Over at How to be a Retronaut, a couple of examples of very early manipulated photographs, including adding a spare general to a group portrait:
August 4, 2010
Ye Olde Photoshoppe: a long history of doctored photographs
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Canada’s (lack of) abortion rules
Apparently lots of Canadians think that the country’s laws are far more restrictive of abortion than they really are:
Two-thirds of Canadians do not know that Canada has no abortion law, according to a new poll that indicates Canadians are woefully misinformed about a landmark ruling in the country’s history.
The poll, which asked 1,022 Canadian adults about their understanding of the country’s abortion regulations, found that just 22% of Canadians correctly identified a woman’s right to an abortion with no governmental restrictions. Canada has not had legislated abortion rules since 1988, making the country an “absolute outlier” on the issue, according to a medical ethicist.
“There’s really only a very small number of Canadians that correctly identify the current situation in Canada,” says pollster Jaideep Mukerji, who worked on the Angus-Reid poll, which was released on Tuesday. “That could be problematic.”
This was highlighted over the last couple of months, with the government and opposition wrangling over Stephen Harper’s initiative to increase funding for maternal health in the developing world. Because opinions widely differ over what the law covers in Canada, it was easy for the opposition to portray Harper’s plan as being ideological rather than humanitarian due to the exclusion of abortion.
Canadians don’t want to re-open the debate, although most appear to want more restrictions in place.
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The costly San Antonio class
Strategypage recounts the sad story of the LPD 17 class:
The U.S. Navy is having major problems with its LPD 17 class amphibious ships. Originally, the plan was for twelve of these ships to replace 41 smaller, older and retiring amphibious ships. Then, disaster struck. Five years ago, the USS San Antonio (the first LPD 17 class ship) entered service. Or at least tried to. The builders had done a very shoddy job, and it took the better part of a year to get the ship in shape. The second of the class, the USS New Orleans, was also riddled with defects that required several hundred million dollars to fix. This pattern of shoddy workmanship, incompetent management and outright lies (from the ship builders) continued with the five LPD 17 class ships now in service. Now the order has been cut to ten ships, partly because of all these problems. To add insult to injury, the last ship in the class is being named after politician John P. Murtha, who is generally hated by soldiers and marines for the way he politically exploited and defamed the troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is particularly painful because the LPD 17s carry marines into combat.
Many consider the San Antonio class as a poster child for all that’s wrong with American warship construction. The ships are being delivered late, and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. The list of problems with the ships is long and embarrassing. Although the San Antonio did get into service, it was then brought in for more inspections and sea trials, and failed miserably. It cost $36 million and three months to get everything fixed. The workmanship and quality control was so poor that it’s believed that the San Antonio will always be a flawed ship and will end up being retired early.
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August 3, 2010
Badminton, as described by professional sports announcer
H/T to Mark Frauenfelder for the link.
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Brett Favre announces his retirement
Either he’s really worried about that ankle, or he’s upset that his intentions are being taken for granted . . . and this will certainly shake things up in the NFC North. Bleacher Report has a quick summary:
Brett Favre began to inform Vikings officials Monday night he will not return for his 20th season, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Jay Glazer of FOX.
Favre reportedly told teammates and coaches that his ankle has not responded and he doesn’t plan to play this year. Favre is expected to issue a press release later Tuesday and the team hopes he changes his mind.
If the retired-then-unretired-then-re-retired Favre doesn’t change his mind again, the happiest man in Minnesota today is Tarvaris Jackson.
Update: ESPN report:
Update, the second: Of course, for some people this news means that the sad-sack Vikings will be lucky to beat anyone this season. Apparently the only thing that matters for success in the NFL is your quarterback: running backs, wide receivers, offensive line, defence, they’re all immaterial compared to the quality of your quarterback.
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Your elected representatives demand tokens of your respect
You may have elected them (someone had to), but you must show deference and respect at all times:
Sources reported this week that the city council of Elmhurst, Ill., had asked its attorney to research various definitions of “disorderly conduct,” in the course of considering possible changes to rules of decorum in city council meetings. The move was prompted by an incident in June in which a frustrated citizen rolled her eyes and audibly sighed during a meeting, and was promptly ejected from the chamber.
Reportedly, Darlene Helsop had hoped to speak to the finance committee about its plan to hire a state lobbyist, but wasn’t given the opportunity to do so. She sighed and rolled her eyes, to the great irritation of committee chairman Stephen Hipskind. “Making faces behind the mayor’s back is disruptive, in my opinion,” he said, and he ordered Helsop to leave. To their credit, other council members objected and two left, ending the meeting for lack of a quorum. But the council still seems to have asked its attorney to look into the legal ramifications of a rule that would encompass eye-rolling and (presumably) face-making.
So remember, serfs citizens, show respect to your owners leaders . . . or else!
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Japan’s centenarians are going missing
After the discovery that the oldest man in Tokyo had actually been dead for years, it should come as no surprise that the oldest woman in Tokyo has apparently been missing for decades:
Fusa Furuya, aged 113, had been registered as living with her daughter.
But the daughter says she has not seen her mother since the 1980s.
According to government data, there are more than 40,000 centenarians in Japan. But the discoveries in Tokyo have cast doubt on the accuracy of the figures.
Despite being reputed to be Tokyo’s oldest woman, it appears no-one had bothered to check that Mrs Furuya was still alive — until now.
Local council officials have been visiting the very elderly after the body of Sogen Kato, thought to be Tokyo’s oldest man, was found last week.
The police believe he had been dead for more than 30 years.
When officials went to Ms Furuya’s home, they discovered that she had been missing for decades.
Unlike the earlier case, where the man’s family had continued to collect his pension, the family of Fusa Furuya don’t appear to have been involved in pension fraud . . . although you do wonder why they hadn’t noticed her being missing all this time.
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August 2, 2010
Australian election ads far more amusing than Canadian ones
H/T to “Inkless” Paul Wells for the link.
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August 1, 2010
Woodbutchery
Sorry for the lack of postings, but I’ve been busy trying to get back on track for delivering a set of bookshelves I promised for earlier this year. I’m covered in sawdust, and not all that interested in browsing the web at the moment. Perhaps tomorrow . . .
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