Random Thoughts From Marybeth

It's Gray, It's Warm, and It Purrs. The Cat Too.

I have tried telling the cat that it's a laptop, not a naptop but he listens to that as well as any of the cats listen to anything I say.

Brand Name Generator

My company should be named "iuro" and my "brand will be unique because this denotes: the art of listening"

It sounded too much like the name of a urology clinic to me so I tried it again and got "sperma" (lasting yet fresh). Suddenly "iuro" sounds much better.

One more time... "werld" denoting "don’t trust anyone". Now, there's one that has potential.

One of the Most Virulent Viral Diseases

How many ways have you heard Hezbollah pronounced during the last week?

Hez-BUH-LAH
Hez-BOOL-ah
Hez-buul-AA
Hez-boo-LAH
Hez-boo-lah
Hehz-boh-LAH
Hiz-BUH-LAH
Hiz-BOOL-ah
Hiz-buul-AA
Hiz-boo-LAH
Hiz-boo-lah
Hihz-boh-LAH

My favorite is Hez-BOWL-ah, rhyming with ebola. (Which is pretty much my reason for preferring it.)

Proper pronunciation - Hezballah/Hizballah/Hizb'allah means "Party of God" so it should be pronounced "hizb allah".

Hark, What Peaceful Music Rings

Today was the last day of band camp and this evening we went to the high school to watch the marching band perform. The theme for this year is "Joy" and pieces that they play include selections from Ode to Joy and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. I'm sure the band was joyful that the weeks of all-day practices are over.

A Hot Time In LaGrange

The Oldham County Day Festival was held in LaGrange a couple of weekends ago. We went to see my son's high school band.

They do not look very happy but to be fair the temperature was in the 90s and it couldn't have been pleasant to be marching in that heat.

One participant in the parade had it worse because of both the discomfort and the irony of being dressed as an ice cream cone on one of the hotest days of the summer.

Ignorance is Strength

An Indonesian journalist faces trial over his decision to publish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

An editor with Rakyat Merdeka said, "We just wanted to let people know about the cartoons, which were being strongly protested at that time." Apparently it's better to protest something when you only have second-hand knowledge of it. He's been charged with "inciting hatred towards a religious group".

Shouldn't that be "by" instead of "towards"?

I Would Have Said "Sardonic"

You're Totally Sarcastic

You sarcastic? Never! You're as sweet as a baby bunny. Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue - and you aren't afraid to use it. And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitude, then too bad. So sad.

New Cyber Patrol

Boy Scouts in Hong Kong must be working on a new badge. Is there one for being tools of the entertainment industry?

Starting this summer the Hong Kong government plans to have 200,000 youths search Internet discussion sites for illegal copies of copyrighted songs and movies, and report them to the authorities. The campaign has delighted the entertainment industry, but prompted misgivings among some civil liberties advocates.

The kids will visit Internet discussion sites and report to authorities when they find copyrighted material available through a posting.

I don't think it's a civil liberties issue to report on people who are breaking the law. I don't have a problem with the crackdown on sharing copyrighted files. (Stricter enforcement here has saved me a lot of money. A few years ago I used to buy one or two CDs a week because I found new music that I liked through shared files. Now I go months without purchasing one.) I wouldn't object to commercials directed at kids and teens encouraging them to report illegal file sharing but this is too much - "All members of the Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and nine other uniformed youth groups here, ranging in age from 9 to 25, will be expected to participate." It's no wonder this reminds some people of mainland China's Cultural Revolution.

Stem Cell Research

“This is not some wedge issue; this is the soul of America,’’ said Representative Diana DeGette, Democrat of Colorado, who sponsored the bill Mr. Bush vetoed. “And this is a colossal mistake on the part of the president.’’

It was not a mistake because it was a wedge issue. This bill did more to create talking points for future elections than it would have done to promote embryonic stem cell research.

This is why you heard that researchers are leaving the country. (A few have but lack of federal funding isn't the only reason. It also has to do with U.S. patents on cell lines which aren't patented in other countries.) This is why you heard that embryonic stem cells offer the best hope for a cure for diseases. (Studies are confirming a finding by the University of Louisville that adult stem cells can be made to mimic embryonic stem cells.)

The arguments against the bill were based on moral grounds. I understand the objections that some people have but I don't know if a five-day-old cluster of cells that was created in a lab and has no chance of being implanted in a woman's womb should be considered the same as an implanted embryo (naturally or artificially). I tend to think not since it could not mature enough to survive without implantation but I also believe that technology could advance enough in the future where it would be possible for an embryo to mature into a full term baby solely through artificial support. If and when this occurs, would we want legislation setting a precedent that allows life created in a lab to be used for federally funded experimentation? (The bill that was passed, S. 3504, prohibits farming of fetuses but only covers human pregnancies and non-human animals used as a surrogate.) When would the cutoff period be then? Some might say it should never be allowed, others might say before the first heartbeat (about five weeks after fertilization), and others might feel that any time up until term would be okay as long as the perceived need was great enough.

The current restrictions prohibit a lab that receives federal funding from using newer colonies of stem cells. The only ones available for this are from embryos destroyed before Aug. 9, 2001. This doesn't prevent labs from doing the research with private or state funding. There is no ban on the research. It's being done at universities (Harvard has developed 17 new stem cell lines) and pharmaceutical companies. With all of the complaints about drug companies profits, it's a bit ironic to think that there are some who would be willing to subsidize their research with taxpayer dollars.

The problem is that a lab that receives federal funding and wants to do embryonic stem cell research on non-approved lines must have a totally separate section for this. Nothing shall be shared, directly or indirectly, including location, equipment, or maintenance.

If our legislators had wanted to create an effective bill, it would have had nothing to do with what lines are available, it would have simplified the accounting of indirect costs for facilities and administration. I believe this would have had a greater chance of becoming law but laws about accounting don't give them as much opportunity for high profile sound bites. What politician wants to tell how he/she fought for or against making sure that even the brooms used to sweep up in the labs have their costs pro-rated according to their use in federally funded labs and research labs using other funding when claiming to be "for science" or "for life" is a much surer bet to make the evening news?

Choices

First a photo from the NYT showing a sniper firing towards U.S. positions.

Right there with the Mahdi army. Incredible courage. - Michele McNally (commenting on photographer Joao Silva)

Second from China Daily, a story about a newswoman who tried to give first aid to a drowning victim instead of covering the rescue attempt.

A person's life is much more important than a news story. - Cao Aiwen

Stating the Obvious

I'm not really sure why this is news.

A microphone picked up an unaware President Bush saying on Monday Syria should press Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit" and that his secretary of state may go to the Middle East soon.

There's already been speculation that Rice will go to the Middle East, so a confirmation that it is being considered is no surprise. The statement that Hezbollah needs to "stop doing this shit", seems fairly clear and precise to me and probably got more nods of agreement from most of us than any vetted speech would.

Better Thee Than Me

If we want to crack down on countries that support allow terrorism, should Britain be next?

Indian officials believe that some British businessmen are using bogus charities to fund terrorist attacks, including the Bombay train bombing.

Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, raised the terror link with Tony Blair at the G8 summit in St Petersburg yesterday, reminding him that India handed over a detailed dossier three years ago identifying 14 men living in Britain and was assured the suspects would be investigated.

“Since then nothing has been done, and the money still coming from Britain helps to pay for the terrorist camps where we believe the bombers were trained and this atrocity was planned,” a senior Indian security official said last night.

The article doesn't give any reasons for the failure to act on the information that was provided other than, "It is difficult to track the money trail...". I don't know enough about UK laws to know why, when they have the names of people and the "charities", that it would be difficult but the cynical side of me wonders if the government thinks that it would be impossible to stop the money from going somewhere and having it fund terrorism outside of the country is preferable to funding it within.

I don't believe that's really the case. I think it's more likely to be something stupid like the fear of appearing to target minorities.

Have a Baby, Get a Life

From the Telegraph:

A study published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows that girls as young as 13 see motherhood as preferable to working in a low-paid, dead-end job.

Far from the common assumption that teenage pregnancies result from irresponsibility or ignorance about contraception, some young girls actively choose to have a baby as a way to change their life and to gain independence and a new identity.

Roy G. Biv

The only camera I had with me was the one in my cell phone but even if the quality isn't the best, a rainbow is always worth sharing.

Wouldn't You Miss Me?

Roger Keith (Syd) Barrett, one of the original members of Pink Floyd, died Friday.

What Number Are You?

Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

Our original plans for Friday were to have breakfast, check out of the hotel and go to the Museum of Science and Industry before leaving for home. We did the first two but our museum visit was delayed because it was closed until 1:00 for the Bush press conference.

I had found out earlier that morning that he would be at the museum but hadn't realized the whole place would be shut down. Considering the security check and wanding we went through to get into the restaurant, I should have figured that there was no way they would want to go through all that with the number of visitors the museum gets, especially with an announced presidential visit. But I had asked the hotel concierge if he knew of any problems in visiting the museum that morning - he didn't even know that Bush was going to be there. I also mentioned that we were going to a police officer outside of the restaurant. Neither said anything about it being closed until the afternoon.

So, we had one failed first attempt to visit followed by a couple of hours getting lost driving around Chicago. I would have been content to head home but I had promised that we would go there before we left so we waited. We were able to get in (to wait in line until it opened) when we returned at about 12:30.

I'm glad we waited. We got to tour the U-boat, see a giant model train layout, learn about coal mines, and see Sue the T-Rex:

This is part of a sign near the U-boat exhibit. I took a picture of it as a reminder that there was a time when designating information as classified really meant something.

People understood that war was, well, war. The ship that captured U-505 was part of Hunter-Killer Task Groups. A similar group now would probably be called "Protective Dolphin Pod" or something equally vague and, most importantly, PC.

The tour's interesting but I couldn't stop thinking about the Twilight Zone episode "Judgment Night" during it.

City of the Big Shouters

I created two mental lists during our trip: interesting places and interesting people. Until our surprise breakfast with the president the person at the top of my "people" list was a man standing on a corner of Michigan Avenue. He had a sign and a megaphone (which wasn't loud enough to completely overcome the street noise). He claimed to be a former Russian (Soviet?) soldier and was warning us that Putin is trying to bring Communism back to Russia.

In the subcategory of "sidewalk presentations" he ranks well above the anti-Bush protesters (about seven of them) across from the Museum of Science and Industry on clarity and presentation of his message. The protesters message was a bit confusing. They seemed to be in support of science but, judging from the signs, not very strong on facts. They were saved the disgrace of a last place finish in this category by a man who was reciting strings of obscenities.

One of the nicest people that we met was also while we were out walking. We had stepped out of the way of other pedestrians to check our map book when a woman stopped to ask if we were lost. (I'm never lost, I know where I am and where I'm going, it's just the "how" that can sometimes be a problem.) She gave us directions on the quickest way back to our hotel and took the time to chat with us a bit and make some suggestions of places that we might want to visit.

Best Breakfast Ever

Before we left Chicago this morning we went to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast. As soon as we got out of the taxi I knew this was going to be a very special breakfast. It wasn't the diner's reputation for good food that got me excited, it was seeing the men in suits with curly wires coming out of their ears.

I had heard on the news this morning that the president was also in Chicago, what I didn't know until we arrived was that he was coming to the same restaurant for breakfast. When President Bush came in he stopped to say hello and shake hands with every person in the restaurant. I think what I said to him went something like, "a buh buh buh, uh, nice to meet you too." I'm sure the grin on my face was equally idiotic. Not one of my better moments.

We were asked not to take photographs inside so the best I have to offer is a photo of the president's limo.

You See, There Are These Really Big Pneumatic Tubes...

Ted Stevens, R-Alaska understands the Internet about as well as my cats do (maybe less).

...an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?

Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially.

He goes on to explain that the Internet is made up of tubes. These tubes get clogged with "enormous amounts of material" and says, "Maybe there is a place for a commercial net but it's not using what consumers use every day." (Besides explaining the Internet someone should also tell him that without consumers there would be no commerce.)

(Link via Anywhere But Here)

Watch Out Danica

Here comes Emma!

We had fun at the go kart track at Renaissance Park today. Although Emma isn't ready for real racing, she still did well considering that this was her first time driving a go kart (or anything other than a bicycle).

Conor was in the lead...

They Deserve Our Trust Because They Can't Keep a Secret?

Op-Ed in the NYT - When Do We Publish a Secret?

It seems to me that when someone spends as much time as the NYT and LAT have explaining their actions, it should be a clue that they have made the wrong choice.

They want our trust. Revealing government secrets was done for the "greater good"...but who has benefitted?

I Need Chicago Help!

This year, the 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System will kick off a record Fourth of July holiday weekend. AAA estimates that 40.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 1.2 percent increase from the 40.2 million who traveled last year. Of those travelers, about 85 percent will travel by car on our national interstate and local road way system this weekend.

I'm not going to be one of the weekend/holiday travelers but I will be taking a trip after the 4th. I'm taking the kids to Chicago to see the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum. I wasn't able to see it the last time (1977) it was in the U.S. and I didn't want to miss it this time.

We'll only be staying a couple of nights and we plan on visiting the Field Museum on the morning of the day after we arrive. That leaves the late afternoon/evening of our arrival day and the afternoon and evening of the second day open. I've been reading books and checking Websites to find things to do but would appreciate any suggestions for things to do with kids (10, 13, and 17).

Restaurant suggestions would also help. I would like to take them to a nice restaurant, the kind the guidebooks call "fine dining". I figure the chances of them acting civilized are better when they're in an unfamiliar city than at a good restaurant at home. (Their manners are usually pretty good but they are kids and a little unfamiliarity might move "pretty good" up to "a pleasure to dine with".)

I'm expecting that meal to be pricey so I'm also looking for good but inexpensive places for breakfasts, lunches, and one other dinner.