22 Feb 2007
The UN's new international radiation symbol

I've blogged about this kinda stuff before, as a problem in information science. And honestly, despite it's source, I think this particular symbol is pretty unambiguous...

Seriously, this is what the UN, the ISO, and the IAEA came up with. Should we take it to mean you can run but can't hide from deadly, deadly radiation? (Better start using that Geiger watch again.) Look for this emblem on a cellphone, CRT monitor, or gauss gun near you.

(link) [Engadget]

07:18 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Radioactive Warning for Future Generations

Hmmm - radioactive waste considered as a problem in information science. I must say I'd never thought of this, but it is going to be a problem.

The Los Angeles Times discusses the problems with trying to leave a message for generations down the line. From the article: 'Symbols tend to lose their meaning over time. Exactly how and why Stonehenge was built, for instance, has long remained a mystery. Warnings, they argue, would be misunderstood or dismissed, the same way ancient grave robbers ignored curses inscribed on the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs to seize the riches inside. The curse of plutonium packs a painful penalty.'

(link) [Slashdot]

07:09 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

Sex abuse victims go after Southern Baptists

The level of hypocrisy here is just appalling:

Vasquez says she was raped when Amyx was a minister at the now-defunct Calvary Baptist Church in Lewisville, another town north of Dallas.

When she became pregnant with Amyx's child at age 18, church leaders forced her to go before the congregation and ask forgiveness as an unwed mother. But the congregation was never told it was Amyx's baby.

You gotta wonder about this: were they protecting a predator or simply acting out a deeply rooted misogyny. Beginning with Eve, it always seems to be the woman's fault.

Christianity seems to have a problem with sex, and it's certainly not a lack thereof.

The victims' advocates who dogged the Roman Catholic Church over sex abuse by its clergy have now turned their attention to the Southern Baptists, accusing America's largest Protestant denomination of also failing to root out molesters.

(link) [CNN.com]

00:07 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link