Author Archives
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Spurlock’s “30 Days in a Wheelchair”: A curmudgeonly synopsis (or two)
Healthy former quarterback Ray Crockett spends 30 days playing a can’t-walk game. Morgan Spurlock doesn’t put it that way, however. He asks, “Will he be able to convert from quarterback to handicapped?” “Even though it’s in our headlines, how much… Read More ›
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HealthEd’s “Platinum Package”: The pharmaceutical industry and medical fauxducation.
Last week, I wrote about the Allergan-sponsored “independent” Continuing Medical Education (CME) video lectures that dropped into my mailbox. The gossamer-disguised advertisement promoted Allergan’s Lap-Band bariatric surgery product. The Lap-Band is Allergan’s fastest-growing money-spinner, with sales up 35.5% on last… Read More ›
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Racist talk and sexual harassment escalating in the Big Brother Australia house
After posting about racism, sexism, assault, and the differences in response between BB UK and BB Australia, I missed Big Brother on Friday night. And oh boy, did I miss something. Terri, avowed Pauline Hanson supporter, “joking” about Nobbi’s “slanted”,… Read More ›
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Sunday garden post
It’s a beautiful day! Here are a few photos of the garden. Some are “first new growth” shots, some are “before” shots. One kangaroo paw wants to flower. (Yay!) You can see the chilli varieties in the background waiting to… Read More ›
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Otterday!
Today’s baby small-clawed otter was snapped in April at Tacoma’s Point Defiance zoo by “How I See The World Around Me” at flickr. This photo is just begging to be captioned.
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More Big Brother bullying: Alexandra removed from the BB UK house
This week Alexandra was summarily removed from the Big Brother UK house after making indirect threats towards fellow housemates and their friends and families. I think this incident highlights a possible difference between Big Brother Australia and Big Brother UK…. Read More ›
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I Write Letters: Followup
A week ago, I wrote a letter. Today, I received a reply. Here is my response to that reply. Dear etc, Thanks for your reply. Thankyou for committing to an exploration of access possibilities in the future. I look forward… Read More ›
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Greenwashing: replacing water use with plastic chips
In the “What were they thinking?” stakes, Leeds University spinout company “Xeros” claims to have invented the near-waterless washing machine. The machine uses one cup of water and some detergent to wash a whole load of clothes. (They don’t mention… Read More ›
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The Government is coming for your Facebook
The Rudd government plans a “real world live pilot” of Senator Conroy’s opt-out ISP-based filtering, starting next month. Internode and Iinet have already spoken out against the plan. New Zealand filtering company “Watchdog” is drooling over the opportunity to milk… Read More ›
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AP: That’ll be $2.50 a word for copy-paste, thanks
The blogosphere is starting to buzz. What’s the buzz? AP has kicked up about bloggers posting short, linked excerpts without paying. Out-law.com says that the Associated Press issued Rogers Cadenhead (of the Drudge Retort) a series of takedown notices under… Read More ›
Hoyden About Town 