM PDT |
|