Wednesday, March 02, 2005
'F' is for ''F*ck This!'
AZCentral.com | Teachers refuse to give homework:BERKELEY, Calif. - Students in the Berkeley school district aren't getting written homework assignments because teachers are refusing to grade work on their own time after two years without a pay raise.Albeit, what these teachers are neglecting to realize is the amount of time they'll have to put into getting the students up-to-date when they finally DO get the pay raise.
Future Baseball Player Busted
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Cadet found guilty of smuggling steroids:AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) -- An Air Force Academy cadet has been found guilty of smuggling steroids into the United States and distributing them to another cadet, but acquitted of more serious charges that could have meant 66 years confinement.Boo boo.
What makes him so damn qualified to be giving that out?Swartz, a senior now pursuing a medical degree at a school in the Caribbean, is one of two cadets convicted in a steroid investigation that resulted in charges against five cadets. Two others, both athletes, were acquitted. A fifth awaits court-martial.Crazy kids and their crazy homework..
See - if it was Berkeley, this wouldn't have happened.
Last Light-Up
MSNBC - Lighters being banned on air travel:WASHINGTON - The government will ban cigarette lighters on planes and secure airport areas beginning April 14 but passengers can still tote common matches in carry-on bags for now, security officials said Monday.Eh - seriously, let's leave the lighters and just not allow the fuel for fire allowed on airliners.
Effective April 14: Oxygen is no longer allowed on flights!
Yahoo for Patriotism
Freep.com | Yahoo! to preserve e-mail account of Michigan Marine killed in Iraq:WIXOM, Mich. (AP) -- Officials for the Internet company Yahoo! have taken action to preserve the e-mail account of a Michigan Marine killed in Iraq.Privacy in times of grief: always hard and often part "uncharted" territory. But the issue is whether or not Yahoo! should give over full and complete access to the Marine's parents not that their son is deceased.
Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth, 20, was killed Nov. 13 during a foot patrol in Al Anbar province. After his death, his father, John Ellsworth, found himself in a legal battle with Yahoo! when he tried to access to Justin's Yahoo! e-mail account.
The father pleaded with the company to give him access to the account to fulfill the family's wish of knowing Justin's last words, photographs and thoughts from Iraq. While Justin was in Iraq, he and his father discussed the e-mails Justin had in his account and how John would make copies of all the correspondence for a scrapbook.
But without the account password, which only Justin and Yahoo! know, the family's request was denied. To release those messages in such circumstances, Yahoo said, would violate the privacy rights of the deceased and those with whom they have corresponded.
Yahoo! policy calls for erasing the entire account if, after 120 days, there is no activity. Yahoo! spokeswoman Mary Osako said Yahoo! has been working with Ellsworth on a "shared goal of finding a mutually agreeable resolution to a complicated and, in many ways, uncharted issue."
Yahoo!, depending on its member agreement, could have some solid legs to stand on legally... and it sounds like, unfortunately, the parents may be playing the lower hand.
They deserve some partial if not all access to the account, if you ask me. In any situation like this, regardless of military background, the ability to dig through the dead's belongings often can bring an otherwise impossible sense of closure to an issue.
Then again, it can always open up a world of questions and possibilities.
Here, My Kiddies
MSNBC - Grandmother faces marijuana charges:DANVILLE, W.Va. - A 78-year-old woman faces drug charges and authorities are searching for her 72-year-old boyfriend after police found more than a pound of marijuana stashed in a freezer on her property.And you always wondered why Grandma was so generous during the holidays...
Armed with a search warrant and a drug-sniffing dog, troopers went to Williams’ residence near Danville. The dog led troopers to a freezer in an outbuilding where the marijuana, worth an estimated $4,000, was hidden under frozen meat and other food, O’Bryan said.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
The Column: Rent with caution
From the 2004 DN Renter's Guide:
The Ball State Daily News - BEWILDERED SOCIETY: Think details before signing leaseWe love taking things for granted.
It's all the easier when it's all handed to you on a freshly washed and still-warm LaFollette meal tray.
Living out in the great beyond makes you appreciate the beauty of no-spill trash bags, free Internet and Teflon pans.
Oh, precious Teflon pans.
These items are among the many that are taken for granted in our youth and ever so appreciated in our, um, older youth.
For those freshmen nearing the end of their time in a residence hall, or for upperclassman looking to close their extended stay, life outside the halls is a temptation of freedom and so much more.
Maybe you just found out your rates shot up 5 percent.
Residence hall living takes care of the food and cleaning, but the ability to light candles, party, smoke and not worry about a resident assistant are equally as tempting to many.
For those seriously considering the switch to non-university living, take note of the common items and concerns you might not stop to think about.
One of the things many residents (a.k.a. men) overlook is the one thing they enjoy most: furniture. It's easy to say, "Yeah, we'll have that," but it's another thing to actually get it. Don't be afraid to ask about what, if any, furniture is included in you rent when you tour prospective residences. Some resort-style residences offer beds, while others... not so much. Cardboard is never fun to sleep on.
Develop good, close friends. As the songs all say, they're one of the best things you'll ever have. Be prepared for a drastic change in social lifestyle if you move out on your own or even away from the dorms. Staying in touch is easy -- it's making the effort that counts.
You smell better when your clothes are washed. It's true. If one is not provided for your private use, find out where the nearest laundry facility is and how much it will cost you to use. In many cases, it will be located in strikingly close proximity to your good friends' apartment if not in it.
Told you they'd come in handy.
Never underestimate the walk to campus in cruddy weather. The campus shuttle is your friend, as is the Muncie Indiana Transportation System. However, in strikingly odd similarity to your real friends, they aren't always on your schedule.
In the kitchen, it'll become a big enough issue of who'll do the dishes, let alone who will supply the damn things. Work it out ahead of time with your mates: cups, silverware and plates are common. There are also the inevitable, "Oh, crap!" items: pots, (Teflon!) pans, oversized spoons, toasters and appliances in general. There are hundreds of stupid little kitchen tools such as spatulas, measuring cups and two-way deluxe graters (OK, I don't have one of those), many of which you'll only want when you don't have it. Among those stupid tools: a pathetic roommate to do all your dishes for you. They'll thank you for using that non-stick Teflon, just make sure you stick with plastic utensils or your scratch it up worse than two sorority girls in a cat fight.
Oh, and don't forget your blender.
No -- they don't have those with Teflon.
Stick around long enough during the visit to get a good sense of how thin your walls and floors are. It sounds funny, but you'll be happy to have taken it into consideration when your upstairs neighbors go for a 3 a.m. romp or your next door neighbors make Valentine's Day all the more special.
Consider media intake, as well. This is where the money is made or lost, so pick carefully and pay attention to what's included in your rent. Hard wired or cell phones? Cable or antenna television? DSL or Cable Internet?
Pay-per-view or your roommates' collection?
Hmm, awkward.
Did I mention Teflon?
Monday, February 28, 2005
iDead
CTV.ca | Macintosh computer creator Raskin dies at 61:"SAN JOSE, Calif. - Jef Raskin, a computer interface expert who conceived Apple Computer Inc.'s groundbreaking Macintosh computer but left the company before it came to market, has died. He was 61.He will be burried to three of his favorite sounds:
*Quack* *Drop* *Indigo*
[You gotta be old school Mac/Apple to figure that one out. ;) ]
©2003-2007 David Studinski/Bewildered Society, unless otherwise noted.