Monday mumbles

The first year of Parenting.

What others think about the US.

Reading between the lines ... historically.

Things that nom on radiation?!

Apparently this dude thinks rape can be enjoyed.

Noah... as a movie... subtitled God is PISSED.

Google supports solar.

Eclipsing intelligence...

The solar eclipse in pictures.

France bans Monsanto corn.

Street art.

The man who wishes the Google would ignore...

Congress is getting dumber, if you couldn't tell by now.  Especially in their dealings with them wimmen folk.

From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor:

(Phys.org) -- A materials scientist at Michigan Technological University has discovered a chemical reaction that not only eats up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, it also creates something useful. And, by the way, it releases energy.

Ok, I'm ready! Let me go pick some lemons in my backyard... oh.  Rats.

Don't be evil

The petition reads:

"As a Google user, I am telling you, 'Don't be evil.' The deal between Google and Verizon as reported by the New York Times is evil because it undermines the open Internet upon which hundreds of millions of people rely. Live up to your founding motto, walk away from this deal and save the Internet."

Tell Google what you think.

For those who use Blogger

You may have hit a 2000 limit on your labels. I found I could not post even though I went back and tossed many unique labels out of my list. So for the moment, I will post with known labels rather than unknown known labels because I do not know if my unknown known labels will post.

Um.....

Google mistakes own blog for spam, deletes it
Company says normal policy procedure -- not external hack -- resulted in Custom Search Blog temporarily hosting nonsensical message

Alrighty then...

Blog sprinkles

Hoots at Hootsbuddy's Place has complied an excellent list of sites about Obama's background as a professor.

David at Twenty One Times Two discusses (after the major rumpus caused by Google's spambot shutting out people from their blogs) how to back up your blog's content.

Mustang Bobby at Bark Bark Woof Woof notes the Republican huffiness on being called over playing the racism card:

Mr. Tapper would seem to prefer that Sen. Obama, like all Democratic Party nominees before him, not respond to the attacks from the McCain campaign. But Mr. Obama insists on standing up to them. It's like he doesn't know his place.

Oh, and if Mr. Obama and his campaign is too politically savvy to come out and say outright that the McCain campaign and his minions are doing the racist/xenophobic dog-whistles, a lot of other people are.

Steve Benen of The Carpetbagger Report: Keeping track of the amazing flips and counterflips of flipflopping John McCain.

Blue Girl of Blue Girl, Red State talks about the ugliness exposed with the undocumented worker raids and the harsh treatment following.

Morse of Media Needle observes that Obama is too fat.

Tengrain of Mock, Paper, Scissors has a comparison picture for you to puzzle out.

And finally, from Think Progress, the best ever response by a judge:

Last Friday, police in Des Moines, Iowa arrested four people who attempted to make a citizens’ arrest of former top White House aide Karl Rove, who was in town to speak at a GOP fundraiser. A retired minister and three members of the Des Moines Catholic Workers community were cited for trespassing. However, according to a press release, the judge presiding over the case praised their efforts:

[Mona] Shaw was the first called before Polk County Fifth Judicial District Associate Judge William Price.

After entering her plea, the judge asked Shaw, “Mamn, what were you doing at the Wakonda Country Club?”

“I was attempting to make a citizen’s arrest of Karl Rove, your honor,” Shaw answered.

“Well,” the judge looked up and said, “it’s about time.”

Google Blogger on a rampage

Your favorite blogs strangely silent? Several bloggers found last night they were shut out of their blogs with this at the blogger dashboard:

WARNING

This blog has been locked by Blogger's spam-prevention robots. You will not be able to publish your posts, but you will be able to save them as drafts.

Save your post as a draft or click here for more about what's going on and how to get your blog unlocked.

and an email:

Hello,

Your blog at: (your blog here)blogspot.com/ has been identified as a potential spam blog. To correct this, please request a review by filling out the form at http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog. (etc.)

Your blog will be deleted within 20 days if it isn't reviewed, and you'll be unable to publish posts during this time. After we receive your request, we'll review your blog and unlock it within two business days. If this blog doesn't belong to you, you don't have to do anything, and any other blogs you may have won't be affected.

We find spam by using an automated classifier. Automatic spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and occasionally a blog like yours is flagged incorrectly. We sincerely apologize for this error. By using this kind of system, however, we can dedicate more storage, bandwidth, and engineering resources to bloggers like you instead of to spammers. For more information, please see Blogger Help: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42577

Thank you for your understanding and for your help with our spam-fighting efforts.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

P.S. Just one more reminder: Unless you request a review, you won't be able to use your blog. Click this link to request the review: http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID etc....

I realize it is a free service, but anything like this that suddenly silences voices makes my hair stand on end and I reach for my tinfoil hat.

SteveAudio has been blocked as has Sinfonian of Blast Off who cleverly could fix his template to post this on the sidebar:

Thursday, July 31, 2008
10:00 pm EDT

Blogger has seen fit to lock this blog, thanks to spam-prevention robots, until a human can review it. I'll be back posting soon. Thanks for your patience.

Updating as I collect shutdown blogs:

Libby of The Impolitic

Fourlegs at Plush Life

Dr. Dawg at Dawg's Blawg

skippy of skippy the bush kangaroo

Guys from Area 51

Elayne of Pen-Elayne

Hoots at Hootsbuddy's Place

Blue Gal has more.

Update: Blogger apologizes:

Spam Fridays

August 1, 2008 — permalink

While we wish that every post on this blog could be about cool features or other Blogger news, sometimes we have to step in and admit a mistake.

We've noticed that a few users have had their blogs mistakenly marked as spam, and wanted to sound off real quick to let you know that, despite it being Friday afternoon, we are working hard to sort this out. So to those folks who have received an email saying that your blog has been classified as spam and can't post right now, we offer our sincere apologies for the trouble.

We hope to have this resolved shortly, and appreciate your patience as we work through the kinks.

Well... Thanks. And hurry up, would you? We have a lot of people going through withdrawal.

Free speech means even the people you hate get to talk

You don't have to listen.

Senator Lieberman's staff identified numerous videos that they believed violated YouTube's Community Guidelines. In response to his concerns, we examined and ended up removing a number of videos from the site, primarily because they depicted gratuitous violence, advocated violence, or used hate speech. Most of the videos, which did not contain violent or hate speech content, were not removed because they do not violate our Community Guidelines.

Senator Lieberman stated his belief, in a letter sent today, that all videos mentioning or featuring these groups should be removed from YouTube -- even legal nonviolent or non-hate speech videos. While we respect and understand his views, YouTube encourages free speech and defends everyone's right to express unpopular points of view. We believe that YouTube is a richer and more relevant platform for users precisely because it hosts a diverse range of views, and rather than stifle debate we allow our users to view all acceptable content and make up their own minds. Of course, users are always free to express their disagreement with a particular video on the site, by leaving comments or their own response video. That debate is healthy

We might even find out that Iran is filled with innocent Iranians and that most of them have no desire to attack Israel or the United States...

When a 'reporter' ceases to report and starts making it up

As she goes along. I mean, it's worked so well for seven years, why change?

Will Bunch of Attytood:

Daily News op-ed columnist Christine M. Flowers has a piece up that is sharply questioning about Barack Obama and his qualifications to become president. Ironically, Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post also has a new article today, and it totally takes down the kind of attack piece that Christine wrote here in Philly.

The post cites several negative statements by Flowers then alternates with what the (amazing!) Google brings up. Just a click away from the truth, Ms. Flowers. Makes you look like a complete Bush bobblehead.

Bunch finishes:

.... her great "unanswered" questions about Obama were all easy to answer, in a matter of seconds every time, by using this magical device called The Google. You really should try it sometime, Christine. The point is, Christine M. Flowers and the many others who are constructing this story line don't even want to try to learn the answers, because that would kill their best line of attack for the fall.

Actually, this has been the most entertaining subplot of the whole campaign -- the quest for an anti-Obama story line. So far, they're tried to turn enthusiasm into a cult, and now they're raising unanswered questions -- a great tactic as long as you don't look the answers up.

I guess they really don't know what voter excitement looks like, having had to manufacture fake riots and rallies for the Bush elections. So here come the idiot words: cult and personality following, etc, etc.

Barack Obama must be scaring them silly.

Update: Via Atrios of Eschaton, D at Lawyers, Guns, and Money:

John Dickerson, while ruminating on the possible limits of Barack Obama's "hipness," asks a profoundly stupid question:

More generally, shouldn't Democrats who have complained that George Bush was elected on the strength of a popularity contest be nervous that this blossoming Obamadulation is getting out of hand?

Read the hilarious response.

I win!

I am number one!

Because I am the only one in the google search for "winky tinky's man's ruin." Why this was important for someone to google beats me, but I am honored beyond speech...

Excuse me, dear, but why did you stay home from work

And who the hell is that parked in our driveway?

This morning Google gave their 2D maps an incredible realworld addition. Its a street-view, that in certain cities, will let you get a street side view of the area you are currently in. This is not just a static, A9-style image. It will also let you move along the street in a smooth manner and even more amazing it will let you change your angle and continue moving that way. This will be formally launched at Where 2.0 later today.

Update 6/7: Via Tengrain , Mark Morford of SFGate has an ... overview.

I'd better go clean up my backyard....

"Google and Microsoft are racing to provide computer users with a virtual world tour. Who will be the first to offer its readers a 3-D map of the globe?"
[snip]
"Keyhole combined satellite photographs to create a radically new view of the planet. Now anyone can enjoy aerial views of any corner of the world from their home computer. The software has so far been downloaded more than 100 million times.

An entire "geoculture" has arisen around the new Keyhole technology. Google Earth fans have created a blog listing the coordinates of the Seven Wonders of the World. Others have created sites where famous expeditions like that of Antarctic pioneer Ernest Shackleton can be followed precisely. And huge archives with city views linked to Google Earth maps are being built on the photo website "Flickr." "When I recently traveled to Berlin for a conference," says Hanke, "I planned my walks on the basis of the images on Flickr."

Hanke, a family man, is proud of what he has initiated. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) no longer publishes its reports on the hot spots of environmental damage in book form, he points out. UNEP has opted for an electronic format based on cartography provided by Google Earth.

The Internet community will help expand Google Earth to provide three-dimensional images. Anyone interested in participating will be provided with a program known as "Sketch-Up," which makes views of houses and streets look three-dimensional."
[snip]
"No one knows which system will win in the end. The approach chosen by Microsoft still has weaknesses, for example when it tries to render overlapping buildings as seen from above. Google Earth, of course, has to make sure its users survey their cities as completely as possible, rather than focusing on landmark sites like the Eiffel Tower."