17 Dec 2004
Updating My Layout

Well, I actually have some time this morning, so I've updated the look of the blog a bit. I put in my little quote generator: it now appears below the blog description in the sidebar. I've missed it a bit since I made the blog my homepage: it's on the front of my main personal page and usually has something "pithy" to contribute ...

If anybody's interested in getting this little bit of PHP code, just drop me a note and I'll be happy to oblige. The quotes are in a separate file, so there's no reason to be restricted to my electic selections.

I'm debating whether or not to remove the links to Technorati... they seem to have gotten considerably less informative and useful since their site redesign: most of the links they list for any blog now are self-referential.

And I'm not removing the "Powered by Blogrolling" blogroll, either, although I've noticed that it no longer scans the web for updates as frequently as it used to do, nor does it seem to catch those blogs that don't ping weblogs.com. I may investigate a paid sub, though, if that works any better. It's a really useful little tool.

00:00 /Home | 0 comments | permanent link

Colorado Forestry Worker's Arson Sentence Thrown Out (Los Angeles Times)

One hundred and thirty eight thousand acres of forest burned. Eight thousand people evacuated. Three hundred building destroyed. Twenty nine million dollars in direct damage. And twelve years in prison is too harsh? What's wrong with this picture?

Los Angeles Times - DENVER — A 12-year prison sentence handed down to a forestry worker who ignited the worst fire in Colorado history was thrown out Thursday on the grounds that it was prejudiced and too harsh.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Bhutan forbids all tobacco sales

Today Bhutan, tomorrow ...??? Prohibition, here we come! Just look how well it's worked for marijuana - nobody smokes that anymore! Now we can have a "War on Tobacco", and spend even more tax dollars killing plants! I can hardly wait.

A ban on the sale of all tobacco products comes into force in the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

(link) [BBC News | World | UK Edition]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Ban sought on potent pesticide

Potent? I guess you could say it's potent:

Compound 1080 originally was developed as a rat poison in Nazi-controlled territory in the 1940s, and some research indicates Nazis considered using it to kill people in Holocaust death camps before deciding it was too dangerous for guards, according to Brooks Fahy of the Oregon-based Predator Defense, which wants the poison outlawed.

We have a fairly serious predator problem, and have never resorted to poisoning our land. This is a cure that's worse than the disease. And not only from an enviromental point of view, but for it's security implications as well. Note that most agencies, when contacted, disclaimed jurisdiction. How do you say "passing the buck"?

The small factory at the end of Burton Street doesn't look like much from the outside, but its product is getting attention from Washington to the other side of the world.

(link) [CNN]

00:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link