Electronic Scribblings

BBC: Monster Web

Texan spiders spin 'monster web'

An enormous spider web has been found at Lake Tawakoni State Park, Texas, US.

It is not the work of one giant spider - rather, millions of small ones have been spinning away and now it is twice the size of a football field.

~~~

OK, That is freaky!

Now if only it was late October... that would be a GREAT place for a Halloween party!

Oh yuk!

But I hate beer!

Your Score: Bacardi 151

Congratulations! You're 137 proof, with specific scores in beer (140) , wine (116), and liquor (78).

All right. No more messing around. Your knowledge of alcohol is so high that you have drinking and getting plastered down to a science. Sure, you could get wasted drinking beer, but who needs all those trips to the bathroom? You head straight for the bar and pick up that which is most efficient.

Link: The Alcohol Knowledge Test written by hoppersplit on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Alcohol knowledge test

Forced adoption?

OK, I don't know the full details of this story, but it isn't happening in Guatamala or some Indian state, or some former soviet block country. Nope. We are talking about the UK here.

Again, so far all the news appears to be on one side and I would like to know a bit more about the other reasons yet.. this is troubling if even margenally true:

GMTV: Forced adoption ~ A pregnant woman has been told that her baby will be taken from her at birth because she could be capable of emotional abuse

Ms Lyon has been deemed capable of causing her child emotional abuse because of her history of self-harm and psychological problems, even though psychiatrists say there is no evidence to suggest that she would actually harm the baby.

Hexham children's services, part of Northumberland County Council, made the decision after deciding Ms Lyon might harm her child - or pretend it was ill - simply to get attention.

A couple of places (hum, actually possibly the same poster in 2 places) are putting the spin that she threatened to have a termination if she wasn't allowed to keep her baby as she had said:

“The choice I am left with is whether to have a late termination or fight, knowing there is a risk they’ll take my baby away.”

Goggle for Adoption "Fran Lyon" to get a list of the stories.

 

President snubs War Widow

Americans United (for seperation of Church and State)
For your information (for those of us who are actually NOT American!)

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

Americans United Protests Presidential Snub Of Wiccan War Widow

Americans United for Separation of Church and State today blasted President George W. Bush for shunning a war widow who successfully challenged the administration’s refusal to allow the use of the Wiccan symbol of faith on government-issued grave markers.

On Tuesday, following an address to the American Legion’s national convention in Reno, Bush met with northern Nevada family members of soldiers who have perished in combat. Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart was killed in combat in Afghanistan, was not invited, even though other relatives of Sgt. Stewart were.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sgt. Stewart’s parents and brother were invited to the brief, private meeting with the president. So was the widow of one of the other National Guardsmen killed with Sgt. Stewart when their Chinook helicopter was shot down.

(Article continues)

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OK, this is a complex issue, and Bush is a man of deep Christian faith who has no time at all for those who are perceived as antithetical to the Christian position. But for a nation that believes fairly intensely in the separation of Church & State, he is not a good example of the President upholding both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution.

Now I am of the opinion that you should speak up about things you believe are wrong, but in order to force someone to comply to your moral code there needs to be more, in a society that proclaims equality & justice for all, than just 'My Holy Book is Better than Your Holy Book'.

Ideally a shared moral stance can be found: Most religions feel that, in general terms, murder is bad for example. Common ground. There are a lot of such things.

Sigh. It is late & I want to make a coherent post. Coherence fading so I shall just leave it here, although it is worth noting that I am being a bit cheeky in that I am a Brit, not American.

at home sick

Well, still doing some work but... meh. Tickly cough & elevated temperature. Thankfully I am in the UK, with a well paid job that includes both sick pay and health insurance. I also have a Medic for a Dad.
My temperature is slightly elevated.
That is all.

For the ladies

Urinelle: How to pee with it, or you can use the She Pee.

Now these are a good idea if getting to a clean, usable toilet is a problem for you.

What does it mean to be grown-up?

XKCD-Comics-Grownups

Source: xkcd.com / comics / grownups (not hotlinked)

Thanks Dee, for introducing me to this comic!

QotD: If I Had Guaranteed Success...

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could never fail? 
Submitted by BeckyPink. 

Sigh. Cliche response but it has to be

World Peace

And the current winner of the worst product title: i.Beat Blaxx

Pocket-Lint / "i.Beat blaxx": Great looking player, lousy name

In a case of what has to be the worse product name slip-up ever, German MP3 player maker TrekStor briefly unveiled a new MP3 player called the i.Beat blaxx.

Apparently, according to the report by Pocket_lint, Daniel Szmigiel, executive director of TrekStor proudly stated:

"i.Beat blaxx precisely reflects the desires of the young, trend-conscious target group we are aiming for."

Oh deary me, deary deary me.
Someone in their marketing department needs to be sacked!

News items that caught my eye

Blood chemicals link' to eczema ~ Scientists have identified two blood chemicals linked to itchy eczema, offering new treatment possibilities.

Budget flights of faith ~ The chartered flight service being launched by a Vatican-linked travel organisation along with an Italian airline has both lofty and more mundane goals. It aims to provide a journey of faith for pilgrims as well as turning a profit.

Call for new 'hero' bank holiday ~ Gordon Brown should create a new bank holiday in November to thank community heroes, a think tank has urged.

Is Happiness enough? (POV: Clive James) ~ Is personal happiness enough when there is so much suffering in the world, or is it selfish to focus on the misfortune of strangers to the exclusion of loved ones?

"The capacity for happiness works the same way as the capacity for misery, in that it refuses to be relative. If you have made a loved one miserable, it's useless to tell them that many thousands of people are currently dying by violence. In fact it's another form of violence to say so. Misery can seldom be reasoned away. But happiness, though just as pure a feeling, can often be reasoned away in an instant."

Hum, the last is interesting: what makes you happy? What is happiness, and can we expect it all the time? Or is there some limit to what we have, or are allowed? And how do we find it?
Or, infact, do we spend our time searching for Happiness, like a Unicorn or Phoenix, not realising it is there all the time.

Originally posted at Blue_cat on Livejournal