Friday, October 13, 2006

Buffalo Blizzard vs. Rochester Sunny Day: God Has a Sense of Humor


Buffalo and Rochester are a mere 60 miles apart, that span covered by lakes which generally increase the snowy weather in both locals. I’ve only been in Rochester a short time, but it’s already been enough time to know that both it and Buffalo get pummeled by winter storms, normally simultaneously.

Areas of Buffalo received between 8 and 24 inches of snow last night and this morning. The city experienced downed limbs and power lines, while dozens of schools were closed and 80% of all roads were considered impassible. Even the New York State Thruway between Rochester and Buffalo is closed at this very moment. Only one problem: here in Rochester, there is no snow.

Last night, I was driving around a pretty fair portion of the evening, and we got flurries, and that’s it. I look out the window this morning, and the sun is shining, the pavement is clean and dry, and there is no snow on the windshields of the cars in the parking lot. I’m watching the Rochester news, and nope, not one word about a heavy snow fall here in Rochester. Frankly, it looks like a nice day for a bike ride!

While in Buffalo, the snow continues to fall. It’s said to be the earliest heavy snowfall ever experienced in Western New York, and in a region that is amazing adept at dealing with snow efficiently, much of the region was caught unprepared. So while the majority of the Buffalo area remains in a state of emergency, Rochester enjoys a beautiful fall day!

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Posted by Scottage at 10:46 AM / | |  

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Latest Rave Allows Dancing To Your Own Beat


A very cool article in The Daily Mail today tells of a new, more technologically advanced type of rave. And frankly, I want in!

Hundreds of people arrived at England’s Liverpool Street Station armed with their iPods and dancing shoes, participating in a new activity called Mobile Clubbing. Each of them had received an email telling the time and place, and they loaded up their iPods with their favorite dance music, and descended on the station.

No need for any huge PA system. No need for a DJ to host the event. Really, they didn’t even need to disrupt traffic at the typically busy station. They just showed up and started dancing. People went to get their trains home from work, and a party broke out.

Now, I must say that I would think the dancing would be a bit tougher, in that everyone would be dancing to different music. How do you find a partner, when the beats can be so radically different? Maybe they all need to download a podcast of a good DJ (anyone know a good DJ?) playing cool dance tunes.

Still, the concept of a rave breaking out in the middle of a train station, with passengers seeing the station flooded with dancers but hearing no music, that is a site I would like to see. Think we can arrange one at Grand Central Station? How about the stairs of Congress? Put on your dancing shoes, because baby, I’m in!

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Posted by Scottage at 10:31 AM / | |  

Are Girls Evil?

I received a mathematical proof by email today. Now it’s possible, of course, that all of you have seen this. And what’s more, I’m not too sure I agree with it (frankly, I’m rather fond of the fairer sex). But I figured, at the very least, it was worthy of a little dialogue, debate, or what not. So let me here your thoughts on this basic mathematical proof:



Need an argument against this being true? I present you with Jessica Alba!



So do you think girls are evil? Let me hear your comments!

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Posted by Scottage at 12:58 AM / | |  

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

New Mohammed Cartoon Video Broadcast by Danish State Television


For the past couple weeks I have been away from my computer, and really the last month I’ve been swamped. So coming back I needed a topic to talk about, something important, with the potential to be Earth shattering or to be a flash in the pan. Something no one was talking about and everyone should be. Wow, I came back on the right day. There were so many intriguing stories in the news that many smaller stories were falling through the cracks. My attention was drawn by this headline, from 4 hours ago:

“Muslims Angry at New Danish Cartoons Scandal”

My heart sank as I read that one. I supported the right to publish the Mohammed cartoons last August, though I feel that often the issue was exacerbated by a certain amount of insensitivity to the Islamic community as a whole. I was happy when the protests began to cool down, and felt at many times like it could have been a spark-plug issue to a larger-scale war that the world seems to be moving towards. I also felt like certain governments were pushing the all-out war agenda. Thus, I had no desire to hear the issue was alive again.

The issue was revived after the airing on Danish state television of an amateur video showing members of an anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party holding a contest to draw images mocking the prophet. The video is from a youth group summer camp, and the participants had been drinking. The cartoons depict a camel with the head of Mohammed and beer cans for humps and an equation showing a Muslim man + a bomb = a terrorist.

The organization of the Islamic Conference, the largest international Muslim body and a representative of 57 nations, strongly condemned the airing of this video on the Danish state television. "The running of the footage affected the sensibilities of civilised people and religious beliefs of one fifth of humanity," the OIC said. Just hours after the footage was shown, the Danish foreign ministry cautioned travelers to avoid 10 Middle Eastern And other reaction?

Indonesian Muslim groups have said they were insulted by the video and Egypt's largest Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, denounced what it called "new Danish insults". In Iran, the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad commented: "If someone enjoys an iota of humanity and wisdom then he will not insult and offend the shining holy presence of Muhammad," according to national television.

Think back to the protests that spread across Europe and Asia this past winter over twelve more benign cartoons. However, that was a public contest versus an amateur video the youth of a right wing group produced. Still, the fact that part of the video was shown on the state television raised the stakes. Plus, only a segment was shown; the content of the remainder of the tape are still in question.

It’s hard to say whether broadcast of this tape will turn into an issue or not. But tread carefully; it is a tumultuous time in our history, and perhaps it’s the wrong time to stomping on the collective feelings of our growing adversary.

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Image above is from The Guardian of a Danish Islamic man at prayer.

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Posted by Scottage at 3:35 PM / | |  

Hysterical Photography Contest

I got back to my computer after a bit of time away, and before getting into a post, decided to do a bit of fun surfing. I ran across this contest at FlyAboveAll where people submitted pictures of owners who looked like their dogs.



OK, WOW! One of them really needs to go to the barber, you can decide which one. Though I don't know if it's better to look like your dog or to try to look like your dog?



OK, do the dog and ownder share the same gene pool?



Anyway, there are lots of cute pictures of people and their pets that I'm sure you'll enjoy. So check it out, and chill with the puppy power!

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Posted by Scottage at 12:42 AM / | |