Justin's Journal

Burningbird: Women in Computing

Shelley's effort to understand why there is such a large discrepancy based on gender in the computer sciences. She mentions the fact that female students were made aware of their experiential differences from the male students, and this undermined their confidence, generating feelings of self-doubt, isolation, and inadequacy. This, in spite of women performing as well or better than the men. I've got to wonder why it is that women tend to allow their self-confidence to be eroded like this. Shelley says:

This does beg the question: why do men say something such as "you should know this"? This is really nothing more than a non-productive putdown. Perhaps women should be taught to say in response, "Because I learned other things you don't know, dickhead."

That is exactly the comeback that is warrented. Guys don't just say stuff like that to women, they also say it to other guys and that is the sort of comeback a guy would throw back.

A very good question.

Over at Backup Brain Tom is asking the same thing that I've been wondering for a while. If Islam is the religion of peace that we are told by the peaceful muslims that it is, then why a reporter in Nigerian reporter living under a death threat that is endorsed by a part of her country's government? Why are over 250 people dead because of a short paragraph that she wrote about a beauty pagaent? Why aren't any US or European Muslims condemning this action that their fellow muslims are doing in the name of Allah?

Yeah, I know, you can find Christians responsible for a like mindset and capable of the same degree of violence all in the name of God but you can also find Christians ready to condemn any of this type of action by other Christians. I don't recall ever hearing Muslims denouncing other Muslims over anything like this. I'm sure there are Muslims thinking that this is wrong so why don't we hear any of them taking a public stand to condemn this violence and the death threats? Is it the news media not publicizing the condemnations? I don't think that's it. The news media isn't as monolithic as a lot of folks would have us think. I just don't see the condemnation by fellow Muslims happening.

XML and CSS... who needs XHTML or RSS?

Until reading this blog I didn't really get the power of CSS and how it really enabled XML. I knew it could be done but I had been too overwhelmed by all the discussions to really grasp the simplicity of it all. I've got some more exploring to do with this stuff but I think my eyes have just been opened. Thank you, Sam, for pointing this out. Thank you, Scott, for starting down this path.

Excuse me now, I have a style-sheet to study and another one to create.

Defeat Telemarketers for FREE

Heh, a free version of the Telezapper. Of course I personally prefer this sort of approach. My favorite was asking the telemarketer what she was wearing and then mentioning that I wasn't wearing anything.

Anti-smoking group criticises Bond cigar scene

Smoking is a horrible habit. Tobacco, in general, can have a stronger hold on one than heroine. Still I think some anti-smoking groups go way to far in their opposition to tobacco. Pierce Brosnan took James Bond from a three-pack a day smoker to one that enjoys one cigar in all the time that Pierce has played the role. That is very, very significant. I think that Bond enjoying a cigar while in Cuba is not only appropriate but a necessary prop.

Keeping with my motto of everthing in moderation, including moderation, I really can't see where an occasional cigar could hurt anyone.

The Standards Trap

Mark Pilgram is back for two days and he's managed to thrill me and also to get me looking into some standards that have me pretty disenchanted. It all has to do with the "a" element and it's "name" and "id" attributes. In XHTML 1.1 there is no "name" and the value for the "id" attribute cannot start with a numberic character. Guess where that puts me with my permalinks.

For now I've given all my permalink anchors an ID of "entry-$id" where "$id" is the id number used in the "name" attribute now. I've also changed all my links to now point to the "id" value instead of the "name" value. That isn't going to help where I've been linked to with just $id and not entry-$id in the past. At some point, though, I'll probably have to move to XHTML 1+ and at that point all the old links will quit working.

(sigh) Well, it's not like I've ever had anything really important to say anyway, but there has to be other folks out there that are going to find themselves in the same boat and they have been heavily linked to and what they have to say is important. Don't you just love these standards?

Recommended Reading

Mark Pilgram has come up with a new toy for us to play with. He's got a little utility that will give you a list of weblogs that you might like to read based on your weblog. It's already recommended this journal to at least one person trying it out. The interesting thing I found to do with it, though was to feed other folks weblogs into it and see how their recommended reading list differed from the one generated for me.

Miss World and a prophet claim leads to arson

Via InstaPundit comes this news:

Rioters burned down a Nigerian newspaper office today in protest at an article suggesting the Prophet Muhammad might have favoured marrying a contestant in the Miss World beauty contest.

Well, it's very likely that he might have.

Slow news day?

Will someone please explain to me why this is news worthy? On my ride home from work last night, while I was shaving this morning and now while I'm browsing the online news Michael Jackson dangling his infant son from a 5th floor balconey has been dominating the news with (currently) 217 related stories being tracked by Google News. We've got major oil spills off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, the EU wanting to take the US to the WTO court over trade disputes, and the Venezuelan army taking control of Caracas from the civil police and we have radio talk show hosts and tv morning shows fixating on MJ and his worthyness as a parent. Sheesh, most likely he isn't a very worthy parent but that should not be earth shaking news garnering this much attention.

DNA laws to cover witnesses, victims

If people had not committed crimes they would have nothing to worry about.

It truely amazes me how people in english speaking countries still see this as a justification for unreasonable searches.

Republicans Prevail in Crucial Vote on Homeland Bill

Well, it looks like the President got his Homeland Security bill passed. There is one thing that bothers me about this. The Democrats got rightfully trashed over their opposition to this bill based on special interests but now, after the Republican election victories, the Republicans pushed in some extra special interest portions in the bill that was passed. Someone needs to do some serious trashing of them now.

Mike Golby takes a hiatus.

Mike Golby, like a lot of other online journalers, is taking a break. It might just be for a day or two or it might be extended but he says he needs to do something other than just comment on the things going on in South Africa and the world. I can understand that. I hope that he understands that he isn't just pissing in the wind with his weblog.

Yeah, he makes me made at times when I read what he writes but he also makes me think about things. I might not come to the same conclusions he's come to but I come to conclusions where I haven't before and generally, there is some agreement between us when I do. I'm going to miss his writing while he's gone. I guess I'll have to find someone else to piss me off and make me think.

Elite brew exotic to the last dropping

Now, I've had shitty coffee before but I've never paid a premium for the stuff.

The Indonesian palm civet --- a catlike carnivore also known as a luwak --- prowls the coffee plantations of Sumatra and eats only the ripest cherries from the trees. It digests the juicy red fruit covering the beans but not the beans themselves, which pass undisturbed through the creature's gastrointestinal tract.

I'll be the first to admit that I have eaten things that probably should have been left on the plate... or never put there in the first place, but this is not one of life's finer things that I'm in a hurry to try.

The Blimp Port in the Sky

In a discussion with a friend the other day I told him about the original plans for the mooring mask on the Empire State Building. I thought I'd put this here so I could easily reference him to it.

One depression-era scheme didn't work out -- the plan to make the Empire State Building a blimp port in the sky. A dirigible mooring was built on what is now the base of the television tower. The idea was that passengers could fly directly into Manhattan, getting off at the ESB, rather than landing in one of the boroughs or New Jersey. Only one blimp ever successfully docked with the Empire State, and that was only for three minutes. Near disasters, unpredictable winds, and the thought of passengers walking a catwalk 1,350 feet above the ground scuttled the plan.

For some reason he didn't believe anyone ever seriously considered doing something like this.

Surgical tags plan for sex offenders

The Guardian Unlimited Observer has an article about Great Britain looking at implanting surgical tags under the skin of sex offenders. These tags would be used to monitor the activities of convicted pedophiles and would include tracking their location and monitoring their vital signs for indication of another possible attack. Think of this as sort of a LoJack system for child molestors except the alarm system is installed on a likely offender rather than on the victim I love the technology being put into play here but I have some reservations..

I have very little tolerance for true pedophiles. Actually, I have none. If there is one group of people that I could support the wholesale abandonment of their civil rights that group would be pedophiles. That said, this program scares the hell out of me.

If this program becomes successful, and with time I have no doubt that it will, how long would it be before other groups started being looked at as candidates for inclusion. How long would it be before the US Department of Homeland Security started considering the implantation of one of these devices to be a requirement prior to obtaining a visa to visti this country?

Perhaps there is a place for this technology and I have no problem with it being developed, but this idea of having one of these devices permanently implanted in a person, after all prison time and all probationary time has expired, even on a group as loathsome as pedophiles, troubles me greatly.

Dreaming of Smokes

Dave talks about quitting smoking and relates the fact that he still smokes in his dreams. He's only been quit for five months. I went through the same thing twenty-five years ago when I quit. I bet I smoked in my dreams for three years after I quit. I think that is one of the reasons I was able to quit so easily, I was still smoking in my dreams. It was ten years after all that before I really got to thinking of myself as a non-smoker. I only smoked for six years, from sixteen until I was 22. Smokeless tobacco was another reason I was able to quit so easily. It took another twenty years before I could quit using that poison. Don't make that tradeoff, it isn't worth it. Quitting the smokeless stuff was like quiting breathing. I talked to a recovering heroine addict once that also quit using smokeless tobacco. He said quitting the heroine was easier.

UN begs to differ with Bush

A New Zealand paper is reporting what appears to be a possible scizm developing again between the US administration and the UN over Iraq. After hearing this go on for so long I'm of the opinion that Colin Powell and President G.W. Bush are playing a good cop/bad cop game with the UN and Iraq to get what they want.

The Perishable DVD as Musical Taste Test

The NYT has an article on The Perishable DVD. As a promotional tool this might be alright, but only as a giveaway to entice the consumer to buy the permanant DVD. There was one part of the story I'd like to point out, though.

Flexplay's main competitor, Spectradisc of Providence, R.I., is focused on the movie business. Nabil Lawandy, its founder and chief executive, said the limited-use discs might serve as an alternative format for movie viewing in hotels or airports by travelers who don't want to deal with returning rentals. Consumers might also welcome a tiered approach to rentals, with cheaper, single-viewing sessions, he said.

Seems to me that this has been tried before. Does anyone remember Circuit City's flirtation with Divx?

Nancy Pelosi: The leader the House Democrats deserve?

I love this caricature.

Chris Suellentrop has a pretty good article in slate about the replacement of Tom Daschle as the Democratic house leader with Nancy Pelosi.

In fact, Pelosi isn't any more liberal than the average House Democrat, which is why the average House Democrat is going to vote for her. Critics cite Pelosi's 100 percent voting rating by Americans for Democratic Action, but Dick Gephardt had a 95 percent rating. House Democrats are liberal, and why shouldn't they be? Most Democrats think the party should support gay rights, higher CAFE standards, and spending on social programs.

While Pelosi may be the best representative specimen of the Democratic Party in the house and fully qualified as a leader I don't think she is the proper choice for someone to lead the Democrats out of their minority position. There is a reason that the Democrats have found themselves in a minority position during an election year that historically favors the "loyal opposition" and that reason might not be President George W. Bush but the Democratic opposition to him on the wrong things sure is awfully close. I can't see Rep. Pelosi finding those "right things" to oppose the President on because she was right there in the center of opposing him on the wrong things.

Dems, meet your new boss, same as the old boss.

Timing is everything

Via Sam Ruby: Phil Wainewright had an experience with customer service being too prompt.

Today, I called BT as a customer to follow up an order I had placed the day before, and I experienced the astounding results of BT's deployment of web services. I had ordered an additional phone line, which I'll be upgrading to ADSL, and I wanted to transfer my existing business number to the new line, which is due to be installed tomorrow. The operator started to action the transfer on her system ... and at that very moment, while she was still in mid-sentence, the line went dead.

Imagine that, a new service working exactly like it was suppose to and people being surprised.

Not just in Oakland...

Remember Tuesday when I mentioned my grief over the 15 year-old girl who was murdered in Oakland? Well, last night it hit close to home. Again, I can't blame the guns, only the people, for this happening. Where do shits like this get off just spraying a house with bullets because of a disagreement?

What Theologian of the Christian Church are you?

Okay, this is what the quiz came up with for me. I guess I need to do a little research because I don't know a thing about Karl Barth, other than he was a famous theologian from the first half of the last century. What little research I've done so far leads me to believe that we may have the same temperment but are more different where it comes to our view of religion.

Oakland girl, 15, killed in daylight drive-by / Family mourns young homicide victim

Some folks will tell you the problem with my country is its leaders and their approach to international policy. I disagree. The problem with my country is things like this. And before you say it, it isn't the guns, I've read reports like this dealing with ball bats and knives. It's a failure to instill respect for human life into everyone.

Mike Golby takes notice.

Mike Golby took notice of my being pissed at him and he set me straight. He isn't anti-American. For the record, I never thought that he was anti-American, just that some of his ways of expressing his frustration came across as anti-American rhetoric. Sometimes I hear too much of it and get pissed. No one likes to hear their country run down all the time.

I stated that Mike was a pretty good writer. I think the fact that he was able to piss me off from half-way around the world attests to that fact. There is passion in his words, passion I wish I could put in my writings. Don't worry too much about pissing me off, Mike. Most times its a compliment.

Best laid plans and all...

My intents were to get on my bicycle at 5:15 this morning and ride for about 45 minutes thereby starting a new matutinal exercise regimen. Mother Nature had other plans. Let's see how things go in the morning.

Centurion Jet Fuel Aircraft Engines

A diesel engine has just received certification for use in general aviation aircraft. This certification has only been recieved in Europe at this time but certification in the US markets is coming soon. They are calling it a jet-fuel engine but its a diesel.

On the up side the fuel burn rate has been reported at 4-5 gph when mounted in a Cessna 172. This in contrast of fuel consumption rates ranging from 7-10 gph in an AVGAS engine Cessna. Combine that with the lower fuel cost of jet fuel and you'll see direct fuel savings of up to 70%.

On the downside the cost of retrofitting a Cessna with one of these engines has been placed at $40,000, which is about the price you can pick up a decent Cessna 172. Also you are looking at a TBR (Time Between Replacement) of 2400 hours at a cost of $19,900 compared to the TBO (Time Between Overhaul) of 2,000 hours at about $10,000. TANSTAAFL.

Squirrel terrorizes British town

I've got a friend who absolutely hates squirrels. I never understod her animosity towards those little tree rats until I read this.

Mike Golby manages to piss me off again.

Mike Golby is a pretty good writer. Mike Golby and I agree on a number of things. Mike Golby still manages to piss me off in the way he says it. Mike, I understand your frustration and anger with the politicians running my country but your anger comes off more as anger toward my country than anger towards the policy of my country. That's why I get pissed off.

As far as Patty Hearst being pardoned while SLA Leader James Kilgore is facing extradition goes, Patty Hearst faced a jury, James Kilgore never has. While it is very possible that Kilgore could face the death penalty, I doubt that he will.

McDonald's to Close 175 Restaurants

McDonald's is having finacial problems causing them to shutter 175 Restaurants. I can tell them how to turn things around. Place a new emphasis on keeping their restaurants clean, providing prompt service to their customers and only serving fresh food. The microwave oven is their worst enemy.

China accepts capitalists as comrades, rejects democracy

Overall, this is good. China is accepting capitalist into the fold of the communist party and I have no idea how the two will get along without eventually resulting in a democracy.

Gibraltar

Spain and Great Britain are discussing Spain taking back control of Gibraltar. Gibraltarians want to remain British citizens and demonstrated that fact with an overwhelming 17,900 to 187 vote yesterday. The referendum only displays Gibraltatians wishes and was not recognized by either Spain or Great Britain. Still this ought to have some effect on the negotiations.

South Africa: South Africa is an international hub of the drug trade

I had no idea that the drug trade was so dependant upon South Africa.

Election commentary

I really like this assessment of Tuesday's election.

Back-seat driver: Judge fights red-light camera ticket -- and wins

I've got mixed emotions about this. On the one hand I can't see how a person can be found guilty of a crime when it is only their car that is placed at the scene, not the person. On the other hand, I've had close friends and family killed over the years by someone running a traffic light. It's an interesting story, anyway.

'No reliable scientific data' excuse can't be used any more.

The most often cited reason for the US government continuing to reject allowing cannabis to be used legally for medicinal purposes is that there is no scientific studies showing any medicinal benefits being derived from cannabis. That excuse can't be used anymore. A British company, GW Pharmaceuticals, is now concluding final-stage trials in patients with multiple sclerosis with very promising results.

The trials on about 350 patients showed significant reductions in spasticity and pain and improvements in sleep in people with MS. Patients with another type of nerve damage also reported a reduction in pain. No serious psychoactive effects were reported.

Now the question is, "How much longer are the raids to continue?"

Just thought I'd mention...

BunnBunn is a nice Catholic girl who is a little down because Googlism.com doesn't think she exists.

Get out your pencils and paper, I'm wanting some predictions.

Write down your predictions. Write them down right now and archive them. I want you to be able to pick them back up in two years and see how accurate they were.

"Justin," you're asking, "what in the hell are you talking about?" What I'm talking about is all this doom and gloom everyone has predicted would happen if the Republicans gained control of the Senate. I'm talking about all this "vote for the party" hysteria that has gripped so many of my friends during this election to the point that they didn't care who the individual was they were voting for as long as that individual was a Democrat.

A lot of those friends held their nose as they voted because they would have rather voted for the Green Party candidate but were more afraid of the Republicans getting into office than they were willing to support the candidate that most reflected their idea of government. I can understand and respect their choice for doing so but I disagree with it. When choosing between the lesser of two evils one is still choosing evil. We can't allow ourselves to side with what we perceive as evil as a way to combat a greater evil. Things don't work that way.

In a way, I'm glad the Republicans were swept into power. I don't think that they are going to rush into a war, though it's likely that we will go to war, and I don't think that you are going to see the radical change in the makeup of the judiciary that is being predicted, though it's likely there will be a change. That's why I'm wanting you to make your predictions now.

In two years you will have another chance. If things have gone to hell in a handbasket, as some of my friends are predicting, then I'll join in with you to support the lesser evil to cause an instant regime change. However, if things just don't pan out as people are predicting they will with a this Republican regime I want you to join in with me to vote for the person that you think is the best person for the job, regardless of their party.

Yes, I'm asking that you ignore party affiliation and start voting for the good guy even if the good guy doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning. Just think of the concept for a moment. You may traditionally be a Republican and find yourself voting for a Democrat, or a Democrat voting for a Libertarian, or a Green voting for a Republican. But just think of the Statesmen we could put into office doing such a thing. Then we wouldn't have to deal with politicians.

My Vote.

I guess it's time for me to disclose who I intend to vote for on Tuesday. For the record I am an independant. I don't like political parties, never have. I believe that elected official ought to do what is right for their district and what is right in accordance to their own moral beliefs rather than what is right for a political party. I do have idealogical ideas that often align me with those espoused by the Libertarian Party but I see them acting more and more partisan every election. I also find a lot of the candidates that they run to be personally distasteful.

So, here's a breakdown on the candidates I've decided to support here in Georgia:

So, there you have it. This is a disclosure of my voting intentions for Tuesday. I don't know that this will do anyone any good but at least you know how I vote.

What's good for the goose....

Tom Negrino points to a New Republic article on how the Republican's are using race as an issue to keep blacks from voting Democratic. The article points out some pretty ugly tactics being used by the Republicans in states like Missouri and Kansas. One of the more telling quotes from the article is this:

But more noteworthy than the ads' distortions is their explicit effort to inflame blacks against whites. We've seen this kind of twisted racial appeal before from black nationalists like Louis Farrakhan (and, at their worst, from Democrats) but not from white Republicans.

It looks like you Democrats have taught these Republicans well.

That will teach me...

... to always practice safe hex. I caught a trojan. This was the IRC Trojan. It placed a file called taskmngr.exe on my hard drive along with some other files that I don't remember the name of. It then went to create a file that contained a bunch of my secrets in it like some of my passwords along with my address and phone number. Most likely that got dumped to some IRC channel. Anyway, I spent last night cleaning my system and investigating the damages while giving out Halloween candy. I've spent the morning changing passwords and such. I guess this was appropriate for a Haloween.