Bravo

Mother Takes Action

Tasha Henderson...decided to teach [her daughter] a lesson.

She made Coretha stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection Nov. 4 with a cardboard sign that read: “I don’t do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food.”

People are being critical of this woman for disciplining her child in a non-violent manner. Saying its psychologically destructive. I'd consider the long-term consequences to someone blowing off responsibility and authority more destructive. It can strongly point to not being able to respect a boss or manager, not showing up to work or constantly late, ending up with multiple jobs from not being able to keep one simply from attitude and irresponsibility. Seriously, most parents don't care. Coretha should feel lucky. Well... after she doesn't have to stand on the corner anymore. Apparently things are already shaping up for her.

Tasha Henderson said her daughter’s attendance has been perfect and her behavior has been better since the incident. Coretha, a soft-spoken girl, acknowledged the punishment was humiliating but said it got her attention. She already has been forced by her parents to give up basketball and track because of slipping grades, and said she hopes to improve in school so she can play next year.

I love it when 'professional' people pass judgement on a case they know so little details about.

Donald Wertlieb, a professor of child development at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University, warned that such punishment could do extreme emotional damage. He said rewarding positive behavior is more effective. “The trick is to catch them being good,” he said. “It sounds like this mother has not had a chance to catch her child being good or is so upset over seeing her be bad, that’s where the focus is.”

Lately we've been watching the Sopranos at home on DVD, and we're on the second season. Episode Sixteen sums up my feelings on this, Carmella talking to Janice: "How we discipline our children is none of anybody's business. Mind your --- business, keep your mouth shut when it comes to my kids, alright?"

Because it seems everyone has their two cents on how a kid should be raised as if every child were the same thread to be woven. It's amusing when advice comes from people who haven't raised any kids at all. When a kid needs discipline, you can't candy coat it.. or they'll only run over you. Believe me, I still remember that age. If you can get away with it, who cares? is the attitude. Guilt and being forced to see consequences is the best way to get through, and I applaud Mrs. Henderson.

You Can Only Think

I find the gay Catholic priest notion to be an amusing dilemma. 1. Caholic priests are above all celibate. Therefore 2. How can a Catholic priest claim to have an orientation toward man or woman sexually? My thought provoking and possibly sacreligious thorught of the day.

With that in mind, the apex of tackiness is to demonstrate at somone's funeral. I'm sure there is a Dear Abby article somewhere about that.

The Rev. Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist in Kansas, contends that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays. The church... is made up mostly of Phelps’ children, grandchildren and in-laws. [They] carried signs and shouted things such as “God hates fags” and “God hates you.”

A church of mostly family... sure that sounds authentic and non-cultish. Or are more people mimicking Mel Gibson than I first thought?

Everyone just needs to chill out and have a drink. An Irish nursing home installed a bar in a nursing home to help combat general boredom and depression to success. Apparently it helps with relatives being able to cope with their elders as well.

The pub, which opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. and charges normal bar prices, had also led to an increase in the number of visitors.

Business and Backing

IE ate my post. >:(
What a blah Friday.

Don't take that weekend in Paris, rioters are still setting fire to cars and such despite the curfew laws. Chirac won't discuss measures until the riots cease.
RSS feeds

No joke, an 18 year old High School Student is currently on the winning side of a mayoral ballot in Michigan. The incumbent mayor, 51 is currently demanding a recount.

Mitsubishi isn't as solid as their publicity paints them to be, Daimler Chrusler has sold their 12% majoirty shares in the company to stabilize their bottom line. Part of the problem with Mistubishi sales redlining is their image of warranty and safety. Japan Mitsubishi admitted in 2000 to hiding car defects since 1980 that would have resulted in total product recalls.

Earlier in the week I highlighted the Sony 'solution to music piracy'. It didn't take long for people to take advantage of the rootkit system blindspot. Spam e-mail masquerading as a business claiming the recipent is going to have a photo published in an article. The clicked link takes the user to an IRC channel that starts remote use and downloading to the user PC. Update the anti-virus kiddies. Luckily, you're not at high risk if you don't have the First 4 DRM programs installed from trying to listen to "My Morning Jacket" or "Van Zant" on your computer.

Current Trojan list:
Backdoor.Ryknos
Backdoor.Ryknos.B

On a seperate front, Symantec even has the password logger trojan PWSteal.Wowcraft.B

Symantic is like a dirty little column to read sometimes... its facinating even though I'm not a system admin or anything. It lists all the horrible things that can happen to people's computers. Almost morbid like how people will read obituaries or the 911 call-in list in the morning newspaper. I wonder if hackers sometimes are like serial killers, collect printouts of the articles published about their code and talk with other hackers, "Hey, did you see my worm on Symantec?"

Gas Hurts

And finally it looks like at the very least that there will be some public reprimands. When big money comes around a courtroom I reserve the right to hope that there will be anything but a mockery of justice served. In comparison to what these jokers make by sounding self-important and having junior staff do all the pushing, any monetary amount they are fined is a slap on the wrist.

The executives, [Senator Bill Frist] said in a statement, did not "adequately answer the question of whether the sky-high gas prices we saw earlier this fall were entirely justified," or whether their "profit margins are appropriate."

What truly needs to happen is a dramatic drop in gas prices to help compensate for the long-term gouging that has happened over the past year, and a stablization of the prices overall. Will that happen? They'll wiggle out of it somehow and pay it lip service if something passes of the like onto paper.

Senator Domenici stated, "Americans have been experiencing painful prices at the pump - whether you think so or not, they think so. The oil companies owe the American people an explanation."

If only we could hope for so much. According to the article, while we were paying in some cases over $3.00 a gallon to even $5.00 in some places- the industry reported earnings in the last quarter alone of $33 Billion U.S. Dollars. If this was a company you worked for you could probably look forward to this Thanksgiving when they hand out coupons to pick up a complementary turkey and ham. The consummers don't get the fringe benefits in this, only the shaft.

Full article of interest.

Sneaksies...

Red Tape on MSNBC has an interesting article from 10/28 on ATM fees that you likely don't know about. From here

The price of making that mistake is $1.50.

That's right, try and draw more than your daily limit from an ATM that isn't owned by Bank of America and you can impose a "denial fee" from BoA on your BoA account. Luckily this isn't universal, but it adds to the fees that you have already for being at an "out-of'network ATM", "withdrawal fee", or "below minimum balance fees". Something to keep in mind while you go about your 'convenience world'. I suggest reading the article for more details.

"Death by a thousand cuts" indeed.

Odd Making Up for Lost Time

Remote Control - I call this funny because you have to have the headset on for it to work. What would be the pretext for world domination? "A free headset in every home?"

A special headset was placed on my cranium by my hosts during a recent demonstration at an NTT research center. It sent a very low voltage electric current from the back of my ears through my head _ either from left to right or right to left, depending on which way the joystick on a remote-control was moved. The technology is called galvanic vestibular stimulation — essentially, electricity messes with the delicate nerves inside the ear that help maintain balance.

Rome Promoting Pet Responsibility

In July 2004, parliament passed a law setting big fines and jail terms for people who abandon pets and since then local governments have added their own animal welfare rules many of which will be difficult to police.

Cut Grass patentable, but not Strawberry

As the court puts it: “There is no generally accepted international classification of smells which would make it possible to identify an olfactory sign.” One scent has been granted trademark protection by the European Union: the smell of freshly cut grass. A Dutch perfume company uses it for tennis balls.

And finally, the most interesting article of all:
Dutch Witches get Tax-Cuts

Dutch witches were guaranteed a financial treat when the Leeuwarden District Court reaffirmed their legal right to write off the costs of schooling — including in witchcraft — against their tax bills. Those costs run to thousands of dollars. The court found on Sept. 23 that a witch can declare schooling costs if it increases the likelihood of employment and personal income.