Halloween treats

Some people will do anything to get something for nothing - so here's your chance if you're that way inclined. Krispy Kreme here in Australia is offering a free SPECIAL HALLOWEEN doughnut to people fronting their stores in Halloween costume on Friday (31/10). Just because we're not in the US doesn't mean we can't celebrate this particular festivity with our American friends. Trick or treat anyone?

Driving me crazy

I noticed this while we were driving north (and south) on holidays recently, and I had completely forgotten about it until I read this letter in the paper today:

[What irks me] People who drive 10km/h below the limit on a single-lane road but when it turns into two lanes they speed up to 10km/h over the limit, meaning you overtake them doing 130km/h just in time for the police to book you. Steve, Coffs Harbour. hottopic; The Daily Telegraph.

I don't know why it is ... but it certainly does happen - except we don't speed to overtake them. As long as it's not raining, I set the cruise control for the speed limit and will Lars (the car) to "take them". Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.

Lack of clarity

A report in today's The Daily Telegraph tells of a car accident in Victoria where, with a learner driver at the wheel, a two-door vehicle hit a pole but none of the eight people in the vehicle were killed. Rescue workers at the scene branded the act of cramming that many people into the vehicle "sheer stupidity", but the Victorian Police Commissioner is reported as saying "the six men and two women were not breaking the law as long as all the seat belts were being used". It may be that the laws differ between Australian States, but I thought that here in NSW each person in the vehicle had to be wear a seatbelt - therefore only as many people can be in the vehicle as there are operating seatbelts - as opposed to it's okay for some people in the vehicle not to be wearing seatbelts as long as all the available seatbelts are being used by someone. Having been involved in a couple of vehicle accidents (thankfully none serious), my preference is definitely for seatbelts - and certainly having anyone unrestrained in a vehicle in a crash becomes a hazard to everyone else, never mind what damage they might do to themselves. I have just finished reading "Rant" by Chuck Palahniuk and one of the key characters is in a vehicle accident with her mother and father. She is lying on the seat at the back at the time, not wearing a seatbelt, and it is her body, as it is thrown forward to hit her parents, that causes the injuries that lead to their deaths.

Life imitating …

In Taree, NSW, last Monday, as we sat having breakfast on a small balcony overlooking a park and then the river, I noticed a young man pushing his way - and his bicycle - through the shrubbery towards us. S was deep in newspaper so I pointed it out to her: "Look, there's a man in the bushes." Quick as a flash, the man said "Russell" (or Rustle) - and then proceeded to secure his bike to the balcony support. "That's not your real name" I said. "No" he smiled, and went on his way.

Space smells

According to a recent report, Space (as in Outer) smells like fried steak, hot metal and welding a motorbike. But how do they know - since chances are no astronaut is likely to whip off their helmet on a space walk and take a great big whiff? No non-human noseometer either probably. No - just the good ol' fashioned sniff test of the spacesuit once astronauts are back on board. I suppose it could be enough to make you scream - although would anyone hear you - if you were a vegetarian. But has the smell of space changed over the years as more stuff gets s(c)ent up there, and if there is no oxygen and/or wind do smells, once generated, stay in the same "spot" in geo-synchronous orbit with Earth? And were they male or female astronauts reporting the smell of space - and could gender affect the olfactory result? And will mere (as in not-cashed-up) mortals ever know? I ask because word from the latest space joyrider (? Charles Simonyi) is that people with the big bucks and the passion will still pay to go to space - whatever the price. If so - no doubt they will be able to smell for themselves!

Experimental findings

If you’re over 39 – and of the male persuasion - you might want to stop reading this now because what follows may be unsettling: new research from the University of California suggests that “at age 39 our brain reaches its peak speed, and it’s all downhill after that”. As reported on SlashDot: "The loss of a fatty skin that coats the nerve cells, called neurons, during middle age causes the slowdown, experts say. The coating acts as insulation, similar to the plastic covering on an electrical cable, and allows for fast bursts of signals around the body and brain. When the sheath deteriorates, signals passing along the neurons in the brain slow down. This means reaction times in the body are slower too." ‘The full findings are detailed in the online version of the journal Neurobiology of Aging – including the framework of the experiment: Scientists asked 72 men, ranging in age from 23 to 80, to tap their index fingers as fast as they could for 10 seconds. The researchers also did brain scans to measure in each subject the amount of myelin (the aforementioned fatty sheath). Both the tapping speed and the amount of myelin was found to decline "with an accelerating trajectory" after age 39. So this raises a few questions: Excluding morse operators, is there a section of the community that is more practiced in “tapping” eg perhaps because of work with calculators, texting, computers or computer gaming? Is there a similar difference in age performance in females - and why were females not included in the experiment? Is there a difference between males and females in “brain speed” … and development? Is there a cultural difference – or perhaps a cultural bias (as with IQ tests)? Is 72 really a large enough sample with which to aver that “brain speed declines at 39”? Study leader George Bartzokis, professor of psychiatry at UCLA, called the results "pretty striking" and said: "That may well be why, besides achy joints and arthritis, even the fittest athletes retire and all older people move slower than they did when they were younger." Others (including moi) might say: more work needed.

Kindle up some interest

I tell you, this is music to my ears ... the news that Oprah (as in Winfrey) has announced her latest "new favorite thing "is the Amazon Kindle - wich is an ebook reader (as well as having some other features). So why am I excited even though I'm not going to take advantage of the code which would give me a $US50 discount on the device (although perhaps I should be given today's deep dive of the Australian dollar)? It's a small matter of content. If Oprah's endorsement of the Kindle works as well as her BookClub endorsements - and it seems that there is a perfect companionship here - there will be a burgeoning market for electronic books - and if there's a market there's also the very real possibility that more books will find their way into digital as well as conventional print - and then the rest of us who are already reading our Kindles, iPod Touches, Palms and Pocket PCs will have an even greater choice of material. Yes, yes, I know it's too much to ask to have a price drop on digital works as well - but you can't blame me for dreaming (and doing the happy dance)!

Library news

It's been a while since I went to the Library - at least 4 years because when we moved here I meant to join the Library but never did get around to it - but I was forced there earlier this month when a book M recommended could not be purchased in eBook format. And it sounded just quirky enough that I did want to read it (Men who stare at goats by Jon Ronson), so after an online check to confirm the local book repository had it, I fronted there the next day to join and take out said tome. My, how borrowing a book has changed over the years. It's now all done electronically - scan your membership card and then (s)wipe your item (book, CD or DVD) over the reader mat - then a piece of paper prints out with the name of the item/s and the due date. If the due date rolls around and you want to extend, you can do that online without having to visit the library. And you can have 30 items out at a time! But the innovation doesn't stop there. Used to be back in the olden days, all manner of non-Library rubbish including syringes and other nasties, would find their way into return chutes. Now, the chutes are locked - and you gain access by scanning the barcode on your library card or the item - which is a much safer option. Yes, it's good at the local Library and with this penchant for innovation, I'm hopeful they have an eBook program somewhere on their horizon!

Fire wall or stone walling

I'm not sure how much of what is on the internet is true ... but I read a piece recently which would be very disturbing if it were true. I came across it on the Gizmodo site, which referred to an item on the Boing Boing site, which suggested the Australian Government is putting a web censorship program in place which is designed to restrict teenagers access to p0rn sites but could have wider ramifications. The system is an "opt-out"one - so everyone's usage will automatically be censored. According to the Boing Boing item, if you do opt out, you will be placed on an alternative blacklist which instead of blocking "content innappropriate for children", will block any material deemed to be illegal. But what is illegal content - and who decides? Would it be social, cultural. other eg euthanasia, drugs or political dissent? The interesting part of this is that I picked the story up off an off-shore site but haven't seen anything about it in the local (Australian) press. Might be time to do some digging and, as the Boing Boing item suggested, have a word with the local MP to voice some opposition against this. (And to think we had believed we were free of Big Brother - when the news was released earlier this year that the series was not planned to return to Australian shores. Seems the other Big Brother could be infinitely worse.)

Gadget guy

The writers at Gizmodo are often very tongue-in-cheek - sometimes more so than others. In a recent story they told about a young man, Scott Boe, who broke into a house to charge his cell/mobile phone suggesting a "serious dependency" on gadgets. Of course, it could be that Mr Boe was just breaking into the house - as might have been evidenced by the backpack pokice found at the scene with him which included several knives, a large pry tool and other suspicious devices. Gizmodo suggested the excuse that may have been offered by Mr Boe ... "that stuff isn't mine" might have been as lame an excuse as the urgent need for charging his phone. (Hmmm, I wonder how many people - besides me - actually carry their phone charger with them? Yes, yes, I know ... "serious dependency".)

Water into wine

We've all heard stories about water being turned into wine - those with a Christian upbringing anyway - but it recently happened (again?) in Italy where wine gushed through taps into homes during a grape festival. Alas, it wasn't a miracle, but a plumbing error. An integral part of the Marino's wine festival is where sparkling white wine flows from the fountains from the main square. This year, a technical error meant the wine was directed not to the fountain but to domestic plumbing - and in the couple of minutes before the error was discovered and rectified, where there was water was now ... wine. According to the BBC report I read, the grape festival, Sagra dell'Uva, is one of the oldest in Italy, and commemorates the return of Admiral Marcantonio Colonna to his home in Marino after his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571. The town sent more than 250 sailors to the battle. The sagra is celebrated on the first Sunday of October to give thanks for their safe return. No doubt the local householders who received the unexpected wine, together with a bar on the town square, gave thanks as well.

There's no snow ...

I remember hearing that Eskimos have 32 different words for snow. You can go to this BBC News report for more on those words but here are a couple to help pique your curiosity, as the BBC said:'Kannevvluk' is no problem but avoid 'mingqutnguaq'.

Calibration or something more sinister?

Anyone with a touchscreen device - and there are more of us all the time - know that they are not infallible and that sometimes where you touch the screen isn't always properly recorded by the device. So, it may not be the world's smartest idea to have touchscreen voting machines in situ for the US election - especially as, according to a report in Gizmodo, early voters in West Virginia have complained that when they have tried to vote for Barack Obama, the touchscreen voting machine has recorded their vote as one for John McCain. Hopefully, this is no more sinister than a case of bad calibration - easily fixed if you know how - because we would expect only fair play from the nation which goes out of its way to protect the idea and ideals of democracy. Still, if any of our US friends do find themselvces on a touchscreen voting device, it's probably best to check how your vote was recorded before you leave the booth. (Will we Australians, in our lifetime, be able to vote electronically - either at a defined voting station or over the web - or, perhaps, if not electronically, by using pens - rather than pencils - on our ballot papers?)

TXT your love

You can get many services via mobile/cell phone these days - even relationship help. I recently saw an TV ad for a service where you can assess how strong your relationship is and whether you and your partner should stay together by sending a TXT. I can't recall whether you needed to provide any personal details to help the service "decide". I guess if you were in a relationship with someone who wanted to check how the relationship was progressing by doing this, if they came back with a "break up" it could be doing you a GR8 big favour.

Horror story

Four years ago and just after midnight - Maureen Wyer was harassed by undertaker Adam Lee as he followed her through two suburbs - in his hearse. He was sounding his horn, "ranting and raving", driving into her path, forcing her on to the median strip and banging on her car door. She was fearful for her life and he only stopped when she flagged down two police officers. Now, that time frame again - four years ago ... December 2004. In court yesterday, Mr Lee was placed on an 18-month good behavior bond and ordered to seek treatment for the depression which allegedly contributed to the incident, as, supposedly did alcohol. The woman was unknown to the man - which was partly accountable for the light sentence according to a TV news reports I saw. Understandably she wants to put the episode behind her - and now, four years later, and with justice "done", she may be able to do so. But why does it take four years for a case like this to make the courts, and how much more severe would the sentence have been if he was doing it to a known person rather than just some random person. And is it possible that the court-ordered treatment for his condition could have benefited him, and the community, way back when the harassment happened? Hmmm.
Update: Ms Wyer has branded the sentence "an insult" according to today's The Daily Telegraph. It also added that the incident had left her so traumatised she had been unable to drive for six weeks.

Flight risk

A report on SlashDot tells of a US TSA employee who has been discovered selling goods worth approximately US$200K on the internet. For those who haven't travelled by air in the US, the TSA is part of Homeland Security, and is responsible for doing security checks on goods/luggage travelling by plane. The options when securing your luggage for air travel there are to: not lock your bags; lock your bags with a TSA-approved lock which TSA personnel can open; or lock your bags with a non-TSA-approved lock which the TSA will bust to check your luggage. That's the official checks anyway - which it appears were not how the TSA employee ended up with the goods found when his home was searched, which included: 66 cameras, 31 laptop computers, 20 cell phones, 17 sets of electronic games, 13 pieces of jewelry, 12 GPS devices, 11 MP3 players, eight camera lenses, six video cameras and two DVD players.
The report did not mention the total value of goods purloined by the employee nor what the most amazing piece of stolen luggage was, nor how long the scam had been going on, nor what safeguards would be put in place to prevent a recurrence.

The stuff of dreams

A recent study out of Scotland's Dundee University looks at whether the way we dream - in colour or in black and white - is affected by the television we watched in our younger years. Unfortunately the study only used a small sample size, so this may need to be re-visited but it seems that people (now over 55s) born before television, dream in colour; those who were children (now under 55s) when black and white television was most common, dream in black and white; and children (now under 25s) born when colour televisions were commonplace, dream in colour. What an interesting concept - especially if there is an st/age where children are more malleable than others: eg is there a golden teaching period?
And on the subject of dreams, the BBC reports on a study from the University of the West of England which suggests that women are 'more prone to nightmares'. The 170 subjects in the study recorded their dreams - and 19% of men and 30% of women reported a. nightmare. There was reportedly no difference in the number of dreams recorded by members of each sex - although there was some evidence that women had more "emotional" dreams.

Whale watch

The whales continue to make their way along the coast and when we're in the unit, we keep an eye out - way out. The two whales shown here - one fin, one part of indeterminate origin - are captured with a 12x optical zoom - so they are a long way away. It is still a huge thrill to see the splash and then watch for them to surface again. So why do whales breach? Is it courtship behaviour, play activity or barnacle removal? Experts seem divided on the reasons, but it's good that whales do breach otherwise it would be nigh impossible to spot them.

Off-hand

How do we remember things? And how is it possible that 30-something years later, key shorthand (Pitman) strokes are still "in there" - and able to pulled out enough to be able to take down shorthand at slow talking speed. We were commenting on this as it was happening - and S commented that this - writing shorthand - was another skill I could include on my resume - "but" I protested "I can't read it back" - "doesn't matter" she replied "you're only saying you can write it". Hmmm.

T

At Burleigh Heads Beach on the Gold Coast, at Monday mornings at 8:30am, the Council provides free Tai Chi lessons. The only thing better would be if they then provided Chai Tea.