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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Society and Culture

Disabled girl's parents defend growth-stunting treatment - CNN.com: I's been a year since the parents of a severely disabled child made public their decision to submit their daughter to a hysterectomy, breast surgery and drugs to keep the girl forever small. Today, the couple tell CNN, they believe they made the right decision -- one that could have a profound impact on the care of disabled children worldwide.
Terrible Pickup Lines on SpongeFish: This is a collection of chat up lines that are likely to get you a slap or maybe worst.
Like ants, humans are easily led - Telegraph: When it comes to being misled, humans are no more sophisticated than ants or fish.
Alaska town sues over global warming - USATODAY.com: A tiny Alaska village eroding into the Arctic Ocean sued two dozen oil, power and coal companies Tuesday, claiming that the large amounts of greenhouse gases they emit contribute to global warming that threatens the community's existence.
Indian DNA Links to 6 'Founding Mothers': Nearly all of today's Native Americans in North, Central and South America can trace part of their ancestry to six women whose descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA study suggests.
TEDBlog: 14 ways to fix the future: The National Academies' "Grand Challenges for Engineering" list, released yesterday, runs down the 14 most pressing issues we must face in the 21st century.
Georgia school district goes to single-sex classrooms - ParentDish: Teen pregnancies, soaring dropout rates and poor test scores have frustrated school administrators for years and they are now fighting back with desperate measures.
Vatican Lists Seven Social Sins: The Vatican has put together a list of seven “social'’ sins that includes excessive wealth, drug abuse, littering, genetic tampering and creating poverty.
Robot as good as real dog at easing lonely hours - Yahoo! News: ...to his surprise, both dogs provided virtually equal comfort after seven weeks of visits.
For ‘EcoMoms,’ Saving Earth Begins at Home - New York Times: Move over, Tupperware. The EcoMom party has arrived, with its ever-expanding “to do” list ...
Visualizing Last.fm's Friends Network - ReadWriteWeb: From the resulting visual graph, it was clear that last.fm's user network is actually very strong. Although there are some clusters of close friends, even those people have a lot of interconnectivity
Report: 1 in every 99 Americans behind bars - USATODAY.com: For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population and urging states to rein in corrections costs with alternative sentencing programs.
Techdirt: Turns Out Social Networks Aren't Breeding Grounds...: Now there's a new study out going even deeper in noting that sexual predators are unlikely to pretend to be teenagers using social networks, but rather are very upfront about who they are and what they want.
People Ratings: I personally wish there was an easy way for people to have a publicly visible reputation that was influenced by anyone. Imagine a world where people could easily point their cell phone at you and give you a plus or a minus vote.
Children and Youth - Play - Development - Science - New York Times: 200 people came out to hear a psychiatrist talk rhapsodically about play — not just the intense, joyous play of children, but play for all people, at all ages, at all times.
Wal-Mart Tweaks Store for Arab-Americans: I's clear as soon as shoppers walk in that this isn't a typical Wal-Mart.
Humor: How Grandma Sees The Remote: In this comic by Roz Chast really sums it up nicely, for grandmas, parents and, le's be honest, sometimes even ourselves during our darkest moments of troubleshooting.
'Doomsday' Seed Vault Opens in Arctic - washingtonpost.com: Norway opened a frozen "doomsday" vault Tuesday deep within an Arctic mountain where millions of seeds will be stored to safeguard against wars or natural disasters wiping out food crops around the globe.
Researcher says fashion counted for some Vikings - Yahoo! News: Vikings were much snappier dressers than thought, according to new evidence unearthed by a Swedish researcher. The men were especially vain while the women dressed provocatively, adorning themselves in vivid colours, silk ribbons and glittering bits of mirrors...
Retiree Couple Needs $225K for Medical: A couple retiring this year will need about $225,000 in savings to cover medical costs in retirement, according to a study released ...by Fidelity Investments.

Posted by KenW at 4:41 PM
Categories: Society Culture

Friday, February 15, 2008

Society and Culture

It’s Official. People Love Online Videos. Billions Of ‘Em.: It would seem people spent quite a lot of time in front of their computers in December watching online videos. According to the latest numbers from Comscore, a total of 141 million unique viewers, an increase of 2.5 million, watched 10,156,199,000 videos.
Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal: Wisdom from the Homefront: ...my favorite portion of the miscellaneous stack of our mail room are the letters written to soldiers by American schoolchildren.
Bill would make it illegal to feed the obese: Three legislators want to make it illegal for restaurants to serve obese customers in Mississippi.
McGee’s Musings : When does technology stop being technology?: I’ve frequently used Alan Kay’s definition of technology as “anything that was invented after you were born”. The following perspectives from the late Douglas Adams and from Bran Ferren are richer and perhaps more useful.
Restaurants as obesity cops doesn't sit well: Nutrition experts are burning up calories in expressing their outrage over proposed legislation in Mississippi that would prohibit restaurants from serving obese customers.
Attitude Adjustment: article on the “American businesswoman” busted in Saudi Arabia for patronizing the Riyadh Starbucks in the company of a male colleague.
Study: Fat people cheaper to treat: Preventing obesity and smoking can save lives, but it doesn't save money, researchers reported Monday. It costs more to care for healthy people who live years longer, according to a Dutch study that counters the common perception that preventing obesity would save governments millions of dollars.
Has Digg Jumped the Shark?: The problem is quite evident that the most dedicated and seasoned users are feeling the brunt of the impact. And so, it’s time that I acknowledge what people have been saying for a long time: I think Digg has jumped the shark. Here’s why:
BWoolworths withdraws 'Lolita' bed: Bedroom furniture for young girls with the brand name Lolita has been withdrawn by Woolworths following complaints from parents.
More Mobiles Than Landlines in Iowa: A report from Iowa's Utilities Board has found that at the middle of last year, the number of cellphone users in the US state exceeded the number of landlines by a total of 400,000.
Social Media - 6 New Friend Acquisition Strategies: For anyone hoping to get their submissions seen by the masses on various social media, this means continuously expanding your network of friends.
Why I Dig Mixx (and Nixed Digg) | Real Words: After mulling it over, I realized that there are a number of reasons that I prefer Mixx to the other sites that are available:
Reimagining Cities: Cities are now home to half of the world's 6.6 billion humans. By 2030, nearly 5 billion people will live in cities. This special issue explores the enormous implications of the mass embrace of city life.
The Cultural Threat of the Happy Single Woman: Being Single Minded and Happy - debunking the myth of the lonely single woman.
Could the Interruption Economy Sack Prosperity?: The United States - and other pockets of the developed world - are hooked on two drugs: information and busyness.
30 Things to Do to Keep From Getting Bored Out of Your...: It’s not an exhaustive list of ideas. Just some things I’ve done to keep my mind busy — pick and choose those that might work for you.
Namco blames Wii for arcade closures in Japan: Namco Bandai is shuttering between 50 and 60 arcades in Japan, and it's laying the blame squarely on Nintendo's shoulders
10 Reasons Why Bloggers Hate Blogging: I came up with different statistical patterns observed through researches I’ve made on the subject and you might be suffering from the Bloginozia virus
BBC NEWS | India court in moustache notice: India's Supreme Court has issued a notice to a state-run airline asking it to explain why an air steward was sacked for wearing a big moustache.
4 Reasons You Should Encourage, Foster and Harness Dissent on Your Blog: I really appreciate anyone who takes the time out to comment on my thoughts (regardless of whether they agree or disagree with me), and think that we should never underestimate the importance of truly legitimate dissent for the following 4 reasons:
Afghan Journalism Student Sentenced to Death for Reading About Women's Rights: Six years after "liberation," civil rights are getting worse in Afghanistan.
America's 50 Greenest Cities | Popular Science: Want to see a model for successful and rapid environmental action? Don't look to the federal government—check out your own town. Here, our list of the 50 communities that are leading the way.
Seth's Blog: Food = Fun: Many of us want fun and respect and love and success and kindness and hope. What brilliant marketers do is add the =.
Is Six Figures Really That Much? | Wise Bread: There's a fascinating discussion going on over at Free Money Finance about families who are struggling to get by on six figure incomes.
BBC NEWS | Middle East | Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch': Human Rights Watch has appealed to Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a woman convicted of witchcraft.
States of Opportunity - WSJ.com: An old adage says high taxes don't redistribute income, they redistribute people. For new evidence look no further than migration patterns within the United States, as documented in a new survey by the moving company United Van Lines.
Serendipity: 10 accidental inventions: To demonstrate the importance of serendipity, we’ve put together a list of 10 examples of unintentional discoveries that too often we find ourselves taking for granted.
Swirl now offers 100,000 US ‘placemarks’: Checked out Swirl Connect at all? It’s a location-based mobile friend finder service. It enables users to stay connected with friends, experience what their friends experience as it happens, meet new folk on the go and find out about places of interest nearby.
What Makes StumbleUpon Unique?: Here are 9 things that make StumbleUpon different from other social media websites:

Posted by KenW at 4:02 PM
Categories: Society Culture

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Society and Culture

'Facebook fatigue' kicks in as people tire of social networks: ...numbers from web analytics outfit comScore have confirmed what the chatter in bars and cafes has been saying for months - people are, just, well, bored of social networks.
Dumbing Us Down: The American Tragedy: Are America's Schools Teaching To Their Potential? We Hope To Find Out In This Documentary.
Pope says some science shatters human dignity: Pope Benedict said on Thursday that embryonic stem cell research, artificial insemination and the prospect of human cloning had "shattered" human dignity.
Studies: Arrogance not rampant among young: The popular view that young people are more self-absorbed than ever thanks to their parents' fixation on self-esteem stands challenged by two large new studies.
The sneaker cult: A new theory explains why so many poor blacks and Hispanics spend their money on flashy clothes, cars and jewellery
For Guy Virgins: Basic Things No One Told Me About Sex: So here's my list of basic sexual stuff that I only found out about when I came across it myself.
Opinion: Letters war, right, america: Has the America we all love disappeared?
Metrophobia: ...63 percent of passengers feel unsafe in the Moscow metro. The stress brought about by underground travel can be caused by various factors and has been attributed to overcrowding, bad air circulation during rush hour, the fear of being pick-pocketed, as well as a feeling of claustrophobia.
Three Little Pigs 'too offensive': A story based on the Three Little Pigs fairy tale has been turned by a government agency's awards panel as the subject matter could offend Muslims.
Top Ten Reasons Men Are Better Than Women: MenAreBetterThanWomen.com reached 200,000 visitors early this morning, so I thought I would mark the occasion by posting a very special top ten list of the top ten ways in which men are better than women.
My Sagging Breasts Are NOT Sagging.: Ladies, love your-self, respect yourself and take pride in yourself. The rest will follow.
Brewing Battle: Starbucks vs. McDonald's: ...McDonald's is planning to capitalize on the public's willingness to pay $4 for a cup of coffee by hiring baristas and dropping espresso machines in 14,000 of their fast-food outlets.
Dog-lead goths 'hounded off bus': A goth who leads his girlfriend around with a dog lead and collar was stopped from getting on a bus amid fears for passenger safety, a bus firm confirmed.
Expulsion From The Church An Expression Of Love?: ...71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer. One held her purse and Bible. The other put her in handcuffs.
Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae – 14 Trends No Marketer Should Ignore: He believes that right now we are in the middle of the next, possibly biggest industrial revolution. This represents a tremendous opportunity for people who understand it.
Midlife slump finds people in their 40s down in the dumps: ...men and women in their 40s were more likely to be depressed and weren't as happy as other ages. Middle age is such a low point for well-being that it's at the bottom of a U-shaped curve that indicates greater happiness among the young and old.
Youngsters not happy oldies going online: The older generations are moving in on the hi-tech, online world and the under-30s are not impressed.
Students Campaign For Ron Paul: The police officer thought carefully then gave his reply. "Well, you be careful," he said. "I wouldn't want you to get shot."
Mum backs dog, chides son for pulling ears before mauling: Family's mastiff-staffordshire cross mauls boy - Victim's mum said he provoked the savage attack
Easy ways to exit awkward situations: Here are some tips on how to gracefully and painlessly remove yourself from sticky social situations.
Ottawa's homeless fight for right to sleep in underpass: A panhandlers' rights group in Ottawa is preparing a human rights complaint against the City of Ottawa after it put up a fence to stop them from sleeping in a downtown pedestrian underpass.
Twitter-do or don't: 5 Reasons why I haven't "Got Social Media?": So why, after it is over, do I still say I haven't Got Social Media?
I am data; politicians micro-target me to get elected: I am a set of data points, one of about 168 million sets of data points collected by both the Democratic and Republican national committees. They are interested in me only because I am an eligible voter.
12 Signs that You May Be a Social Media Addict: Read these signs below and seek immediate help if 3 or more apply to you.

Posted by KenW at 7:49 AM
Categories: Society Culture

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Society Culture

Robots Evolve And Learn How to Lie: Robots can evolve to communicate with each other, to help, and even to deceive each other, according to Dario Floreano of the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Good health and good fortune - why men find a leggy lady lovelier: When it comes to snaring the perfect man, the solution could be as simple as slipping on a pair of high heels.
Texas Is Biggest Carbon Polluter: Everything's big in Texas -- big pickup trucks, big SUVs and the state's big carbon footprint, too.
Mont. high school cancels climate speech: A climate scientist's speech to high school students was canceled because members of the rural community were concerned the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's message on climate change would be "anti-agriculture
What Do You Get The Last Guy On Earth For His Birthday?: With this little wonder you can cut down a tree, shoot an arrow at a deer, skin that deer, tell time, and estimate distance, as well as single-handedly rebuild a just and noble human civilization.*
Advertising: Think Before You Speak: Just as your funny bumper sticker might offend the guy behind you, your ad may not be saying what you want the target audience to hear
The Good Wife's Guide Revised: 1955 Good Wife Guide and updated version
Talking to Strangers: I think "don't talk to strangers" is just about the worst possible advice you can give a child. Most people are friendly and helpful, and if a child is in distress, asking the help of a stranger is probably the best possible thing he can do.
Judge: Stop Handing Out Bibles In School: A rural Missouri school district's long-standing practice of allowing the distribution of Bibles to grade school students is unconstitutional, a federal judge has ruled.
One Red Paperclip: A man wanted to trade a paperclip for a house. It took him a year, but he did it.
Stress...: Westerners and Americans in particular, keep complaining that their lives are so stressful...
UK OKs human-animal embryo research: British authorities ...approved scientists' use of animal eggs to create human stem cells, a ruling that will boost the supply of stem cells for research.
Now You Can Get Tased for Common Courtesy?: ...in this day and age, don't be surprised if a bit of common courtesy confuses the heck out of people.
Researchers plunder social networks: ...they are being monitored by researchers, who are almost overwhelmed by the amount of data they can gather about tastes, preferences and relationships.
8 Kids Movies That Lied to Us: ...we say no more! Below, eight movies that are begging to be unmasked for the dangerously optimistic propaganda they really are.
The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should Know: This article is a follow up on Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should Know.
Bill Proposes Database of Offenders to Aid Dating: Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, the San Francisco Democrat who is the majority whip, introduced a bill last week to create an online database of men and women convicted of domestic violence in California.
Small house on wheels: Jay’s home is a 100 square-foot cottage that includes a desk and sitting area, a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping loft, and a front porch. Jay’s house is also mounted on wheels
Brenda Norrell: Apaches rise to defend homelands from Homeland Security: Apache land owners on the Rio Grande told Homeland Security to halt the seizure of their lands for the US/Mexico border wall, during a national media conference call Monday. It was the same day that a 30-day notice from Homeland Security expired with the threat of land seizures by eminent domain to build the US/Mexico border wall.
How I Taught My Preschooler the Value of a Dollar: What began as a way to motivate Sam to stop throwing temper tantrums turned into an exercise where he learned that he must work hard to afford expensive things.
Harold Bloom: 'What We Are Seeing Is the Fall of America': The long-time cultural critic warns that the war in Iraq is destroying the American empire.
Coffee, Tea, or Should We Feel Your Pregnant Wife’s Breasts Before Throwing You in a Cell at the Airport and Then Lying About Why We Put You There?: Coffee, Tea, or Should We Feel Your Pregnant Wife’s Breasts Before Throwing You in a Cell at the Airport and Then Lying About Why We Put You There?
Top Fifty Atheist T-Shirt and Bumper Sticker Aphorisms: A reader sent me this list of atheist-positive anecdotes that have been seen either on a bumper sticker or a t-shirt. Of course, they are accurate as well as hilarious.
The "Google generation" not so hot at Googling, after all: ...are teens better with technology than older adults? Perhaps, but they also "tend to use much simpler applications and fewer facilities than many imagine."
Food Challenges for the Super Hungry, Super Competitive or Super Cheap: ...below are a few places where you can get your meal for free – if you’re up to the challenge of horking down ten percent of your body weight in half an hour.
10 Ways Lazy Stupid Coworkers Can Help Boost Your Career: Lazy coworkers may seem like a nuisance, but in reality, they offer a number of excellent opportunities to improve your professional life.
Old World Trade Center Ads: Foreboding ads featuring the World Trade Center

Posted by KenW at 6:26 AM
Categories: Society Culture

Friday, January 11, 2008

Society Culture News

LSSU issues annual list of words to be banished: The wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University are giving back to English speakers everywhere with their 33rd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness.
What Life Was Like in 1500: The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Study Shows Huge Gap Between Rents and House Prices: A new study by former and current Federal Reserve economists tracked rents and home prices back to 1960 and found the current rent-price ratio is well below its long-term average. The economists suggest house prices will need to fall considerably over the next five years to be in line with rents.
New Poll Shows Many Teens Believe Lying, Violence and Cheating Are Acceptable Behaviors: A significant percentage of teenagers who are confident in their ability to make ethical decisions regard dishonest and even violent behavior as necessary for success, according to the fifth annual Junior Achievement/Deloitte Teen Ethics Survey
Top 20 'Whitest' and 'Blackest' Names: Studies of resumes have found that people with black-sounding names are less likely to get callbacks.
graffiti street art posters stickers stencils: Creative graffiti
The Waking Up Syndrome: Few of us are eager to contemplate, let alone truly face, these looming changes. ...as the edges of our familiar reality begin to ravel, more and more people are reacting psychologically. A noticeable pattern of behavior is emerging. We call this pattern the Waking Up Syndrome, and it unfolds in six stages...
What’s Your Consumption Factor?: The average rates at which people consume resources like oil and metals, and produce wastes like plastics and greenhouse gases, are about 32 times higher in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia than they are in the developing world.
Seven Things You Must Do to Prepare for An Emergency: If you want to succeed at any venture, the first step is to have a plan. Here are some steps we are taking to be prepared:
Hey, you. You're on jury duty: Faced with a shrunken jury pool, a judge resorted to some sidewalk justice in hopes of filling it out. It worked.
Top 10 Things Americans Want but Can't Have: 10 Things Americans Want but Can't Have
Texas Man Freed After 26 Years in Prison: Three times during his nearly 27 years in prison, Charles Chatman went before a parole board and refused to admit he was a rapist. His steadfastness was vindicated Thursday, when a judge released him because of new DNA evidence showing he indeed wasn't.
52 tips, tricks, tools and sites to help consumers fight back!: Sick of having your complaints ignored, being ripped off and getting the short end of the stick? Here are 52 great sites, services and secrets to help shoppers, road warriors, home owners and all types of consumers.
Has Video Killed Old Television Habits?: Making headlines today is Nielsen Online, the Internet measurement firm, reported some online video sites have doubled their audience since the strike began at the end of October.The study finds that the audience to sites such as YouTube has nearly doubled in the last year.
Top 5 things I saw in America which, as a Canadian, freaked me right out: ...I felt it worthwhile to relay a list of five items which I saw during my travels which the locals thought was perfectly normal (I presume), but which freaked the heck out of me as a Canadian.
Tighter driver's license rules coming out: Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years under ambitious post-9/11 security rules to be unveiled Friday by federal officials.
2007 in Iraq: Shocking graphic of last year in iraq
7 Craziest Conspiracy Theories: Conspiracy Theories
'Meanest Mom' Sells Son's Car, Family Gets Quite a Ride: Yesterday she was the meanest mom on the planet. Today: the coolest.
Mapquest, Google scramble to add Lakota to maps (not): Lakota Oyate, a Native American activist group that just a couple of weeks ago declared the sovereignty of Lakota Sioux land in the north-central U.S., has issued a map outlining the newly free and independent nation of Lakota.
Erased: Call me a sucker for letting other companies control my data. But, probably, so are you. Welcome to the world where you don’t really own your data. Hope you never get erased.
Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success: With girls outperforming boys these days in high school and college, educators have been sparring over whether there is a crisis in the education of boys.
Suit alleges man fired for refusing to dress as Santa: A Lebanon man alleges he was fired last month by the local Wal-Mart because he refused to dress up as the store's Santa Claus.
Vegas Weddings Hit 10-Year Low: The number of people tying the knot in Nevada has dropped for the fourth year in a row.

Posted by KenW at 4:56 PM
Edited on: Friday, January 11, 2008 4:58 PM
Categories: Society Culture

Monday, January 07, 2008

Society/Culture News

Best Man Vs. Woman Explanation I've Ever Read: ...the seemingly senseless misunderstandings that haunt our relationships can in part be explained by the different conversational rules by which men and women play.
Tragic Last Resort For U.K.'s Asian Wives, For Some Women Who Move From India To Britain For Marriage, All Hope Is Lost: For Some Women Who Move From India To Britain For Marriage, All Hope Is Lost
How we work: We're interested in the habits, rituals and small (and occasionally big) methods people and teams use to get their work done.
Mother and Manager Lynne Spears "Sees Her Girls as a Piggy Bank": As the shock of Jamie Lynn Spears' teen pregnancy dissipates, questions of responsibility and blame have landed on her mother and manager, Lynne.
The Cost of a Long Life: cost_longlife75.gif (GIF Image, 594x459 pixels)
50 Very Simple Ways to Be Romantic: Here are a list of 50 things you can do to express your love.
Can Atheists Be Parents?: In an extraordinary decision, Judge Camarata denied the Burkes' right to the child because of their lack of belief in a Supreme Being.
Pew Internet: Libraries Report: There are several major findings in this report. One is this: For help with a variety of common problems, more people turn to the internet than consult experts or family members to provide information and resources.
Kids learn how to be compassionate toward animals: Just a few days after a 3-month old kitten had her ears cut off and was badly beaten; some local children are learning why it's important to treat animals with respect.
What's on the plate for 2008?: Eight food trends we're hungry for this year
Homeless kids are everywhere: More than 1.3 million children are considered homeless at some point in the school year, according to the National Center for Homeless Education.
World Outsources Pregnancies to India: More than 50 women in this city are now pregnant with the children of couples from the United States, Taiwan, Britain and beyond. The women earn more than many would make in 15 years.
Whats Open? What's Open? What is Open? WhatsOpen.com: Whats Open & Where is Everyone? Helps you find what, where.
'Excuse Me. May I Have Your Seat?': Dr. Milgram was interested in exploring the web of unwritten rules that govern behavior underground
Third Reich to Fortune 500: Five Popular Brands the Nazis Gave Us
The Ultimate Weight Loss Guide: This is the first, last and only weight loss article you will EVER need to read. Only, this is much more than an article. This, my friends, is a guide.
Want To Sell Your Wants?: 2007 saw the successful launch of Wants For Sale. The innovative project by New York artist Justin Gignac and his girlfriend Christine ...The premise is simple: Justin and Christine paint pictures of things they want and then sell them for the exact price of the item.

Posted by KenW at 4:03 PM
Categories: Society Culture

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Society Culture Highlights

Shower-ready suit to go on sale in Japan: ...business suits, which can be washed in a warm shower and require no ironing...
Death and Underachievement: A Guide to Happiness in Work: The trite wisdom of contemporary folklore instructs us that the arrival of the New Year is a time to reflect on the achievements of the preceding 365 days and to bear down and “resolve” to achieve more in those to come.
Free Tools to Manage New Year's Resolutions: To reach the goals you've set out for yourself in '08, follow through each and every one of the next 365 days—several free tools can help you with just that.
Web Playgrounds of the Very Young: ...entertainment companies are greatly accelerating efforts to build virtual worlds for children.
Diversity Training Backfires: Employers pay a lot of money for diversity training and sexual harassment training, but often the training backfires and blows up in the face of the employer that paid for it.
5 Reasons Why it matters to have the best looking breasts...: Boob jobs in the environment of the fitness club
Major Retailers Feel the Squeeze From Consumers: As the nation’s merchants began poring -- or weeping -- over holiday sales receipts Wednesday, a surprising pattern emerged: even brands that for years have inspired the undying devotion of shoppers felt the pinch of tightening wallets.
Techland Survey: More online ads, free content: A new study reveals that the majority of consumers would rather be bombarded with online ads than pay for content on the Web.
Email And Cellphone Contacts Are The Real Social Graph: For people over 30 (and probably even over 25) email IS the social graph.
Hoover Planned Mass Jailing in 1950 - New York Times: A newly declassified document shows that J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a plan to suspend habeas corpus and imprison some 12,000 Americans he suspected of disloyalty.
The Best Links 2007 (kottke.org): For the fourth year running, here are some of my favorite articles, videos, games, photography, discussions, and design pieces that I linked to in 2007.
The truth’s out there - honestly: More often than not you will be directed to Wikipedia, where the answer is laid out for you. The only problem is, it may not be the right answer.
Google Thinks It Knows Your Friends: “Reader and Talk are Friends!” That’s how Google announced earlier this month on one of its corporate blogs the expansion of the sharing features in Google Reader, the company’s service for viewing blogs. The feature didn’t win Google a lot of friends.
3rd Rare White Buffalo Born on Wisconsin Farm: A farm in Wisconsin is quickly becoming hallowed ground for American Indians with the birth of its third white buffalo, an animal considered sacred by many tribes for its potential to bring good fortune and peace.
Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the Impossible: The Marathon Monks ...have a quest called Hieizan Sennichi Kaihogyo (Mt. Hiei 1000 Day Journey) that would seem impossible. ...The goal is to run the equivalent of the entire equator - or once around the world over an 8 year period.
California's medical marijuana system in 'chaos': California's pot shops have admittedly become an easy source of supply for people who just want to get high.
Love Shak, Baby: Yet Another Reason To Skip McDonald's: "Oh, McDonald's, why do you vex me so? When you do the girl toy/boy toy thing it causes so much drama in my household."
Zeitgeist: Gizmodo's Most Popular Hits of 2007: Here are Gizmodo's Greatest Hits 2007, the most popular stories, the best of the best in a single bubblelicious list full of gadgets, juicy industry happenings, in-deep reviews, shocking tech news, weird war planes, Star Wars, boobs and sex.
The U.S. is Now an "Endemic Surveillance Society": The U.S. has been downgraded from "Extensive Surveillance Society" to "Endemic Surveillance Society," according to Privacy International's 2007 International Privacy Ranking
Magazine Monitor: The most interesting and unexpected facts can emerge from the daily news stories and the Magazine documents some of them in its weekly feature, 10 things we didn't know last week. To kick off 2008, here are some of the best of last year.
Will Smith angry over Hitler comment interpretation: Will Smith is angry over celebrity gossip Web site articles that he said misinterpreted a recent remark he made in a Scottish newspaper about Adolf Hitler.
Search Year 2007: Search News, In Review: "I thought it would be fun to take all the Search Months over the past year and produce this edition of Search Year 2007."
Drivers on Cell Phones Clog Traffic: Motorists who talk on cell phones drive slower on the freeway, pass sluggish vehicles less often and take longer to complete their trips, according to a University of Utah study that suggests drivers on cell phones congest traffic.
How to Safeguard Your Privacy Online: I can live with the fact that national security concerns may warrant some invasion of privacy ...I am not comfortable giving up personal information as to how I think for the sake of companies and their marketing departments serving me relevant advertising.

Posted by KenW at 11:47 AM
Edited on: Wednesday, January 02, 2008 11:53 AM
Categories: Society Culture

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Society Culture News

Celebrities Without Makeup: More than two dozen pictures of celebrities without their makeup and some are just celebrities having a bad day… a really bad day.
Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007: "I present you my favorite timeless posts of 2007, complete with descriptions about each blog post..."
gethuman 500 database from Paul English: How to get a human on the phone at 500 major companies.
Year in review: Social networking gets its geek on: For most of 2007, buzz in the social-networking world could be summed up in two syllables: Facebook.
School To Continue Electric Shock: State officials are allowing a controversial special education school to use electric shock treatments on students for another year.
Lakota Indians Withdraw Treaties Signed With U.S. 150 Years Ago: The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States. "We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us,'' long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means said.
Google ruining Christmas? Get a grip: I’ve been trying to remain calm in the face of all the Google Reader hysteria about shared items and so on
NBC gets feisty with strike-period promos: NBC’s Vince Manze noted to Variety that the network will have more original, scripted programming during the first quarter of 2008 than it did in that period of 2007.
Pot Prohibition Costs Taxpayers More Than $40 Billion...: Marijuana prohibition costs US taxpayers nearly $42 billion dollars per year in criminal justice costs and in lost tax revenues, according to an economic analysis released this week.
Kid suit sets off storm: The Pennsylvania couple suing an 8-year-old and his father over a January skiing accident have been the victim of "an electronic tar and feathering" since stories about the case began circulating on the Internet, the couple's attorney said...
Bank ATMs converted to steal bank customer IDs: A team of organized criminals are stealing ATM card numbers by adding a card reader to the ATMs.
Marijuana Is Number One Cash Crop In U.S.: Marijuana Policy Project executive director Rob Kampia interviewed on MSNBC..., regarding a new study showing marijuana is the number one cash crop in the United States.
Teens find newborn alive in Queens: Four skateboarders found a crying infant girl - the umbilical cord still attached - wrapped in a blanket and left atop a trash bin Monday night in Queens, authorities said.
Revealed! the black sheep effect in kids: Children nurse a lot of prejudices and often come down heavily on disloyalty, says a new study that has implications for the understanding of peer victimisation among the young.

Posted by KenW at 11:20 AM
Edited on: Thursday, December 27, 2007 11:22 AM
Categories: Society Culture