Well, the wikipedia cop jargon entry is a bit on the dry side… but I did find a lovely guide to some UK cop slang. My favourite is probably ‘not carnival related’.
Medical Slang Amuses
Sometimes you just need to read random Wikipedia entries to find things that will educate, entertain, or amuse you. I’m not going to make any kind of statement about Wikipedia as a citeable reference, but damn there’s a lot of stuff in there that’s worth reading anyway. Today’s example: the article on medical slang. It nicely captures some of that… Read more →
What I Did On My Summer Vacation, By Chris McLaren, Age 36
I’ve been away from the Internet, and this blog specifically, a bit lately, and so I thought I’d give you a little photographic taste of what I’ve been up to. (Click on through if you’re interested.) Read more →
Aside
So, it seems Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Jane Yolen (it might be more than 5 now–I don’t keep track) is doing a YA graphic novel with comics publisher Dark Horse. I think this will be her 10,576th (this is a rough figure) published work. And it’s certainly something I’ll be picking up and reading with my daughter.
The future’s not what it used to be
In catching up with my RSS reader, I see that everyone and his brother is pointing me to that CNN “where’s my jetpack” article. The article didn’t really interest me, but it does touch on some “man, the future of the past isn’t what it used to be thoughts” I’d been having at while at Disneyland–specifically, of course, while at… Read more →
My moment of Zen
Instead of focusing on the imminent end of my vacation, I chose–very explicitly–to enjoy the day as completely as possible. This was made somewhat easy by the fact that this morning I was able to sleep in until I awoke naturallyI can count the number of times this has happened since I became a parent on the fingers of one… Read more →
Aside
See, this is the kind of thing I read popular science articles for: not only do we have single-celled organisms the size of grapes (!), and the seemingly ridiculous possibility that they move under their own power, but the consequent possibility that the entirety of conventional wisdom about the fossil record can be called into question. All in around 7 paragraphs.
CIA caught with pants down, by spiral notebook
Organizations breed both bureaucracy and incompetence. I’m tempted to ask Trish to tell me why this is–I’m sure it’s something well known in her field, but it sure seems to be empirical fact: you create an organization and certain institutional pressures necessarily lead to behaviours that are rational at the individual level, but which result in startling incompetence at the… Read more →
Aside
My wife has been known to comment on her preference for the mass market paperback over the hardcover book, on the basis that it’s easier to read without tiring yourself out. As a collector, I do tend to prefer the hardback for books that I want to keep in the collection, but I certainly know what she’s talking about–reading Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle could give a guy tennis elbow. One hesitates to wonder what her reaction would be to the new limited edition of Agatha Christie’s Complete Miss Marple. (I love that it comes with a carrying case.)
QOTD: On Romance
A good romance is defined by a passionate desire. A want of something so near, but unattainable. It’s longing of the future or of the past and the possibilities that could never be. It’s the futility and foolishness of making oneself vulnerable, no matter what disasters may occur. A good romance rarely ends happily, and if it grips you it… Read more →
A What-Day-Is-It-Anyway Miscellany
I have now been on vacation long enough that I don’t remember what day it is. I think “if it’s Wednesday it must be San Francisco” logic may apply. With that in mind, here’s a list of a few things that caught my eye during my little bits of hotel-room surfing after the child goes to bed: The Pirate Bay… Read more →
Physical Culture and Self-Defence
Offered almost without comment: Both pages from Physical Culture And Self-Defence, one of the bazillion books at books.google.com. The internet keeps getting cooler. I note that you can download a PDF of the book for offline perusal. (Via Wondermark‘s David Malki!) Read more →
Putting it in context
If you think the fact that Feingold has to call out Obama is depressing, or that the failure to actually enact transparency over what happened with respect to torture under the Bush administration is depressing… well, you should probably stay away from Noam. Here’s a snippet from Chomsky’s recent article on the Torture Memos, which looks at the history of… Read more →
Feingold, once again, says what needs saying
For several weeks now I’ve been almost consciously avoiding reading any of the stories about how Obama is handling both the existing set of “detainees” and how his administration is handling demands for transparency and possible criminal prosecution for people who authorized the use of torture. I’ve been avoiding it because all signs point to an endless cascade of disappointment… Read more →
Aside
Man, AECL’s Chalk River Lab has really been going down the tubes since I left. Or really, ever since I completed my part in the three-generation tradition of my family working there.
