I’ve been doing a lot of traveling recently (London, Paris, Aachen, Prague, DC, and the Outer Banks just in the last 4 weeks) and I’ve unfortunately run into some really obnoxious people along the way. Now, some of that is to be expected, because ALL tourists are annoying, myself included. Tourists get lost, move slowly, get in […]
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Filed under: rant, travel
So said Saudi marriage officiant Dr. Ahmad al-Mu’bi last week on Lebanese television.
“You can have a marriage contract even with a 1-year-old girl, not to mention a girl of 9, 7 or 8,” he said. “But is the girl ready for sex or not?” What is the appropriate age for sex for the first time? […]
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Filed under: politics, rant
As the another anniversary of D-Day came and went, I was reminded again of the courage and sacrifice of those who fought in WWII, including my grandfather, who fought in the Battle of the Bulge. The enormity of their commitments never really sunk in, though, until I visited the beaches of Normandy last year. Standing […]
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Filed under: crazy europeans, rant, travel
For a country that has perfected Nanny Statism, The Netherlands is paradoxically libertarian when it comes to children. While doing some research for another piece, I found this article in The Independent gushing about Dutch-style child rearing, and it made me throw up in my mouth, just a little bit.
“Let them be free” is the […]
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Filed under: Holland, rant
If you refuse to drill for oil or exploit oil sands at a time when demand is high, energy prices will continue to rise.
If you turn your food to fuel at a time when energy prices are high, food prices will continue to rise.
If you persist in policies that target SUV-driving carbon gluttons, you’d better be […]
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This article discusses the latest breakthrough in brain-computer interface research: a motor cortex implant that allows a paralyzed man to control the movements of a Second Life character with only his thoughts.
This video has a short demonstration.
This follows on prior research such as that conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, which had monkeys using their thoughts […]
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Filed under: crazy europeans, health, rant, science
Rachel Lucas has a post on the dubious merits of expensive jewelry and men’s contribution to the gilded princess phenomenon. I have to say that I couldn’t agree more. When my husband and I decided to get engaged, we were both still in college and flat broke. I repeatedly and insistently requested a cubic zirconium […]
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Filed under: rant