Thingamadad

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• Favorited Cal State University fires Quaker for inserting "nonviolently" into loyalty oath on Boing Boing
• Favorited How to run a snail race on Boing Boing
• Commented on Dogs that know when their owners are coming home experiment
  Our cat hears our car on the street, and that's enough. Sitting with my daughter outside, I can recognize our car (or a same model station wagon owned by a neighbor) as it drives over a dip far out of...
• Commented on Impromptu bookmarks found in used books
  Found in the locked basement of the Humboldt State University library in a history book about Alexander von Humboldt... the neatly torn logo from the wrapper of a roll of Humboldt Roll Toilet Tissue. The inserter also typed a message...
• Commented on Is driving better than cycling?
  This reminds me of the BS argument that disposable diapers might be as good an option as reusable diapers. Merely posing the question insults our intelligence....
• Commented on Brain Fitness Software Market report
  Or they could just stop watching TV, do crosswords and go for walks outside. One electronic brain game my mother's friends tried to hook her on encouraged rapid fire answering of trivia questions. I'd much rather see activities that promote...
• Commented on Cal State University fires Quaker for inserting "nonviolently" into loyalty oath
  This reminds me of a similar incident at Humboldt State University (also a Cal. State University school) in 1996. A Methodist pastor and university lecturer was removed from his job when he objected to the requirement that he have "true...
• Commented on Obsolete skills
  I canceled cable last year. Adjusting rabbit ears has become my specialty, though I find myself interested in TV less and less. I don't need a converter box for my DVD collection, so I doubt I'll convert....
• Commented on Hamster's Lunch at Coco's in Los Angeles
  Why biggify when you can embiggen? I expect more cromulence from BoingBoing. Come on!...
• Commented on Cop roughs up teenage skateboarder on video
  A peace officer who cannot keep his cool in a situation needs to step back and call a colleague to step in. If an officer regularly loses control of his emotions, he should not be in contact with the public....
• Commented on Sony kills DRM stores -- your DRM music will only last until your next upgrade
  str1cken, you wrote: There wasn't a choice, the only choice was not to buy, and many people did, in fact, choose not to buy. ----- Enough people bought/voted for DRM that it became a viable candidate. We can't blame ballot...
• Commented on Sony kills DRM stores -- your DRM music will only last until your next upgrade
  Sorry for the multiple posts, but an analogy just hit me. Take the Hummer. Some blame does get cast at its manufacturer for the car's gas guzzling nature, but the vast majority of vitriol is cast upon the consumers who...
• Commented on Sony kills DRM stores -- your DRM music will only last until your next upgrade
  In other words, the argument I'm hearing sounds like customers are helpless and have no choice except to buy into DRM. I was raised to view every dollar I spend as a vote and I'm voting every day with my...
• Commented on Sony kills DRM stores -- your DRM music will only last until your next upgrade
  ukcannonfodder, if customers didn't buy DRM products, would DRM be around today? No. Bad ideas happen all the time that wither and die because they are bad. Why did this bad idea thrive? Because enough customers supported it. In some...
• Commented on Sony kills DRM stores -- your DRM music will only last until your next upgrade
  A media company isn't "punishing" its customers. It is the customers who make DRM possible. Buy DRM and you support DRM, like watering a plant and giving it sunshine. Don't complain because the plant you nurtured pricks you with its...
• Commented on Challenge: figure out Amazon's crazy-ass "proprietary" MP3 tagging system -- UPDATED
  What I'm asking is that, if your solution to an inferior product is to reverse-engineer it into having basic functionality, where does that leave the rest of society? If the situation were inescapable, I'd say, more power to you. But...
• Commented on Challenge: figure out Amazon's crazy-ass "proprietary" MP3 tagging system -- UPDATED
  If you have to reverse engineer a product to make it functional, that's all well and geeky, but you're casting your vote for the wrong candidate. Your wallet is the ballot box. Demand a refund from Amazon. I did exactly...
• Commented on Talking About AT&T's Internet Filtering on AT&T's <i>The Hugh Thompson Show</i>
  That reminds me of a live taping of NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me where a guest author's telephone comments were scorchingly anti-Bush, but they kept the interview going until they had enough non-Bush material. The aired version was entirely...
• Commented on Spoiled teenage pageant princess
  Security conscious users will need to enable Javascript for huffingtonpost.com and brightcove.com. It's nice that youtube videos play without Javascript....
• Commented on Old Age Rejuvenator Centrifuge of 1935
  Centrifuges are also great for labor and delivery. Spin the baby out into a reception net, even if the mother has lost consciousness due to the g-forces. http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/2007/01/baby_patent_his.html...
• Commented on Caution: Children violating the frame!
  "Use explosives to escape the pyramid."...
• Commented on The sound of one cat purring: purrcast.com
  It's a shame each podcast begins with a 1 second music clip, otherwise they would be purrfect for putting a baby to sleep. Until then, there's catsleep.com and similar services....
• Commented on Futurama ride at 1939 World's Fair celebrated
  Precisely, Clifton. I wear a 'I have seen the future' pin as a reminder. We look to technology to make our lives better while ignoring conditions around us that may doom our future. In 1939 it was the prospect of...
• Commented on Cardboard rocket-ship playhouse
  Call a local self-move truck rental company and see if you can buy an individual warddrobe box in person for about $12 (24"x24"x40"). That's your rocket ship. Also post requests on Craig's List and Freecycle asking for fridge/dishwasher/large appliance boxes....
• Commented on Cardboard rocket-ship playhouse
  Cardboard play structures seem cool, but I heard from a parent who had one that they can get destroyed quick. These are kids playing with them after all. McGroovy's Box Rivets are indeed the way to go, although obtaining jumbo-size...
• Commented on MLB rips off fans who bought DRM videos
  If he knew he was buying DRM when he forked over his cash, I have no sympathy for his plight. You pretty much know sooner or later you'll get screwed....
• Commented on HOWTO Win at Monopoly
  Another Monopoly hater here... I donated my childhood copy, plus Life and several others that are based heavily on luck. There are too many better thinking games out there for my kids to enjoy and learn from....
• Commented on Board-game price-fixing
  This is good for everyone because it will make us want to buy less stuff. It's the 'Buy Nothing Day' mentality shared year-round. It will also make the market for used merchandise skyrocket, which is also good....
• Commented on Disney's coprophilic cookbook
  What recipes would Pooh put in a cookbook? He only eats three things: cake, haycorn muffins and raw honey....
• Commented on Dalek cookie kit
  Why hasn't someone designed a Dalek roach motel yet?...