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Baby names!

The “Baby Center” has released it’s list of the most popular baby names of the decade and also for the past year.  I’m not sure what the Baby Center is, but I can tell from the name that they take babies very seriously and therefore their statistics are probably very reliable.

Girls:

(for the decade)

1. Emma
2. Emily
3. Madison
4. Isabella
5. Ava

(for 2009)

1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava

Boys:

(for the decade)

1. Aiden
2. Jacob
3. Ethan
4. Matthew
5. Nicholas

(for 2009)

1. Aiden
2. Ethan
3. Jackson
4. Jayden
5. Jacob

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/coolmom/babycenters-list-of-most-popular-baby-names-of-the-decade-and-2009-556206/

I have to say that I think every male child born in my extended family in the last 10 years has been named Aiden, Jayden, or Jacob.  The female children have names as well, but I can’t remember what they are (I know there is one named Samantha though) – Since I only see my extended family once a year I try to focus on remembering my uncles, aunts, and cousins names and I just do my best with everyone else.

My strategy is usually just to exit the area whenever I see anyone under age 20.  If I get stuck though and it’s a boy I usually try to say something like “Jayken,” and I mumble the name hoping the kid doesn’t notice.  Who knows if it works, but since I won’t see them again for a year I don’t really care.  I doubt they do either……..

Merry Christmas!!!

P.S. I’m not going to tell anyone what to name their baby, but if you want to name your child after one of the most talented, wonderful, amazing actresses of all time you should probably name your child Claire.

Camo

British troops are getting a makeover next year.  The Brits have redesigned their camo to make their troops less visible in Afghanistan.  The new camo looks pretty good, but I’m fairly confused about why it would take 40 years to come up with a second set of colors.  Especially when you consider the new colors look exactly like the camouflage G.I. Joe, the US military, my neighbor, and every other military has been using for decades.

The project included aerial and scientific photography in Afghanistan “to provide the right colors and their brightness,” the ministry said. “The colors were fed into a computer and computer modeling was used to represent the Green Zone, deserts and mixed environments in Afghanistan.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/20/uk.army.camouflage/index.html

Did it really take aerial and scientific photography to come up with this?

I could buy that same pattern at any Wal-Mart or sporting goods store that sells rifles or various hunting equipment.  Sorry, but that’s a colossal waste of money if they were really investing in all that technology to develop the look.   I also think their old uniforms have a major flaw located on the left arm – I’m thinking if you’re trying to blend in with the desert those red and blue stripes above the white patch aren’t a great idea.

Around the net

Since I haven’t been around for awhile I missed out on my chance to voice my displeasure on a couple of big changes on sites I come across quite a bit while surfing the internet.  Since I didn’t post as the changes happened I’ll just post a few things that have been bothering me.

1.  The new CNN design is awful.  While Yahoo has cleaned itself up a bit and become a more enjoyable site to visit, CNN has decided to (UN)simplify and make their site an annoying eye sore.  At least for me it is.

I can’t really visit the site any more because the format is so annoying.  I used to think MSNBC was the worst news site, but CNN is definitely giving them a run for their money now.

2. Wikipedia and their never-ending quest for donations is driving me nuts.  I’m fine with them begging for cash, but those quotes at the top of the page are idiotic and take up about 8 inches of prime space.

It’s bad enough that no matter what I’m searching for the Wikipedia result always comes in first, but now if I click on the link I have to get bombarded for desperate pleas for money.  I thought the whole point of Wikipedia was that it was free.  If you’re going to pay for something like Wikipedia you should get your own entry, and since I don’t have one, I’m not donating.

More importantly, if I wanted to pay money for information I would use that KGB service where you can text any question and get an answer back directly or just buy a set of encyclopedias.

3.  Could the Huffington Post make up it’s mind and decide whether it wants to be a political site or an entertainment site.  Although I was thrilled to find out Tara Reid was posing for Playboy, I’m not quite sure why that’s a top story.  I don’t really venture to the site very often, but when I do I just end up leaving very confused.

Octopus!

So I was doing my daily search for stories about octpuses and I came across this little gem.  Apparently the octupus is sooooooo smart that it can carry around coconut shells and build itself a home.

Veined octopuses observed off the coast of Indonesia carried coconut shell halves under their bodies, and assembled them as necessary into shelters — something that wasn’t supposed to be possible in their corner of the animal kingdom.

“To date, invertebrates have generally been regarded as lacking the cognitive abilities to engage in such sophisticated behaviors,” wrote Museum Victoria biologists who described the octopuses in a paper published Monday in Current Biology. “The discovery of this octopus tiptoeing across the sea floor with its prized coconut shells suggests that even marine invertebrates engage in behaviors that we once thought the preserve of humans.”

In captivity, some species of octopuses have solved mazes, remembered cues and passed other cognitive tests typically associated with advanced vertebrates. More anecdotally, they’re known for popping aquarium hoods, raiding other tanks and demonstrating what might be called mischief.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/octopus-tools/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29

Judging from the photos that octopus looks pretty small, and it seems like it could find plenty of  more convenient hiding spots on its own with a little effort.  I suppose it’s somewhat impressive, but only if you think doing needless work is some fantastic accomplishment.

If anything this is a sign that octopi are regressing.  They’re putting in extra work for no reward at all.  It’s a net loss for the octopus.

Just as importantly it appears in the picture that the octopus isn’t hiding at all, if anything it just fashioned itself a coffin because I can see it just fine and now it’s trapped.

Great job…..

Bauman!

I like to look through Google News every day to see what stories are popping up and I came across something for the first time today – Google News actually called me out to specifically read a news story…..or so I thought:

I was a tad hesitant to read the article at first since it was about the Brewers, and I don’t really care about the Brewers, but I clicked on it anyway.  Once I opened up the article I was immediately disappointed to find that the article was written by some guy named Mike Bauman.  I guess the Brewers are stepping up to the plate and Mike thought that was newsworthy…..

In other news I do in fact have 3012 unread e-mails in my inbox and none of them are spam.  I’m just a little behind, but I plan on catching up during the holiday break.

Also, it snowed today.  I believe it was the first snow of the year here in lovely upstate New York.   Notably, I managed to lose every single snow brush that I had from the year before once again and I was forced to sit in my car for 20 minutes as the snow melted off the car.

I’m back…..and I’ll begin with the Amanda Knox case

I disappeared for awhile so that I could completely immerse myself in the Amanda Knox case.  I didn’t really know much about the case two months ago, but felt personally challenged when I stumbled across an article that said only people living under a rock could possibly be unaware of what was going on.

In case you haven’t been following the “Cliff’s Notes” version of the case is this:

Knox played soccer and went to a prep-school.   Knox’s nickname is “Foxy Noxy” which is either a reference to her prowess on the soccer field or her propensity for bedding young men.  Knox went to Italy.   Knox had a roomate named Meredith Kercher.   Kercher was murdered.  Knox and her boyfriend are a tad strange.  Knox lies A LOT.  Apparently the DNA evidence isn’t 100% conclusive and therefore everyone that watches CSI in the United States think she must be innocent as a result.

Okay, that’s a really short version of what happened, but you can find tons of articles on the case if you’re interested, and the books and movies will probably be coming out soon enough as well.

Anyway, after 2 months of studying and looking at the case at every angle I have determined that she is guilty.  She was actually found guilty 5 days ago by a jury in Italy, but I think my decision will carry a tad more weight.  From what I can tell a lot of people over here seem to think she was found guilty because of an Anti-American bias in Italy so hopefully my guilty verdict will end the debate.  Notably, they also convicted her Italian boyfriend for the murder, but they may have been punishing him for associating with an American so that doesn’t really prove anything either…….

Easily the most interesting aspect of the case though (and the reason I recommend reading up on it) is the differing treatment by the press of the case depending upon whether you’re reading news reports out of the UK or the United States.  Over here Knox is often portrayed as a bright-eyed college student that attended a prep school and liked to help old-ladies across the street.  Meanwhile, in the UK she’s often portrayed as a drugged-out sex maniac with a penchant for murder.

Either way the case is going to make a great Lifetime Movie and that’s a win for everyone!

No marriage license for you!

I’m having a hard time believing this story is true, but since it appears on multiple sites (reputable ones) I guess it must be.  A justice of the peace in Louisiana has denied an interracial couple a marriage license, and he’s pretty certain that he’s not a racist in spite of that:

“I’m not a racist. I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way,” Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else.”

Bardwell said he asks everyone who calls about marriage if they are a mixed race couple. If they are, he does not marry them, he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff

The whole quotation is pretty horrendous.   I don’t know that I have ever heard anyone say they have piles of friends before.  I’m not sure that part alone says anything significant, but it certainly is an odd way of phrasing your answer.  I might check around his house for bodies though just in case….

I’m also not sure that letting “them” use your bathroom proves you’re not a racist.   It is very considerate of him though, so I’m going to stop making fun of the poor guy.

A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.

Conservapedia Part II!

I really can’t get enough of Conservapedia.  I guess maybe this will be “Conservapedia Week” for my blog because there is just too much great information for me to report it all in just the one post I put up yesterday.

Apparently the one thing that is really setting Conservapedia apart from other less conservative encyclopedia’s is the ‘Conservative Bible Project.’  This idea is revolutionary, and quite frankly, long overdue.

Liberal bias has become the single biggest distortion in modern Bible translations. There are three sources of errors in conveying biblical meaning are, in increasing amount:

lack of precision in the original language, such as terms underdeveloped to convey new concepts introduced by Christ

lack of precision in modern language

translation bias in converting the original language to the modern one.

I don’t know if this is a good idea or not, but their plan on going about this big change sounds interesting enough to me.  I always thought the Bible was trying too hard to advance socialism so this could be just the kind of change I can believe in.

Socialistic terminology permeates English translations of the Bible, without justification. This improperly encourages the “social justice” movement among Christians.

For example, the conservative word “volunteer” is mentioned only once in the ESV, yet the socialistic word “comrade” is used three times, “laborer(s)” is used 13 times, “labored” 15 times, and “fellow” (as in “fellow worker”) is used 55 times.

What’s wrong with the word comrade?  It has a nice ring to it.  I blame  ‘Animal Farm’, and 1980’s propaganda movies like ‘Red Dawn’ for the negative connotation that follows the word around.  Sure those pesky communists and their military had an affinity for the word, but I think it could have overcome that if people just stopped reading ‘Animal Farm.’  Besides, it sounds sort of like Conrad, and Conrad is a good strong name.

Finally, these are my favorite “Advantages to a Conservative Bible Online:”

the ensuing debate would flesh out — and stop — the infiltration of churches by liberals pretending to be Christian, much as a vote by legislators exposes the liberals

this would bring the Bible to a new audience of political types, for their benefit; Bible courses in college Politics Departments would be welcome

this would debunk the pervasive and hurtful myth that Jesus would be a political liberal today

http://conservapedia.com/Conservative_Bible

Conservapedia!

I know a lot of people are used to relying upon Wikipedia for all their encyclopedia needs, but there is a new kid on the block. Conservapedia!!!

Conservapedia brings you the same information but without any liberal bias. They even call it “The Trustworthy Encyclopedia” so you know it’s a one-stop shop for all the answers you used to get from Wiki, but with the extra bonus of being reliable.

Here are a few highlights:

“Dinosaurs were reptiles which are now generally believed to be extinct.”

- (From Dinosaurs) I’m guessing they say generally because of that documentary “Jurassic Park’

“Ancient traditions such as ‘black consciousness’, ‘black/African consciousness’ are all viewed by some Americans as silly concepts.”

- (From:  African American) Yes, it’s probably true that some Americans think it’s a silly, ancient tradition, but I’m not sure that’s worth including in your encyclopedia.

“Such examples of this obvious line of thought include the civil rights movement, when the Republican Party (and a few southern Democrats) just wanted to maintain the African American’s right to have the choice of forced segregation.”

- (From: Liberalism) I wish I could have fought along side those brave men and women who wanted to uphold the “right to have the choice of forced segregation.”

http://conservapedia.com/Main_Page

The whole site is fantastic and you can pick pretty much any topic and find a wealth of information.   A lot of it is probably offensive if you’re a fan of actual encyclopedias, but actual encyclopedias are generally believed to be extinct – like the dinosaur.