The New Glass Teat Is Erototoxic

[diversions]

I wasn't sure whether I should put this in the "humour" category. I was (quite honestly) unsure, for an instant, whether there wasn't some kind of internet dimensional warp that had landed me in an Onion article.

But here it is... Internet Porn: Worse Than Crack? (Granted, Wired is not The Economist... but still)

Quoting one Jeffrey Satinover, who was quoted in the article, "Pornography... causes masturbation, which causes release of the naturally occurring opioids. It does what heroin can't do, in effect."

'Cuz, as we all know, masturbation was thankfully a rare affliction, that is, until porn became available on the internet.

That was sarcasm. (Just in case.)

An Unexpected Punch Line

[books]

I'm in the process of reading a science book called "Faster Than The Speed of Light" by João Magueijo. It's about a scientific speculation that, while the speed of light might be a constant 300000 km/s for all observers in the universe at this point in cosmic history, it may not have always been so. In particular, Magueijo speculates that it may have been much faster around the time of the big bang, and it has slowly decreased to its present day speed.

Very interesting book, by the way. Haven't finished it yet; maybe I'll say more about it when I do.

Anyway, you might expect nerdy humour in a book about science; the kind that makes you roll your eyes. Isaac Asimov and his bad puns. Which was what made the following paragraph all the more spray-coffee-from-your-nose hilarious. I hope Prof. Magueijo won't mind if I copy it here.

The speed with which Russian scientists jump into claiming priority over any discovery made in the West has become a running joke at international conferences. Give a presentation on toilet flushers and rest assured that some Dimitri or other will start shouting from the back row that the toilet with all its accessories was invented in Russia decades before the West even knew there was shit.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must wipe the coffee off my monitor.

Arafat and Fallujah

[politics]

I'm straying into conspiracy theory territory here, but with (unfounded) rumours of poisoning, I wonder if it's at all possible that Yasser Arafat's illness was "arranged" to immediately precede the U.S. attack on Fallujah? I understand that Arafat has Sunni connections. I don't know how much impact his illness would have on the Sunni Muslims in Fallujah...

Updated Nov. 11, 11:00 PM: So, Yasser Arafat has passed away. I feel a little embarrassed about my musing about a conspiracy. The Sunni connection was a tenuous one, especially as I've heard that Arafat did not seem to keep very strong family ties. Well, I never speak ill of the dead. And I don't say this with irony: may he rest in peace.

The Incredibles

[movies]

I saw "The Incredibles" on the weekend. Fantastic movie. Recommended. Recommended.

It looks like a really tight group of people put it together. Everything from the story and the writing to the sets, the artwork, and the voices, were combined with great finesse. And I loved the retro look. Lots of stuff reminiscent of old Bond films.

What is C3T2?

[meta]

This is Takashi Toyooka's weblog. Nothing more. I really don't expect strangers to be very interested in my site, although you're welcome to read on if you feel like it. Mainly, my intention is that my friends and family can catch up with what's going on in my life and what's on my mind lately.

Having said that, don't expect a soap opera. I'm not about to broadcast my private life on the internet.

I am a software developer, a self-professed computer nerd, and junk collector. So you might see me talk about my latest acquisitions here. I often peruse Slashdot and sometimes Wired News, so you might see some crossover topics from there.

I also have a very philosophical nature; I like taking ideas apart, weighing them against each other, comparing them to each other, combining them with each other. I might talk about current events, politics, society, culture, or personal identity. I enjoy pondering these things, and I plan to write up some of my thoughts here. For current events, I tend to get my news from CBC News and The Economist.

Yes, C3T2 is meant to sound a bit like a Star Wars character. I've decided, however, that if I were a Star Wars character, I wouldn't have been any of the main characters, not even poor old Threepio here, despite the name I chose for my blog. No, I'd have been one of those faceless soldiers at a control panel in the rebel base at Yavin. Yup, that would have been me, quietly doing my thing to help the forces of good.

Maybe I could even have been the one to announce, "The Death Star is clear to fire! The Death Star is clear to fire!"

Still Experimenting

[meta]

So I'm still experimenting with different looks and layouts for this site; it's slightly more convenient to do it now, while the site is small. I'll get to putting up real posts soon.

Birth Pangs

[meta]

Well, it took an extreme amount of work to get Blogger sending things successfully to my ISP's ftp site. I'm wiped now.

The Inauspicious Beginning

[humour]

Frist psot!