Dvorak News Blog

Porn for the Blind… Seriously?

By McCullough Tuesday April 13, 2010

A pornographic magazine for the blind has been launched – complete with explicit text and raised pictures of naked men and women. The book, the brainchild of Lisa Murphy and called Tactile Minds, is designed to be ‘enjoyed’ by the blind and visually impaired – and is on sale for £150.

Among the 17 raised images include a naked woman in a ‘disco pose’, a woman with ‘perfect breasts’ and a ‘male love robot’. Canadian Lisa says that she made the book to fill a gap in the market, adding: “There are no books of tactile pictures of nudes for adults.

“We’re breaking new ground. Playboy has an edition with Braille wording, but there are no pictures.”

She said that she made the book after realising that the ‘blind have been left out in a culture saturated with sexual images’. Between 1970 and 1985 Playboy printed copies of its famous magazine in braille – but without raised pictures.

To coin a phrase… Oh Brother.

Get a Load of Generation Upload

By John C Dvorak Tuesday April 13, 2010

7 Comments

Apple update gets too much attention.
Microsoft Kin getting some attention. I say it’s a hopeless cause. Even the code name is a copy of an old Apple code name.
Opera on the iPhone is a go.
Big planets can spin the wrong way. Uh, ok?
Facebook apparently dangerous.
Palm feeding frenzy over.
Best iPad apps revealed.
Google Docs souped up for big business.
Microsoft will outsource IT to India.

Show presented by e-Harmony. Get a date.
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and use the code EHTECH for a great discount.

iPad, Touch and iPhone users click here to listen.

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UPDATED! Important Cow Research Not Related To Their Farts & The Climate!

By Uncle Dave Tuesday April 13, 2010

15 Comments

“This isn’t from the MooOnion?”

A new study shows that the longer a cow has been lying down, the more likely it is to stand up, but the reverse is not true. Once up, you cannot predict how soon a cow will lie down again.

Are Cows More Likely to Lie Down the Longer They Stand? adds to our knowledge of what cows do and why they do it.

Some researchers succumb to temptation – hazarding unprovable guesses as to cows’ intentions, motivations and desires. Five scientists in Scotland, though, took a careful path, methodically measuring a very specific part of the what, and not guessing too wildly at the why.

Bert Tolkamp, Marie Haskell, Fritha Langford, David Roberts and Colin Morgan, based at the Scottish Agricultural College, published their monograph in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

It builds upon a large body of work by other researchers. Some of the earlier reports have almost poetical titles. The best in that respect is (in my opinion, at least) a Swedish report called Effects of Milking Frequency on Lying Down and Getting Up Behaviour of Dairy Cows.

UPDATE: Cows! Beer! 40 pints PER DAY! Need you more to click here?

Amid Police Budget Cuts, Ohio Judge Urges Public to Arm Themselves

By McCullough Tuesday April 13, 2010

22 Comments

CLEVELAND — One judge’s solution for citizens feeling less secure because of budget cuts in an Ohio county: Carry a gun.

Judge Alfred Mackey of Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court advised residents Friday to be vigilant and arm themselves because the number of deputies has been cut about in half because of a tight budget. He also urged neighbors to organize anti-crime block watch groups.

“They have to be law-abiding, and if they are not familiar with firearms they need to take a safety course so they are not a threat to their family and friends and themselves,” Mackey said Friday. Mackey, whose comments were first broadcast Thursday by WKYC-TV in Cleveland, was expressing concerns with budget cuts that have trimmed the sheriff’s department from 112 to 49 deputies in the county, which is Ohio’s largest by land area.

Asked by WKYC how people should respond to the cuts and limited patrols, he said, “Arm themselves. Be very careful and just be vigilant because we’re going to have to look after each other.” With deputies assigned to transport prisoners and serve warrants, only one radio car is assigned to patrol the county of 720 square miles, excluding municipalities with police departments. The sheriff’s patrol area covers most of the county, the judge said Friday. “People in this county are hunters,” said Mackey, who grew up on a farm with rifles and still owns firearms.

If the government were not so concerned about generating income by enforcing petty laws, they could use their energy for real crime prevention. Maybe the answer is more taxes….more..more..more.

Oklahoma nutballs want an official state militia

By Eideard Tuesday April 13, 2010

53 Comments

Oklahoma militia monument

Fed up with what they see as Washington’s intrusion into their state, Oklahoma “tea party” leaders and some conservative legislators want to create a volunteer militia to defend against the federal government.

“Is it scary? It sure is,” said Al Gerhart, a tea party activist who heads the Oklahoma Constitutional Alliance. “But when do the states stop rolling over for the federal government?”

State Rep. Charles Key, a Republican representing Oklahoma City, said he believes there’s a good chance that legislation could be introduced next year to authorize a militia.

A tea party leader in Tulsa, J.W. Berry, has been soliciting interest through his newsletter, urging that readers “buy more guns, more bullets.”

“It’s not a far-right crazy plan or anything like that,” Berry said. “This would be done with the full cooperation of the state Legislature…”

If politicians match your paranoia – it’s not crazy?

Critics point out that the National Guard already provides for the state’s military needs. They worry a militia would stoke extremism…

Next Monday marks the 15th anniversary of the anti-government terrorist attack by Timothy McVeigh. The former U.S. soldier and militia sympathizer killed 168 men, women and children with a truck bomb at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. He was executed in June 2001.

Pic of the Day: There He Goes Again

By McCullough Monday April 12, 2010

65 Comments

I’m runnin’ a little short this month…can you hook up a brother?

Vatican Forgives Beatles

By honeyman Monday April 12, 2010

39 Comments

Their enthusiastic pursuit of the sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyle also did little to convince the Vatican they were anything other than a thoroughly bad influence.

But now in a move sanctioned by Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church has offered the Fab Four its official seal of approval, forgiving them their various excesses and even lauding them as a “precious jewel”.

In a front page article the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, offers a glowing assessment of The Beatles’ achievements 40-years after they split, heralding their “beautiful melodies” and begging the question “what would pop music have been like without the Beatles?”

Well that was a shameless distraction.

Amazing German Engineering Stunt

By hhopper Monday April 12, 2010

35 Comments

Jet Fighters Scrambled on Hovering Thingamajig

By McCullough Monday April 12, 2010

33 Comments

TWO fighter jets are filmed whizzing over the M5 – apparently in pursuit of a UFO. A mystery cameraman took footage of the military aircraft chasing the shiny orb. The 30-second clip is believed to have been taken from a West Midlands service station car park. Expert Nick Pope, who probed UFO sightings for the MoD, said: “This is one of the best videos I’ve seen. It could be a new drone – that might explain the military jets.

“But you don’t normally test-fly secret projects in daylight. Alternatively, this could be the real thing – a UFO in our airspace and military aircraft scrambled to intercept, probably due to it being tracked on radar.”

The MoD refused to comment on the alleged sighting, but confirmed it would scramble jets to meet an air threat.

West Midlands Police said: “We are not aware of any reports of unidentified aircraft near the M5.”

Richard Dawkins Calls for Arrest of Pope Benedict XVI

By hhopper Monday April 12, 2010

44 Comments

TIMESONLINE

RICHARD DAWKINS, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested during his state visit to Britain “for crimes against humanity”.

Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

The pair believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.

Found by Misanthropic Scott on Cage Match.

Want to Save Jobs? Keep Pot Illegal!

By Uncle Dave Monday April 12, 2010

37 Comments

Legalization of marijuana is something every good conservative should be for. Keep government out of our personal lives.

California will vote on an initiative this November to legalize marijuana. It might even pass. But it turns out that the pot growers of Humboldt County are having second thoughts about the whole thing:

Recently, “Keep Pot Illegal” bumper stickers have been seen on cars around the county. In chat rooms and on blogs, anonymous writers predict that tobacco companies will crush small farmers and take marijuana production to the Central Valley. With legalization, if residents don’t act, “we’re going to be ruined,” said Anna Hamilton, a radio host on KMUD-FM (91.1) in southern Humboldt County.

….Legalization could take many forms. But the conventional wisdom here is that fully legal weed might fetch no more than a few hundred dollars a pound, as more people grow it and police no longer pull up millions of plants a year. Illegal marijuana “is the government’s best agricultural price-support program ever,” said Gerald Myers, a retired engineer and former volunteer fire chief who moved to the county in 1970. “If they ever want to help the wheat farmers, make wheat illegal.”

Who Should Obama Nominate to the Supreme Court?

By Uncle Dave Monday April 12, 2010

46 Comments

What would you want in a nominee? Of the ones most likely, which is the best? Who else would you pick?

President Obama faces a politically difficult choice about a new justice as the Supreme Court is at its own crossroads.

Liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced Friday that he will leave the court this summer, has been a shrewd strategist at crafting majorities. In recent years, he has worked with swing-vote Justice Anthony Kennedy to blunt the force of the dominant conservatives. Though Stevens’ exit will not shift the ideological makeup of the court, it leaves a leadership vacuum on the left.

It also offers Obama an important moment to shape his legacy with a lifetime appointment on the highest court.

As Obama, a former constitutional law professor, confronts the decision, two basic paths lie ahead. He could choose a nominee likely to garner easy consensus among senators, such as U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, or Washington-based U.S. Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland, 57. Alternatively, he could pick a liberal stalwart, such as Chicago-based U.S. Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood, 59.

iMaxi – The iPad Case/Cover with Protective Wings

By Uncle Dave Sunday April 11, 2010

16 Comments

If your iPad is wearing the iMaxi, I wonder if you can ride a horse while using your iPad? If you don’t get the reference, you’re too young.

With its durable vinyl outer layer and plush, quilted-cotton sleeve, the iMaxi helps keep your iPad clean and dry. Plus, the iMaxi’s Velcro-latched, advanced wing design wraps snugly around your device, so your iPad always stays where it should. Best of all, it shields it from all those unsightly and embarrassing data leaks that would make any motherboard worry!

And then there’s the duct tape iPad case (found by Eideard).

Former Aide Claims Bush and Cheney Covered Up on Innocent Gitmo Detainees

By honeyman Sunday April 11, 2010

34 Comments

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader War on Terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times.

The accusations were made by Lawrence Wilkerson, a top aide to Colin Powell, the former Republican Secretary of State, in a signed declaration to support a lawsuit filed by a Guantánamo detainee. It is the first time that such allegations have been made by a senior member of the Bush Administration.

Colonel Wilkerson, who was General Powell’s chief of staff when he ran the State Department, was most critical of Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. He claimed that the former Vice-President and Defence Secretary knew that the majority of the initial 742 detainees sent to Guantánamo in 2002 were innocent but believed that it was “politically impossible to release them”.