I Speak of Dreams

Comment Spam

I have been really happy with TypePad. Service has been great, I actually like having it hosted, the response to my (not particularly sophisticated) problems has been rapid. What's not to like?

Recently, TypePad added some comment spam protections. Tonight I've been hit with three four five six in about 15 45 minutes. Fooey.

Some are to pr0n sites, two are to link farms. I have just asked what to do--delete 'em, or report 'em to Google.

Stupid Rattlesnake Tricks

So what is it about Idaho Falls mothers? What did Sheila Hunter ever do to Rodger so that he called her a bitch and threw a rattlesnake at her? Sort of makes "the conservative culture and morays [sic]" claimed for Idaho Falls look a little, well, flimsy.

Edison: good idea or bad

I am still working on my essay on independent (private) schools, and my deep reservations about the for-profit model.  In the meantime, here is a report from Philadelphia.

contract is renewed amid parent protest.

Eastland on Abortion

What amusement park ride bounced Larry Eastland's brain loose , and how did he get the folks at the Wall Street Journal to get in with him? (The article alleges that liberals are aborting themselves out of existence.)

BoingBoing pointed it out.

This is high level discussion? Every question possible was begged. [Fowler: Fowler defines "begging the question" as the "fallacy of founding a conclusion on a basis that as much needs to be proved as the conclusion itself.]

I didn't know where to start. Fortunately, I found someone who is a lot better prepared than I am.

Dead Witch Walking

Another JenEx recommendation. Send the girl props.

This one is Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. We have your post-Apocalypse America...about half the humans died off, leaving the vamps, the witches, the weres and the rest of the occult races room to step out of the shadows.

Other than that, there's a lot of inter-species rivalry, trade in drugs, and assorted other mayhem.

One reviewer thought it was a dead rip-off of the Dresden series--it isn't. There are only so many features in ocean of story--if you elect to posit that the creatures of fairy tales--pixies, fairies, elves, were-folk and so on--are real, the stories are going to have a superficial similarity.

Harrison has some maturing to do as a writer, but so far, I'm game for the ride.

Rachel Caine's Weather Warden

JenEx pointed me toward Rachel Caine--I am enjoying the ride.

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden, a person of supernatural ability who is part of a guild--the Wardens (Weather, Earth, Fire)...who have quite a lot to do with managing the mundane world, behind the scenes. Wardens of the highest class have Djinns as, well, power amplifiers.

Joanne's on the run from the Wardens, though, because of an accident....I enjoyed the journey. I'm looking forward to the next installments.

Harry Dresden Series

I enjoy detective stories and I enjoy scifi of the "just like here....only a little bent" flavor. Jim Butcher has a series (they are best read in order) called "The Dresden Files", featuring Harry Dresden, wizard, Paranormal Investigations--"no love potions, endless purses, or other entertainment". I think this is a fan fiction site; this is the Amazon site.

Oh, and if you are thinking of investigating the Rowan Gant series--don't. Worse even than the Ella Clah series (not occult) for truly stupendously horrible writing.

Oh--Laurell K. Hamilton has kind of caused a problem for some parents of middle schoolers who read. Her books get progressively more explicit about sex--I would hesitate to recommend them to a middle school student. Butcher (as I recall) has a couple of sex scenes in the later books, but not too many details.

Boy With Autism Banned From Public Playground

Update: WaPo article on Jan's banning; MetaFilter post and discussion on Asperger's here (including comments from Asperger's adults); and Joanne Jacobs article on Jan's banning (warning, commentators sometimes a bit dismissive of the potential of kids with learning disabilities); and Little Professor June 18 2000 NY Times magazine article on Asperger's kids.

Jan Rankowski is nine, and lives in a small town in Maine. Two years ago, his parents decided to homeschool him, because Maine wasn't meeting his educational needs. Jan has Asperger's syndrome--an autism spectrum disorder. Jan has been banned from playing on his town's only public playground.

The Falmouth school system's student body of about 2,200 is 96 percent white and there are 10 autistic children. 

Signage: Tipping Point?

What one little alteration will lead to a big change in collective behavior?  What if it is charming signs drawn by children?  Simon Mason is an Englishman living in Kingston upon Hull, which is

is the most traffic-calmed city in the country, with over 115 20 mph zones. In each zone the local school children are asked to design a picture, which is shown below the 20 mph limit sign.

The two things I want to know are: did traffic-calming work? Are there fewer accidents?  And did the signs have a marginal effect (fewer accidents after they went up, fewer tickets/citations)?

I read about the signs at BoingBoing

Art of Cell Phone Antennas

So here I am in the heart of Silicon Valley--280 and Sand Hill Road being the next exit--and wireless service coverage sucks. Why? Because the good burghers of Portola Valley and Woodside--two of the most self-absorbed, won't put up cell phone towers "because they harm the esthetic ambiance." I kid you not.

Well, thanks to BoingBoing, maybe I can actually get decent cell coverage around here. (Or not, if this guy keeps complaining