Here's a fascinating twist: Apple is banning books sold through its App Store.

 

The books in question are ebooks with a self-contained reader application. If Apple finds some of the content objectionable, then it kicks it out of the App Store.

 

Whoa. I bet Apple didn't expect to be in THAT position. They may (or may not) have a valid position here, but... whoa.

Three cheers to Tim DeChristopher, who bid up (and won) rights to oil and gas development on several properties adjaent to some of the most scenic natural landscape in Utah that the Bush administration should never have offered but did so as a last-minute gift to the oil and gas companies. He had no intention to pay for the parcels he won; he simply did it to disrupt the auction. Which he did.

 

This is a great case of civil disobedience in the 21st century. No one died, was injured, or was endangered, but it sure messed up the Bush administration's plans.

Another Bush administration outrage:  nerw "protections" for health care workers who refuse service to consumers who ask for perfectly legal services to which the employees object.

 

So they can refuse to do the job that they were hired to do, and they can't be fired for not doing their job.

 

In fact, they can go seek a job where they know they have objections, then they can refuse to do the job and they can't be fired for it. This is a excellent tool for the religious right to tie up healthcare services that they object to. LEGAL healthcare services.

 

As if healthcare weren't screwed up enough in this country.

 

Today, the EPA issued a rule preventing the regulation of carbon-dioxide emissions. In effect, the Environmental Protection Agency explicitl decided not to protect the environment.

 

It was reported today that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who did the computer voice in Star Trek and had a recurring role in Star Trek: The Next Generation (and also was Gene Roddenberry's wife) died.

 

Word is that she was reprising her "computer voice" role in the upcoming Star Trek movie.

 

 

My daughters, Elly and Xanda, both got early acceptance to Harvey Mudd college today.

 

And there is much rejoicing.

 

The Wasilla Bible Church, the church that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin attends, was apparently struck by arsonists yesterday.

 

All disagreements with the Wasilla Bible church's message, their actions, and their politics aside, arson is wrong. They didn't deserve this. I hope they catch the arsonists, whomever they are, try and convict them, and lock them away for a very long time.

 

Yup, officially silly.  But I'm happy to hear that there's an application pending for a Flying Spaghetti Monster Holiday Display. Hopefully it includes a beer volcano -- I've been thinking for a while that the state capitol reallyneeds one of those.

 

Today, featuring the Interior Department. Because hey, those pesky endangered species keep screwing up our plans to build more stuff.

 

And as an extra added bonus, catch the part at the end about oil drilling in polar bear habitat.

 

I picked up Ingrid Michaelson's "Be OK" today. All I can say is "wow."

 

This is the best CD I've listened to all year. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed every single track on a CD, but I absolutely did on this one. She has some great covers of a couple of classic songs (including an Elvis song), but then some fantastic original stuff too, like "The Way I Am" which is the song getting tons of airplay on the radio.

 

Go get this CD. Really. (and it's cheap!)

 

 

An astounding finding.

 

It's been known for quite a while that one of the major underlying effects of Alzheimer's is an accumulation of "plaques" in the neural tissue that interferes with proper brain functioning.

 

Researchers have discovered that in 90% of the patients with Alzheimers, the plaques contained 72% of the DNA of the herpes simplex I virus. (in normal brains, it was 80% of the plaques had herpes DNA, but only 24% of the the viral DNA).

 

That doesn't necessarily suggest that herpes simplex I alone is the cause of Alzheimers, but it does suggest that herpes is a very significant contributor to the plaque generation. So treating an Alzheimers patient for herpes I might actually be a very effective treatment for the Alzheimers (the human body has mechanisms to remove plaques, but only so much and so fast -- slowing or stopping plaque production would let the body do it thing). And having a vaccine to prevent catching herpes I might be a long-term method to fight Alzheimers onset.

 

There are genetic tests today that can tell you whether you have a higher likelihood of developing Alzheimers, based upon DNA markers that correlate highly in patients who have already developed it. It will be interesting to see whether those markers end up correlating with a higher susceptibility to herpes I.

A star-studded, laugh-out-loud look at Proposition 8.

 

Today, it's the Bureau of Land Management, stripping regulations that allow Congress to put a temporary hold on allowing mineral extraction on public land. Never mind that it's an actual law.

I get the feeling this is going to be a regular blog entry.

 

Today: the Bush administration is exempting percholrate from regulations. Because everyone loves yummy tasty neurotoxins in their drinking water.

 

Well, they did it. The Bush adminstration, as one last gift to their dirty-energy pals, gutted the Stream Buffer Act today.

 

They have made a complete and utter mockery of the EPA. For years, the EPA and the Department of the Interior have chosen not to enforce rules regulating blast-mining of coal. Now they've simply stopped even showing a pretense of caring.