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Greetings, Quotaholics:
Sied sent me a link to an article
about plans in California to employ criminal DNA data in a new way.
Apparently up till now the crime lab only reported exact DNA matches
to police. Under the new policy, partial matches would now be reported.
These partial matches could point police to relatives of the person
who’s DNA the police are trying to identify.
“For now, all the people in the state’s database are convicted
offenders, but the state plans to expand the database next year to include
arrestees, heightening concerns over privacy.”
When I read the article, my first thought was that this was not very
different from the way other evidence is treated. If a witness to a
crime saw the criminal enter a residence police would question the owner
of the residence even if they didn’t match the description of
the criminal. If the owner of the residence happened to be a relative
of the criminal I’m sure the police would pressure them to reveal
the name of the criminal. So if a relative of a criminal can be identified
using DNA, why not do it?
But then I got to considering the fact that the state plans to keep
records on people who were arrested but never convicted. This started
to make me a little uncomfortable. I can see something like this spreading.
First we keep DNA from convicted criminals, then people who were arrested,
then maybe people who apply for a drivers license, eventually maybe
we just collect DNA from everyone. You know, just to be safe.
Again I have to ask myself, is this a problem? But isn’t the answer
to that the excuse we have heard about random drug testing and random
searches, “If you don’t have anything to hide…”?
If I’ve been convicted of a crime, sure, keep my DNA on file to
make sure I don’t offend again. But should my DNA be on file if
I’ve never been convicted?
Adding to my concern is another article
that reports that “The government plans to begin collecting DNA
samples from anyone arrested by a federal law enforcement agency —
a move intended to prevent violent crime but which also is raising concerns
about the privacy of innocent people.”
“That would be a departure from current practice, which limits
DNA collection to convicted felons.”
Of course the excuse for this expanded DNA collection is our safety.
The article concerning the California law stated, “(State Atty.
Gen. Jerry) Brown said the new approach was justified by violent crime
plaguing the state.”
Well if violent crime is plaguing us then drastic measures are required
to protect ourselves. We’ve been told many times that we must
give up some of our civil liberties in order to allow the government
to protect us.
Just how bad is it in California?
To answer that question I went to the website for the State Attorney
General’s Office. There I found a “Key Facts” page
with the latest crime, arrests, and population statistics.
According to the charts shown on the page violent
crime has been steadily declining since the early 90’s while the
population has been steadily increasing! The chart showing violent
crimes by type from
1952 through 2005 shows that homicide has remained fairly level during
the entire period. Assault is at about the same level as it was 30 years
ago.
Is someone trying to pull the wool over our eyes? Are we being lead
to believe that crime is soaring, when in fact we are probably safer
now than we have ever been? Is this an attempt by government to infringe
on our privacy by making us believe we are in danger?
Are you concerned about this? Do you think the DNA database should be
expanded to include people who were never convicted? Should the police
be able to access data from close relatives in attempting to solve a
crime? Should the crime statistics showing crime is declining be included
in articles reporting attempts to expand police power?
Privately,
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it worth $1 a month to you to keep RGQ going? Please click the
link and direct your contribution to reallygoodquotes@yahoo.com.
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"There is no future in time
travel." – Anonymous
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"If I begin to procrastinate
today instead of tomorrow, would that be considered self-improvement?"
– Anonymous
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Little Bruce
[Thanks to Rick in Roanoke]
[By the way, I left the character’s name alone…it’s the way I got
it.]
Little Bruce and
Jenny are only 10 years old, but they just know that they are in love.
One day they decide that they want to get married, so Bruce goes to
Jenny’s father to ask him for her hand.
Bruce bravely walks
up to him and says, "Mr. Smith, me and Jenny are in love and
I want to ask you for her hand in marriage."
Thinking that this
was just the cutest thing, Mr. Smith replies, "Well Bruce, you
are only 10. Where will you two live?"
Without even taking
a moment to think about it, Bruce replies, "In Jenny’s room.
It’s bigger than mine and we can both fit there nicely."
Still thinking this
is just adorable, Mr. Smith says with a huge grin, "Okay then
how will you live? You’re not old enough to get a job. You’ll need
to support Jenny."
Again, Bruce instantly
replies, "Our allowance. Jenny makes 5 bucks a w eek and I make
10 bucks a week. That’s about 60 bucks a month and that should do
us just fine."
By this time Mr.
Smith is a little shocked that Bruce has put so much thought into
this. He thinks for a moment trying to come up with something that
Bruce won’t have an answer to.
After a second,
Mr. Smith says, "Well Bruce, it seems like you have got everything
all figured out. I just have one more question for you. What will
you do if the two of you should have little ones of your own?"
Bruce just shrugs
his shoulders and says, "Well, we’ve been lucky so far."
Mr. Smith no longer
thinks the little shit is adorable.
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"Even if you are a minority of one, the
truth is the truth." - Mahatma Gandhi
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"A cult is a religion
with no political power." - Thomas Wolfe, American short story writer
and novelist (1900-1938)
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"It takes as much energy
to wish as it does to plan." - Eleanor Roosevelt
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E-Mail
the Imp
Space.
The final frontier. Those opening words of the original Star trek series
always get my mind racing…I fantasize about spacecraft carrying
interplanetary explorers to establish a new home for human beings.
That was the same dream that the pioneers of the space programs that
began in the middle of the last century had, and which drove most of
the technological development of the last few decades. The thought of
using robots or robotic devices to explore the solar system was their
fantasy, if they thought about it at all. It took many years before
electronics and computers were developed to the point where robotic
probes could be sent to places that humans couldn’t get to, and
do the job much cheaper.
There’s an argument that there are only two reasons to send humans
into space. One reason is to be able to conduct experiments in a weightless
environment, which is used to justify the maintenance and expansion
of the ISS. The other is to find and establish a new home or homes for
humans, to ensure survival of our species.
Those who oppose the expenditure needed to establish a colony or outpost
on the moon or on Mars, cite the extreme danger of long term exposure
to radiation on human explorers. Even if humans can survive the trip,
the sheer massiveness of the shielding required when there, or on the
moon, would severely limit the effectiveness of any human exploration
during an extended stay. Carrying the needed equipment for a return
trip makes the venture even more difficult, if not impossible with current
technology.
At some point, robots become ineffective for exploration. If they’re
too far away it becomes impossible for human controllers on earth to
program responses to changing situations, the time lag in communications
becomes a barrier. Robots aren’t yet to the point where they can
autonomously respond to changing situations as readily humans can.
What both sides of the issue are looking at and implying, without giving
voice to, is a merging of man and machine. The
answer is a cyborg, and a cyborg on a suicide mission. A one way
mission to Mars for example, without any equipment for a return trip,
would make a tremendous cut in the weight of the craft that could be
converted to “life” support requirements. This is one step
further along than the “One-way
Mars Mission” proposed by a retired NASA engineer named James
C. McLane III.
So we get a volunteer. The volunteer agrees to have his brain removed
and permanently hooked to a shielded, mini, supercomputer. The volunteer
agrees to go to Mars and stay there until supplies run out or a permanent,
life supporting habitat is established. The brain and computer combination
would operate an army of rovers that conduct dozens of different experiments
and search for different materials and resources. The combination could
also operate construction robots that would build the basic permanent
habitat for complete humans.
Life support needs for a brain alone would weigh much, much less than
for a whole body, so the brain could probably last two to three years
compared to a few months for a complete human. A gruesomely elegant
solution to space travel.
Now if science can just figure out how a brain could replicate itself
and create new baby cyborgs, we may have just found a way to leap millennia
ahead on the human ladder of evolution. Of course baseball will never
be the same…how could you possibly pump steroids into cyborg controlled
robots?
The Bad Sied 
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On this day in history, April 28, 1947: Thor Heyerdahl sets sail on Kon-Tiki,
trying to reach Polynesia from Peru. Heyerdahl and his five crew members
wanted to prove that it was possible for pre-Columbian South Americans
to sail across the Pacific. Using only materials and technology that would
have been available to the indigenous Peruvians, the boat was built and
supplied for the journey.
Heyerdahl led expeditions to study archeological findings and made other
journeys in primitive ships. He led an expedition to The Galapagos Islands
in 1952 and another to Easter Island in 1955-1956. Two sailing expeditions
left from Morocco. Ra I sailed 2,262 miles (4284 km) over 54 days
in 1969 while Ra II sailed 3,270 miles (5,263 km) over 57 days
in 1970, both ships sailing westward. These two ships were made of papyrus
reeds. Heyerdahl led the Tigris Expedition (1978) which sailed a reed
ship down the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, over to Pakistan and then
west to Africa. Heyerdahl continued his archeological studies in the Maldives,
Easter Island and Peru until his death in 2002.
"Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity." - Thor
Heyerdahl
"If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery,
it is that, in the long run - and often in the short one - the most daring
prophecies seem laughably conservative." - Arthur C. Clarke
"We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring
will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
- T. S. Eliot
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Email Kirsten
“Even if you’ve
been fishing for 3 hours and haven’t gotten anything except poison ivy
and sunburn, you’re still better off than the worm”
~ Unknown ~
I spent the
whole of this winter complaining about the weather. It did not help
that this winter was longer and colder than most, or that we got enough
snow to export to the North Pole. My Canadian-born husband didn’t understand
why I was making such a big deal of it. You see, I am from South Africa.
I was born in a place that I truly believe has the world’s best weather.
When I was a kid, I spent most of my free time running around outdoors
with bare feet and a swimsuit. As an adult, my free time was spent at
poolside barbecues with family and friends. An affinity for warmth and
sunshine is genetically coded in me. And so I am very happy now that
I have been able to ditch the coat and boots in favour of sandals and
light jackets.
Of course, my preference for sunny weather has its pros and cons. A
benefit from a health perspective is that the sun is the best natural
source of Vitamin D,
which contributes to healthy bones. A benefit from a vanity perspective
is that people look great with tans. I am fortunate enough to be one
of those people who turns brown rather than red in the sun, and I definitely
get that healthy-looking glow in the summertime.
Despite these good things, over-exposure to the sun can be very harmful.
The ultraviolet rays can cause a host of skin and eye conditions, including
skin cancer.
The incidence of skin cancer has been growing in recent years, for a
variety of reasons. One of them is simply that people are spending more
time in the sun. There are a lot of good sunscreens on the market, but
many people tend to be lulled into a false sense of security by them.
They do not reapply it frequently enough, or they go swimming and then
neglect to reapply the sunscreen afterwards. The hole in the ozone layer
has also been getting a lot of the blame, although this is as controversial
a subject as global warming. Some believe that the hole in the ozone
layer goes through natural cycles of expanding and contracting. In other
words, the ozone problem is nothing new. Another reason for the rise
in skin cancer is the "fake tan" revolution. People go to
tanning salons in a well-meaning attempt to avoid the harmful rays of
the sun, not realizing that many forms of fake tans carry the same dangers.
Now, this whole risk thing poses a dilemma for many people, myself included.
I kind of like the idea of not getting skin cancer, but the thought
of staying out of the sun is unbearable to me. So I have to take whatever
precautions I can to reduce my chances of getting a skin disease. Sunscreen
is a good form of protection, as long as it’s a broad-spectrum product
that protects against UVA and UVB radiation. Sunscreen should be applied
at least every two hours, and after swimming. Protective clothing should
be worn where possible - hats that shade the face and cover the back
of the neck, and loose-fitting, light clothing with long sleeves. The
time of exposure also makes a difference. The sun is at its fiercest
in the middle of the day, so lunch hours should be spent either indoors
or in the shade. Finally, young children should have very limited exposure
to the sun. This applies especially to babies under the age of six months,
since the safety of sunscreen has not been established for children
that young.
As we reduce our exposure to UV radiation, we need to ensure that our
Vitamin D requirements are taken care of. Food sources of Vitamin D
include fish, mushrooms and eggs. Many products these days are fortified
with Vitamin D, such as milk, yoghurt and margarine.
As with so many other things, summertime has become a lot more complicated
than simply going outside and having fun. We have to protect our health,
and for those of us who like the way the sun makes us look, we have
to ensure that our healthy glow comes from within, by eating right and
staying hydrated.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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I did it. Against insurmountable odds, I have accomplished what any
sane person would classify as impossible. I made a web page.
I know what you’re thinking, “But Tim, anyone can make a web page.”
That’s very true. Well, I think you have to be over 13 here in the
US, so I’ll qualify that by saying most people that would want to
create a web page can create a web page. I created my first web page
over a decade ago. That’s not what was impossible.
You see, in order to see the web page, you have to log into our
system. Since I don’t know you, I had to create a guest account that
anyone could use. There were instructions on how to do this, and they
were quite simple. They were also inaccurate. I created over 200 accounts
for the faculty. The instructions for that were inaccurate too. I’ve
tested making the accounts for students. The instructions for that
were, well, I’d have to say they were either misleading or lacking
in completeness. I read 602 pages of a manual that was either misleading,
lacking information, or just flat out wrong.
Of course, I called the support department of the company that we
bought this new system from, and all the help they gave me was either
inaccurate, incomplete, or wrong. When I asked for clarification,
I got no response. I was beating my head against my monitor trying
to get this web site to work properly, and I finally accomplished
that task. It works like a charm now, thanks to my perseverance, hard
work, and a bit of blind luck. I have skills, and I’m paid well for
them.
So I took last Thursday off. I wasn’t quite done yet, but I was so
close I could taste it. Friday morning I finished the web page, and
it is beautiful as well as functional. I also got an e-mail from my
boss saying the Business Practices Manager would be calling me wanting
to know the laundry list of problems I have yet to resolve.
Number one on my list of problems is that their documentation sucks.
Number two is that their support system is so unreliable I would cancel
our contract if I had the authority to do so. But I didn’t get the
chance to tell her that.
She never called.
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Yarns
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Fresh fish freeze well in a milk carton filled with water. - Peggy in
Tonawanda, New York
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Annie,
you’re saving us! Only three on the current line.
Next opening line…
A friend of mine just let me know…
Hints:
There’s a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
When
I took my last driver’s test…
I said "this one will be the best"…
but then came the curve
and into him I swerved
today Jimmy will be laid to rest. - Cassandra in New York |
When
I took my last driver’s test,
I really tried to do my best.
But the instructor said no,
On a one-way street I couldn’t go;
Seems I was going East instead of West. - Bonnie in Louisiana |
When I took
my last driver’s test…
Everyone at DMV seemed stressed
Because before when I had tried
With a pedestrian I did collide
And the police placed me under arrest. - Rick in Roanoke |
I
once had a teacher named Fred
His classes I really did dread
They were very hard
But then came the reward. . .
I am no longer an airhead. - Anne Onimous |
I once had
a teacher named Fred
He poured grand ideas in my head.
The world I was to conquer
But today I’m meeker. . .
Would you like to super size instead? - Anne Onimous |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
You fluctuate every day.
First, you come up to me
Then you recede from me.
I guess the tide is wishy-washy. - Anne Onimous |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
You keep changing every day
One moment you’re hot
The next day you’re not. . . .
That’s the weather across the USA. - Anne Onimous |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
I want to keep you at bay
You’re talk like a hawker
And act like a stalker.
You’re as alluring as an ashtray. - Anne Onimous |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
And I don’t want you to delay.
You must do it fast
As our time has past. . .
Unless you should win the lottery. - Anne Onimous |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
You stand there holding a bouquet.
With you I want to play
But the piper I must pay
My English essay is due today. - Anne Onimous |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
Don’t come back until next Friday.
I know cash you aspire.
My debt I shall retire,
But not before my next payday. - E. Cole Aye |
You’re
driving me crazy! Go away!
No matter what I do, you stay.
You like to hang on.
You’re a vicious Klingon.
To make you gone, I’ll now use the bidet. - E. Cole Aye
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A young
man I met in Berlin…
suggested that we live in sin…
We ****** all night long
he was so very strong
because he stopped drinking so much gin. - Cassandra in New York |
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Re:
Polygamists in Texas
In regards to
the Texas Polygamist problem, I’m sure you’ll get lots of emails explaining
that they are NOT Mormons, and that any Mormon involved in polygamy
or one of these sects gets excommunicated so fast it’d make your head
spin.
I grew
up in the Mormon church (Latter Day Saint), and even served a mission
for them. (When you’re 19 years of age it’s traditional for Mormon boys
to spend two years proselyting) The FLDS church is an off-shoot of the
Mormon Church, and are no more Mormon than Baptists are Catholic. I
haven’t gone to the LDS church for over 20 years, and don’t believe
in that faith, or any organized religion any longer.That being said,
it looks to me that the Texas Authorities have a huge legal problem,
but that it’ll take some time to surface. I can’t understand how a judge
could sign a search warrant predicated on one unsubstantiated phonecall.
It looks like some deep rooted religious bigotry to me. And now they
are mistreating these people. I don’t believe in anything that the FLDS
people believe in, but it’s a scary first step. If this action stands,
we are all loosing a huge part of our freedom. Of course, if there’s
abuse going on, it needs to be stopped. But do it legally, or you’re
as bad or worse than the offender.
As far
as your gang banger couple are concerned, I don’t know what to say.
As a cop, we call it job security. Probably not too reassuring to Joe
Citizen. 15 years ago, cops from Los Angeles contacted the Salt Lake
Police Department in response to a request for information on how to
deal with the expanding gang problem here. LAPD’s response boiled down
to "Hit them hard and hit them fast, before they grow. If you let
them grow, they will take over." Well, THAT was politically incorrect.
Now, they’ve taken over. Now, we putout fires, but there’s so many fires
you really can’t put them out. The system is at a breaking point all
over the nation. All you can do is learn to defend yourself and teach
your loved ones the same. - Chris in Utah
[Chris,
I’m sure you must think I pick on you all the time. I’m always writing
something about the police and now I brought Mormons into the discussion!
I purposely didn’t make a distinction between the FLDS and the
LDS to point out, somewhat, that most people don’t see a difference.
Everyone knows that the early church practiced polygamy and most think
it still does. One point I was making was that if this is the belief
you were raised in, it isn’t abuse as far as the parties involved
are concerned. It sort of goes back to the persecution the LDS have
endured all along, “You don’t believe the way we believe,
therefore we don’t want you around”. Even the LDS have pushed
the FLDS out of their communities because of the polygamy. Last night
Dateline NBC discussed the problems in Texas. When you saw the police
entering the FLDS temple, you just had to feel that something very wrong
was happening there. The women who were interviewed said they were told
that if they returned to the compound, they would never see their children
again. NBC also reported that police are now wanting to question a 33
year old woman who has made prank calls before, so it’s probable that
the phone call that started this whole thing was fake! It’s a
terrible situation, all to reminiscent of the Waco
raid. We all know how well that worked out!]
Re:
Older Workers
I read with dismay the 15
Minutes of Fame submission from 4/23. Then I had to start laughing.
I too am an older worker, but I long ago got over thinking that Corporate
America was going to appreciate me in any real sense. I have some good
ideas too, although not on the same scale as the person who got the
15 Minutes of Fame, but my ideas are not recognized UNLESS a younger
person picks them up and submits them as his-or-her own. It is one of
the ironies of life. I have chosen not to let it bother me. So what
if I am not recognized for my true worth? I know what the truth is and
so do the people who have taken my ideas and used them to further their
own careers. I refuse to raise my blood pressure over it. - Peg
Re: No God in Religion
It is my understanding that Buddhism is considered a “religion”
and yet it has no God but rather a philosophy of awakening to the Universe.
Seeking truth and understanding, finding morality and choosing good
over evil doesn’t take a belief in god-type entities. If each
and every religion gave up their insistence in a limited and church-specific
God, the whole world would be a better place. Surely God is more than
simply Jesus Christ, Allah, or Jehovah, but instead all of these names
and more. How inconsequential must a God be to have only one name. –
Patti, a deist without a church, moral without religion.
Reader Submission
My favorite “Fuel of
the Future” methane (CH4) is in the news, in two unrelated stories.
The first comes from the state of Vermont where the Blue
Spruce Farm generates electricity from cow manure. They produce
enough to power their own generators and for another 300 – 400
homes.
The second comes
from the University of Bath in England . Students have developed a prototype
vehicle called “Clever”
(Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport) that runs on compressed
methane. The three wheel vehicle runs on a modified BMW motor cycle
engine and gets the equivalent of slightly over 100
MPG (42 KPL).
Considering the abundance
of natural gas reserves, the natural gas distribution system already
in place, and the most recent developments in methane fuel cell technology,
it looks as if methane stands a good chance to replace gasoline until
something better comes along. - sied
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be accurately
attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly attributed,
or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time to time.
I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect quotes, and
will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors. |
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