From Discovery News:

Cat owners who think their cats control them now have some scientific confirmation: Animal vocalization experts have just identified a special manipulative purr that felines have evolved, in part, to get what they want from people.

The newly identified vocalization, called "solicitation purring," has never been acknowledged or studied before, although cat fanciers, such as the study's lead author Karen McComb, are quite familiar with it.

"In the case of my cat, if he sees you stirring from sleep at all in the early morning he will immediately switch into giving this solicitation purring and position himself next to your head so you get the full impact," McComb, a reader in Behavioral Ecology at the University of Sussex, told Discovery News.

She added, "Asking around, I find I'm not the only one who, if I wake up early, often lie pretending to still be asleep so my cat doesn't start this!"

McComb, who has analyzed communication and cognition of elephants, lions and many other mammals, decided to investigate what could be behind her cat's early morning purring.

The rest of the story can be found here

It has become strikingly clear to me that the Guardian Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran will never voluntarily relinquish control of the country. Their efforts at a democratic form of government, the people of Iran, especially the youth, have staged massive protests against the Government. These protests have been been met with a violent response. Peace, unfortunately, will not win out the day.

Throughout history, most revolutions have been carried on the bloodied backs of those striving for the most basic, and enduring rights of all humanity: the right to self determination and self-governance. Only by sacrificing one's most cherished possession, life, can tyrannical rule be overthrown. Rule by tyranny cannot withstand the unenduring demand of freedom. Those fighting for a better world must be willing to die for their cause. People can die, but the ideas they carry on their bloodied backs will live on.

I offer my deepest sympathies and support for the Iranians that are fighting what they may see as a desperate, hopeless cause. In the words of Dr. King: "A man who won't die for something is not fit to live." Fight the good fight, brothers and sisters. Don't lose hope. Your day of freedom shall come.

LBGT's are every bit as human as every heterosexual person out there, and deserve equal representation under the law. I sincerely hope that President Obama selects a homosexual judge or lawyer to fill Justice Souter's seat on the bench. Could republicans really oppose him/her based solely on sexual orientation? Do you know how much that conflict in Congress would move gay relations forward? It's time that our gay brothers and sisters have the ability to come out of the darkness and live a free Americans in a country that affirms the right of all peoples.

EDIT: I didn't realize that the use of the word "homosexual" would piss so many people off. I'm sorry. I've always heard homosexual used as a noun, and it certainly was not meant as a pejorative.

In his most recent Washington Post Editorial, Krauthammer goes farther than anybody else thus far in his indefensible defense of torture. He states that "Torture is an impermissible evil. Except under two circumstances." He lays out the two excuses as the "the ticking time bomb" and "the extraction of information from a high-value enemy in possession of high-value information likely to save lives".

Both of these morally repugnant excuses are specifically invalidated by the UN Convention Against Torture, of which the United States is a signatory. Article 2 of the Conventions states thus:


How can Krauthammer continue to justify torture, when a binding treaty of which our country is party to specifically prohibits torture in any and all cases?

Only a person of barbaric mentality could possibly find any "good" in torture. The rights of all humanity are basic and inalienable. Every person has the right to be free from torture.

Krauthammer also suggests that torture is okay because it works. That is irrelevant. Torture is still a crime against humanity even if it may lead to valuable information. There no possible reason any rational person with any knowledge of The Convention Against Torture could find a loophole that allows torture. May torture prevent a "ticking time bomb" scenario? Maybe. Does that make it legal? Hell no.

My car battery is dead. I have a chemistry lab that started at 12:30pm. My car was my only means of transportation of making it to class. I am missing lab, and I am not sure if I will be able to make it up. If I can't, then my grade will automatically be lowered one letter grade, which I cannot afford to have happen. I need a good grade in this class. I am freaking out, and I could use some positive vibes and reassurance that everything will be fine. Fuck.

UPDATE: I emailed my TA and the Chemistry department about my situation. My TA was not very sympathetic to my plight, but the Department said I could make the lab in another section, provided I bring documentation to the lab director. I got a receipt of both my credit card charge and a receipt of service (which I had the tow truck guy write on to say that the car needed to charge for an hour-- he said it needed to charge for an hour). I am reluctantly hopeful that this will be sufficient to rectify my situation.

An interactive map of the United States featuring unemployment statistics is available at the New York Times website.

I thought it was pretty interesting that Midwest had the lowest unemployment rates. Maybe the people in California and Florida should move here to Kansas. It would serve two benefits: 1) you'd get jobs and increase the population of rural states, and 2) you'd dilute the strangle hold that the GOP has on states such as mine.

- Even though I knew spending would go up, the amount of the deficit projected, $1.75 trillion for FY2010 blew me away. This is going to be a very tough sell to Congress. President Obama has the political capital to make it happen, but this will not be easy.

- Part of the increase in the budget deficit is directly attributable to George Bush's wars in Iraq in Afghanistan. Bush kept the wars off the budget line by declaring them "emergency spending". Obama, in his speech on Monday night, promised to take the secrecy out of the war funding by putting it back in the budget where it belongs.

- Allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire is a good thing. The most prosperous years in our country's history were during Clinton's presidency. Moving top marginal tax rates back to Pre-Bush levels will cause NO significant harm to the economy because of this.

- It looks like Obama is actually fulfilling his campaign promises to the American people in both the Stimulus Bill and his budget proposal. He promised to cut taxes for 95% of working families (Check), he promised to spend $15 billion/yr for ten years on alternative fuels (Check), He promised to bring affordable health care to the 48 million uninsured (Check), he promised to begin the responsible withdrawal of troops from Iraq (Check), he promised a renewed commitment to defeating the Taliban in Afghanistan and NW Pakistan (Check), he promised to provide tax credits to assist students in attending college (Check), he promised to bring new accountability and transparency to government agencies (Check), and he promised to offer the American people hope in the midst of great struggle (Double Check)

- I have a terrible feeling that the MSM will attack Obama much like they did Carter, but I think Obama knows this. President Obama understands the "urgency of now" in solving our national woes, and he seems more willing to lose his re-election bid while trying his best to solve our problems than coast to victory while doing nothing substantial. President Obama is the one we have been waiting for. Godspeed, Mr. President.

- What an amazing game. I was glad that it was competitive and not a blow out.
- Santonio Holmes shouldn't have received the MVP award. That should have gone to Harrison for one of the best plays in NFL history
- The officials screwed up BIG TIME for not reviewing the 'fumble' at the end of the game. While it likely wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game, it is inexcusable for the play to not be reviewed
- Larry Fitzgerald is the best wide receiver I have ever seen
- John Madden is a jerk for saying so many stupid things, thus causing me to take more drinks
- I didn't really remember the entire game; maybe we got a little too into our drinking game
- The commercials were okay, but not great

Snip....

Masturbation may be good for you – or bad, depending on your age. The solitary sexual activity that is widely practised but little discussed, is linked with an increased risk of prostate cancer when practised frequently by young men in their twenties and thirties, doctors say.

But by the time men reach their fifties, it may protect against the disease because it helps remove toxins that have built up over a lifetime.

Prostate cancer is known to be driven by the male hormone testosterone, and men with high levels of testosterone tend to have a higher sex drive and a higher risk of the cancer.

But most research has examined older men because prostate cancer is unusual under 50. Researchers at the University of Nottingham studied the link between sexual activity in younger men and the disease to see if it affected their long-term risk. More than 400 men with prostate cancer diagnosed before the age of 60 were questioned about their sexual habits over the preceding decades and the results compared with 400 controls.

more.... http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/he...

Tomorrow, I am going to go get my first tattoo. I plan on getting something small on inside of my left wrist, and I want it to be small enough that I can cover it up with my watch band.

My question is thus: how much will it hurt? I suspect that the wrist is not a particularly comfortable place to tattoo, but I'm hoping it won't be too bad.

My life sucks. Were a God to exist, he is actively fucking with me. I feel like I am never going to graduate from college (I switched majors last spring after nearly 4 years of school), and all my friends have either moved away, have real jobs, or significant others. It's a bit lonely sometimes, and I'm worried: A) I won't ever find a career path that I am passionate about, B) I won't ever do anything with my life, C) I won't ever find somebody. Blah blah blah. It's a bit sad that DU is my best friend at this current juncture. Oh well, I suppose that's life. rant over.

I'm in the process of reviewing the archives of an old blog I have, and one comment in particular struck my eye. It is multi-paragraph in length and is entirely in French. I do not speak a lick of French, and the online translation sites suck.

Can somebody with fluent proficiency translate for me? reply to the OP and I will PM you. Thanks!

Cross-posted at my blog

We are the last generation that will still write with style. Most generations that follow us will use less and less writing until it ceases totally. We won’t need your signature, as we will have encrypted credit cards that will pay for literally anything. We’re losing writing of heart filled I’s, happy face O’s, and even the beloved double t– not an h. No more squiggly B’s, G’s, P’s, S’s, and those J’s. No more horrible Z’s that look like stairs, or those stupid M’s that are really N’s. X. I think I loved you most.

Now, it’s lol. Then it’s rofl. Then it goes all sht. dat wz realy funE.



(goddamn it. even the freaking smileys have been raped)