Once More Unto the Breach

I am off again for another weekend conference. This one is the annual conference of the Association of Independent Information Professionals.

Have a great weekend!

The Father of the Acid Flashback Dies

For anyone who remembers the Sixties (or, perhaps more fittingly, lived them but doesn’t remember them), let it be known that Albert Hofmann, the man who discovered LSD, has died at age 102.

The article tells the interesting story of the drug’s development (Hofmann had hoped it could be used as “a stimulant for the respiratory and circulatory systems”), testing and Hofmann’s own experimentation with it.

And yes, it’s Albert Hofmann, not Abbie Hoffman.

Sucking the Carbon Dioxide Out of the Atmosphere

Now here’s an interesting suggestion for controlling global warming–building a bunch of huge filters to remove the carbon dioxide from the air. Kind of like those room air cleaners, I guess, only much, MUCH bigger. And, apparently, enough of them to cover the state of Arizona.

Which leads to the big glitch in the plan: cost.

According to the article, “Experts estimate that it would cost up to $200 a ton to filter and store carbon dioxide from the air. That means the yearly vacuuming bill could reach $5.6 trillion.”

Yikes. That’s quite a cleaning bill.

Klaus Lackner, a physicist at Columbia University, has created a shower-sized prototype for such air cleaning machines. It works, however, “[w]ith no good place to store the carbon dioxide it traps, the gas is simply released back into the air.”

Sounds like a work in progress.

Fighting Dystonia in Margaritaville

The Danvers Herald in Beverly, Mass., reported April 18 that the Danversport Yacht Club was having a Jimmy Buffett-style “Return to Margaritaville” party last Friday to raise money for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.

Paula Gates, one of the event organizers and an apparently tireless volunteer for many groups, was diagnosed with dystonia several years ago. As the article reports, “Though it’s a relatively unknown disease for most of the population, for those afflicted with it or know someone who is, Dystonia is a life-altering illness.”

The article goes on to state, “Despite pain and difficulties of getting around, [Gates] is also committed to educating people about Dystonia and the Medical Research Foundation. She and her husband, Don, a vice president at Danversbank, are advocates for Dystonia awareness, and Paula Gates is a co-leader of the Boston area support group.”

Last year, Gates and several friends organized a dance that raised $27,000 for Dystonia research. The success (and the fun) of that event spurred them to plan this one.

I’ve never been a huge Jimmy Buffett fan, but if a party featuring “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” can help support dystonia research, well, call me a parrothead and grab me a margarita! Here’s hoping they were able to raise a bundle.

Web JD

In what looks like a great marketing move to me, lawyers are starting to put samples of their work up on a Web site called JDSupra.com. People often have a hard time choosing a lawyer–even get a bit intimidated by the process. This seems like a good way to make the profession and its practitioners more accessible.

Time Out

This weekend, I take some time off from the blog to attend Malice Domestic, a mystery writers’ convention.

Have a good weekend!

Flogging the Flag

The Huffington Post reports a big whoop-de-do about who wears flags on their labels and who doesn’t and, if they don’t, how come?

Apparently, questions about why Barack Obama doesn’t wear a flag pin and whether it will be a liability to his campaign have actually been raised by the media. (Um, hello? Can we be a bit more concerned about what’s on the candidates’ minds and less concerned about what’s on their lapels?)

In a bit of turnabout-is-fair-play, Rachel Sklar looks at who among the network news media are wearing flag pins. Guess what? Turns out the vast majority of them must despise the country that grants them their First Amendment right to report the news, because only one flag was spotted on the lot of ‘em! (Lou Dobbs at CNN)

Since when did it become mandatory for us to make patriotism a fashion statement? Whatever happened to asking candidates about the issues? Why does Obama have to prove he’s a patriot by wearing a flag on his lapel? To the media, I say question the candidates about substantive political matters, not jewelry.

Frakin’ A (or is it Frackin’ A?)

Producers are finding clever ways to get the f-word on TV, without actually saying it.

The term “MILF” has been used on NBC’s “30 Rock” (for mothers we’d like to . . . you know) and a promo for CW’s “Gossip Girl” features the the text-message phrase “OMFG”–signifying both the f-word and the Lord’s name.

And who doesn’t love the word “frak” (or “frack”, if you check IMDB) from “Battlestar Gallactica”? It’s a great fraking word and, if you don’t fraking like it, you should just change the fraking channel.

Pulitzers for Pop Stars?

Don’t get all tangled up in blue when I tell you this, but Bob Dylan has been awarded an “honorary” Pulitzer for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture,” according to a press release.

Hmm . . . I thought Pulitzers went to journalists.

According to Pulitzer administrator Sig Gissler, however, the award “reflects the efforts of the Pulitzer board to broaden the scope of the music prize.”

I didn’t even know there was a Pulitzer prize for music. When the heck did that happen?

In an article for MarketWatch, Jon Friedman writes that the award “tells us a lot more about the empty state of the Pulitzer–and of journalism–than it does about Dylan, 66, who has been earning accolades throughout his 46-year career. While the judges honored a rock star, they couldn’t bring themselves to hand out an award in the category of editorial writing.”

Friedman goes on to say, “Put simply, the Pulitzer judges took advantage of Dylan’s fame to punch their own ‘cool’ card.”

Well, I guess you could say that things have changed. My only question for Dylan is: How does it feel?

Felines Find a Friend in the Pope

Okay, maybe this comes under the heading of good PR for the Catholic Church and maybe I’m just playing right into their hands by posting it–but it’s nice to know the Vatican is such a cat-friendly place these days.