the saddest thing

In the past the whales had been able to sing to each other across whole oceans, even from one ocean to another because sound travels such huge distances underwater. But now, again because of the way in which sound travels, there is no part of the ocean that is not constantly jangling with the hubbub of ships' motors, through which it is now virtually impossible for the whales to hear each other's songs or messages.
-Dirk Gently in The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, Douglas Adams

is there anybody out there

Clarity is of no importance because nobody listens and nobody knows what you mean no matter what you mean, nor how clearly you mean what you mean. But if you have vitality enough of knowing enough of what you mean, somebody and sometime and sometimes a great many will have to realize that you know what you mean and so they will agree that you mean what you know, what you know you mean, which is as near as anybody can come to understanding any one.
-Gertrude Stein, Four in America

easier than doing it in a cup

Wastewater facilities are wonderful places to understand what humans consume and excrete.
-Jennifer Field, environmental toxicology professor, Oregon State
Wired News - AP News

Apparently, using just a teaspoon of water from the sewage plant, community urinalysis can be used to see what drugs people are taking, track the spread of drugs across the country, and judge potential harm to rivers and lakes from legal pharmaceuticals. And darn it, it's just fun.

idiots

from In a Crisis, Subway Riders Get Little Guidance -NYT

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the PATH system, has since January been sending e-mail alerts to nearly 9,000 riders. They are notified of any delays of more than 15 minutes, and they can customize the alerts so they receive information only about the lines they use.

It will be a while before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority can do that for subway riders. “Usually when stuff happens, it happens quickly and we’d have to send out 100,000 e-mails very quickly,” said Wael Hibri, the authority’s chief information officer. “We’re still thinking it through.”

Here, then, is how word of major disruptions goes out for many riders: Employees stationed near train dispatchers make a telephone recording of the disruptions. The recording goes out to station agents, who are supposed to write down the information on white dry-erase boards in each booth using ink markers.

“We keep an ample supply on hand,” Termain Garden, a transit official, said of the markers.



I can't even be bothered to make a joke here, it's just too easy.

another joke from daddy, with which I concur

I recently turned 65 and had to choose a new primary care physician for my Medicare program.
After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing "fairly well" for my age.
A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I will live to be 80?"
He asked: "Do you smoke tobacco or drink alcoholic beverages?"
"Oh no," I replied. "I don't do drugs, either."
"Do you have many friends and entertain frequently?"
"I said, "No, I usually stay home and keep to myself".
"Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?"
I said, "No, my other doctor said that all red meat is unhealthy!"
"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?"
"No, I don't," I said.
"Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?"
"No," I said. "I don't do any of those things."
He looked at me and said, "Then why do you give a shit?"

the truth is bald and cold

The obvious is difficult
To prove. Many prefer
The hidden.
-"The White Room," Charles Simic, new Poet Laureate of the U.S.
as announced in NYT article

what I've been saying all along

With democracy comes television.
-Saad Mohseni, Tolo TV, Afghanistan; quoted in NYT

Why fight, when we can just install cable? Is there an Iraqi Big Brother house yet?