Reading Assignment - 3/4
Your weekly batch of links and
commentary
I guess the month of February wasn't so kind to
my Reading Assignment posts (or any of my blogging endeavors for that matter).
But its a new month, and I'm very excited that the Reading Assignment has
returned. Here is your weekly batch of links and
commentary.
First off, a must see piece of architecture - The Abston Church of Christ. Is it art? Is it a great building? Is it more than slightly disturbing, since it is made entirely of Lego for the tiny plastic people to worship in? I'll leave the answers to you. Personally, I think its pretty cool actually - but I am a little scared at home much time it must have taken, and the creators slight obsession with her cats. Check out the FAQ for interesting details such as how many Legos (~75,000) it took, and how big it is (7ft x 5.5 ft x 30 in).
From my good friend Van, who encourages you all to use this knowledge to impress your friends at the next party you attend, finally the myth of a wine bottle's dimple is settled once and for all. The price of a bottle of wine is directly proportional to the size of the dimple (or punt if you're a knowledgeable wine snob). Don't believe me, then listen to someone who has done the actual scientific research.
As long as we are on the subject of wine, and articles forwarded by Van, here's 11,000 reasons why "its good to be the king"... er, President. The Moldovan President sent 11,000 bottles of red, white, champagne and brandy to his Romanian counterpart as a diplomatic measure to improve relations. I think its safe to check off improved relations from the list.
Thank goodness the United Nations is on the case to stop world smoking. They introduced a worldwide pact to try and keep kids from starting smoking and help adults quit. And of course, since nearly all bureaucracies are way overzealous, I'm sure they'll be lumping pipe smoking in with cigarette smoking as though the risks are anywhere near comparable. So why am I thankful the UN is on the case? Because if the UN's record on, well just about anything, is any indication, they are so inept as to accomplish almost the exact opposite of what they seek. Hey UN, want to "save millions of lives?" Then grow a pair and depose vicious, cruel despots who slaughter innocent people instead of obsequiously kowtowing and giving them places of honor.
From the cool pictures department of Sarcasmagorical, via Benson, check out this tennis match. Be careful how hard you run for that shot down the line. And from the not so cool department, Krautboy examines people who are just a little too into Star Wars.
And here's a great one liner from Nat: "They probably didn't think we'd be around for this." I can't add anything to that.
The government has found yet another area that it needs to control. This one turns out to be a deadly chemical that many of you may even have in your own houses. Think about it; you're living your life as though nothing is wrong with this potential killer right within your children's reach. Only the government can save you now from... Salt. Yep, normal ordinary table salt is now the big killer. Now I know that salting your proscuitto and washing it down with Gatorade is not the best thing for your health, but do we really need a big brother agency bullying everyone into good health? Personally, it reminds me of the whole Dihydrogen Monoxide scare. Glad we all survived that.
And as long as we are on government control, here's an article thats been waiting patiently in my inbox for a Reading Assignment. It makes a good analogy between Social Security and pyramid scheme mail frauds. Both are based on the same principle of pay off the past investors with the present money, while convincing the past investors they are simply getting their just returns. All of the recent vitriol over privatization can be summed up thusly - people are really scared that young people, like myself, will figure out that we're paying into a fraud, and that would end the whole scheme. Of course, we're paying into it because our money is forcibly removed from us rather than by choice, so they don't really have to do much convincing (lucky for them).
From the masters of satirical news, the Onion, comes a story that is so wrong, and yet really makes me chuckle - Project Manager leaves suicide PowerPoint presentation. Its amazing I don't link to the Onion more in the Reading Assignment - they are consistently funny and witty.
In the edutainment section we have this cool game to test your knowledge of U.S. geography - Place the states on an empty map of the U.S. Pretty fun game - although it does remind me that I'm terrible at geography. Once you've found most of them though, you'd be surprised at how much you remember.
Seeing as I probably need to get started on my taxes soon, here's a slightly tax related story. A robber recently successfully took the cost of his gun as a business expense deduction. Of course, that was overseas, not here - so seek the advice of your accountant. And actually, it reduced the cost of the criminal fine... shouldn't armed robbery increase the cost of the fine?
And lastly, for a little fun. You can generate your own church sign. I thought I'd use it as a chance for blatant self promotion:
UPDATE: This one was way too cool - and by cool, I mean totally sweet - for me to leave off. Ninja's invade Jeopardy and then whale. Now that's what I call Real Ultimate Power. (Read the Real Ultimate Power link first if you have no idea what I'm talking about)
First off, a must see piece of architecture - The Abston Church of Christ. Is it art? Is it a great building? Is it more than slightly disturbing, since it is made entirely of Lego for the tiny plastic people to worship in? I'll leave the answers to you. Personally, I think its pretty cool actually - but I am a little scared at home much time it must have taken, and the creators slight obsession with her cats. Check out the FAQ for interesting details such as how many Legos (~75,000) it took, and how big it is (7ft x 5.5 ft x 30 in).
From my good friend Van, who encourages you all to use this knowledge to impress your friends at the next party you attend, finally the myth of a wine bottle's dimple is settled once and for all. The price of a bottle of wine is directly proportional to the size of the dimple (or punt if you're a knowledgeable wine snob). Don't believe me, then listen to someone who has done the actual scientific research.
As long as we are on the subject of wine, and articles forwarded by Van, here's 11,000 reasons why "its good to be the king"... er, President. The Moldovan President sent 11,000 bottles of red, white, champagne and brandy to his Romanian counterpart as a diplomatic measure to improve relations. I think its safe to check off improved relations from the list.
Thank goodness the United Nations is on the case to stop world smoking. They introduced a worldwide pact to try and keep kids from starting smoking and help adults quit. And of course, since nearly all bureaucracies are way overzealous, I'm sure they'll be lumping pipe smoking in with cigarette smoking as though the risks are anywhere near comparable. So why am I thankful the UN is on the case? Because if the UN's record on, well just about anything, is any indication, they are so inept as to accomplish almost the exact opposite of what they seek. Hey UN, want to "save millions of lives?" Then grow a pair and depose vicious, cruel despots who slaughter innocent people instead of obsequiously kowtowing and giving them places of honor.
From the cool pictures department of Sarcasmagorical, via Benson, check out this tennis match. Be careful how hard you run for that shot down the line. And from the not so cool department, Krautboy examines people who are just a little too into Star Wars.
And here's a great one liner from Nat: "They probably didn't think we'd be around for this." I can't add anything to that.
The government has found yet another area that it needs to control. This one turns out to be a deadly chemical that many of you may even have in your own houses. Think about it; you're living your life as though nothing is wrong with this potential killer right within your children's reach. Only the government can save you now from... Salt. Yep, normal ordinary table salt is now the big killer. Now I know that salting your proscuitto and washing it down with Gatorade is not the best thing for your health, but do we really need a big brother agency bullying everyone into good health? Personally, it reminds me of the whole Dihydrogen Monoxide scare. Glad we all survived that.
And as long as we are on government control, here's an article thats been waiting patiently in my inbox for a Reading Assignment. It makes a good analogy between Social Security and pyramid scheme mail frauds. Both are based on the same principle of pay off the past investors with the present money, while convincing the past investors they are simply getting their just returns. All of the recent vitriol over privatization can be summed up thusly - people are really scared that young people, like myself, will figure out that we're paying into a fraud, and that would end the whole scheme. Of course, we're paying into it because our money is forcibly removed from us rather than by choice, so they don't really have to do much convincing (lucky for them).
From the masters of satirical news, the Onion, comes a story that is so wrong, and yet really makes me chuckle - Project Manager leaves suicide PowerPoint presentation. Its amazing I don't link to the Onion more in the Reading Assignment - they are consistently funny and witty.
In the edutainment section we have this cool game to test your knowledge of U.S. geography - Place the states on an empty map of the U.S. Pretty fun game - although it does remind me that I'm terrible at geography. Once you've found most of them though, you'd be surprised at how much you remember.
Seeing as I probably need to get started on my taxes soon, here's a slightly tax related story. A robber recently successfully took the cost of his gun as a business expense deduction. Of course, that was overseas, not here - so seek the advice of your accountant. And actually, it reduced the cost of the criminal fine... shouldn't armed robbery increase the cost of the fine?
And lastly, for a little fun. You can generate your own church sign. I thought I'd use it as a chance for blatant self promotion:
UPDATE: This one was way too cool - and by cool, I mean totally sweet - for me to leave off. Ninja's invade Jeopardy and then whale. Now that's what I call Real Ultimate Power. (Read the Real Ultimate Power link first if you have no idea what I'm talking about)
Posted: Fri - March 4, 2005 at 08:49 AM | | | | | | |
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