Alphabet in the Boiling Pot of Politics
Conservatively speaking, the Azerbaijani or Azeri alphabet to date has been altered four times - to Arabic after the Islamic conquest; to Latin (1928-1938); to Cyrillic (1939-1991) and to Latin again (1991 to present). On each occasion, the motivation for change was political. However, if we consider the replacement of a single letter in any of the phonetic alphabets (Cyrillic or Latin), then the Azeri alphabet has been changed at least ten times (Tables 2,3,4). Nor does this take into account the pre-Islamic scripts used by the Turkic nations and other ancestors of modern Azerbaijanis such as Caucasian Albanians. If those are added, then the historical fgure would be raised to twelve or more, depending on how far back one digs in search of ancient scripts.
Posted: April 5th, 2008
at 1:43am by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: apple,games,politricks,design,science
Comments: No comments
Better than Squid vs. Whale
An unusual clash between a 6-foot (1.8m) alligator and a 13-foot (3.9m) python has left two of the deadliest predators dead in Florida’s swamps.
The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.
The remains of the two giant reptiles were found by astonished rangers in the Everglades National Park.
Imagine being those park rangers.
Turn off the TV and get the Buns
NOTE: In preparation for the next post, we fully understand that the Habanero is a different classification of pepper. Now…
Exhibit A
(CNN) — What happens when people turn off the TV for three weeks? They turn to their spouses, newspapers and religion.
At least that’s what an educational TV show found in a novel experiment on a small island in South Korea, according to a report in the newspaper Don-A Ilbo on Tuesday. The study concluded that folks who turned off the tube reported having richer lives.
"My eyes used to be glued to the TV but now I look at my wife, and find her prettier than before," the village leader, Choi Dae-mun, told the newspaper. "I help her put skin pack on her face at nights. Life’s become more fun."
The "TV Off" study was hardly scientific. It looked at what happened when 28 residents from 10 households turned off the television in Darang Island.
At the onset of the experiment, a TV production crew taped sheets of paper that said "Banned" on TV screens. They also placed surveillance cameras to make sure participants didn’t sneak a peek at their favorite shows.
After the experiment ended three weeks later, residents found that they didn’t slide back to their old ways. They read more, prayed more and spent more time engaging in conversations with their spouses.
One resident told the newspaper that he spends his time reading stories with a neighbor’s grandson.
"My wife used to find it hard to read, but we studied together, which was all the better," said a resident who gave his name as Han to the newspaper. "With our eyes gone weak, we prefer children’s books."
[LINK]
Then again.. I coulda told ya that watchin’ all that Celebrity Fit Club was killing your libido.
Posted: March 20th, 2008
at 8:49am by Black Ock
Categories: real life news,science
Comments: No comments
Dubai first Arab city to join Earth Hour
Dubai city has joined the WWF- Earth Hour movement, as part of a global climate change initiative, which will see thousands of lights turned off all over the city at 8:00pm on Saturday March 29, in the largest voluntary power down in history.
Dubai is the first Arab city to declare its support for Earth Hour.
"We are asking everyone in Dubai to switch off all non-essential lights for one hour, at 8.00pm on March 29, to send a message around the world that we have the power to take action against global warming and that by working together we really can make a huge difference," said Fadel Ali, executive chairman Dubai Holding Operations.
He added that "Earth Hour will clearly demonstrate the connection between energy usage and climate change, showing that we as a broader community can address the biggest threat our planet has ever faced." Dubai Holding and the Dubai Water and Electricity Authority (DEWA) have linked up to lead the initiative that also has the support of Dubai Municipality, Dubai International Financial Centre, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai World Trade Centre, Nakheel, Emaar and Leo Burnett.
Earth Hour, from 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm local time on March 29, will involve people and businesses turning off non essential lights and appliances for one hour to show how people working together in a spirit of openness can make a difference.
Earth Hour, which began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, is now a worldwide environmental movement that will see millions of people turn off non-essential lighting. Earth Hour will roll through 14 time zones, starting in New Zealand and ending in the Pacific Time Zone. It will traverse more than 25 cities. [full article]
Posted: March 19th, 2008
at 5:55pm by Koookiecrumbles
Categories: hood status,life,apple,green,fo' real?,science
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7 New Deadly Sins? 7 New Holy Virtues?
With the introduction of seven new deadly sins by the Vatican, Catholic ninjas around the world were left wondering if there would be seven new holy virtues to accompany and ultimately balance out the list. We all know that the pride goeth before the fall; but the question on many of my ninjas’ minds today is what goeth before obscene wealth.
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of vices that were originally used in early Christian teachings to educate and instruct followers concerning (immoral) fallen man’s tendency to sin. The Roman Catholic Church divided sin into two principal categories: "venial", which are relatively minor, and could be forgiven through any sacrament of the Church, and the more severe "capital" or mortal sin. Mortal sins destroyed the life of grace, and created the threat of eternal damnation unless either absolved through the sacrament of confession, or forgiven through perfect contrition on the part of the penitent. Beginning in the early 14th century, the popularity of the seven deadly sins as a theme among European artists of the time eventually helped to ingrain them in many areas of Christian culture and Christian consciousness in general throughout the world.But One means of such ingraining was the creation of the mnemonic SALIGIA based on the first letters in Latin of the seven deadly sins: Superbia, Avaritia, Luxuria, Invidia, Gula, Ira, Acedia.[1]
Listed in the same order used by both Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th Century AD, and later by Dante Alighieri in his epic poem The Divine Comedy, the seven deadly sins are as follows: Luxuria (extravagance, later lust), Gula (gluttony), Avaritia (greed), Acedia (sloth), Ira (wrath), Invidia (envy), and Superbia (pride). Each of the seven deadly sins has an opposite among the corresponding seven holy virtues (sometimes also referred to as the contrary virtues). In parallel order to the sins they oppose, the seven holy virtues are chastity, abstinence, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility.
The identification and definition of the seven deadly sins over their history has been a fluid process and the idea of what each of the seven actually encompasses has evolved over time. This process has been aided by the fact that they are not referred to in either a cohesive or codified manner in the Bible itself, and as a result other literary and ecclesiastical works referring to the seven deadly sins were instead consulted as sources from which definitions might be drawn. Part II of Dante’s Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, has almost certainly been the best known source since the Renaissance.
[LINK]
By Flavia Krause-Jackson
March 10 (Bloomberg) — The Vatican has put together a list of seven "social" sins that includes excessive wealth, drug abuse, littering, genetic tampering and creating poverty.
Echoing the concept of the seven cardinal vices — set to paper by Pope Gregory I in the sixth century — the new list adds a social dimension, Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, said in an interview yesterday with the Vatican’s official newspaper l’Osservatore Romano.
"You offend God not only by stealing, taking the Lord’s name in vain or coveting your neighbor’s wife, but also by wrecking the environment, carrying out morally debatable experiments that manipulate DNA or harm embryos," said Girotti, who is responsible for the body that oversees confessions.
Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out on social issues throughout his three-year papacy. He backs a current political initiative to outlaw abortions after 90 days and encouraged Catholics to abstain from a 2005 referendum on easing restrictive laws on fertility treatments, which failed to achieve the 50 percent participation level to make the vote to change the law binding.
The seven social sins are:
1. "Bioethical’ violations such as birth control
2. "Morally dubious" experiments such as stem cell research
3. Drug abuse
4. Polluting the environment
5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor
6. Excessive wealth
7. Creating poverty
[LINK]
Posted: March 11th, 2008
at 1:50pm by Black Ock
Categories: life,green,business,politricks,weaponry,fo' real?,real life news,science
Comments: 1 comment
The Definition of TMI
Omg. So…
From planetsave:
The recent revelation by The Associated Press that our tap water contains traces of pharmaceutical drugs, hormones and disinfectants elicited a bit of a€oeI told you so!a€A from The Environmental Working Group when I spoke to them this morning.
Way back in 2005 they published a report, The National Assessment of Tap Water that found that:
Tap water in 42 states is contaminated with more than 140 unregulated chemicals that lack safety standards. In an analysis of more than 22 million tap water quality tests, EWG found that water suppliers across the U.S. detected 260 contaminants in water served to the public. One hundred forty-one (141) of these detected chemicals a€" more than half a€" are unregulated.
They posted an update on their report today with this comment from Jane Houlihan, EWG Vice President for Researcha€oeOnce again, the press is doing EPAa€s work when it comes to informing the public about contaminated tap water.a€oe
Actually this extends beyond The EPAa€™s purview which is only to supervise public drinking supplies. Bottled water, which as we have discovered over the past few years is frequently tap water in a bottle ( Pepsia€™s Aquafina, Cokea€™s Dansani) actually has lower standards than tap water .
The FDA which supposedly regulates the production of bottled water also misses those scary drugs and also allows for some contamination by E. coli or fecal coliform. Yuck. If you thought you could get around this tap water issue by drinking bottled water. Think again.
I’m just sayin’, yo…
From ecoscraps via planetsave:A new study found traces of common drugs including: an anti-seizure medication, a mood stabilizer for treating bipolar disorders, ibuprofen and naproxen, and an antibiotic typically given to cattle in the water of 24 out of 28 US metropolitan areas.
Most wastewater and drinking water treatment systems are incapable of removing those drugs. Some scientists said there is probably little human health risk; others fear chronic exposure could alter immune responses or interfere with adolescentsa€™ developing hormone systems.
This explains a near multitude of things, including my more than four hour erection. All this time I thought it was Hilary Clinton. From now on I’m only drinking that ‘drank.’
Posted: March 11th, 2008
at 9:00am by Black Ock
Categories: life,not ninja-worthy,fo' real?,real life news,science
Comments: No comments
Are we computers?
The term wetware is used to describe the embodiment of the concepts of the physical construct known as the central nervous system (CNS) and the mental construct known as the human mind. It is a two-part abstraction drawn from the computer-related idea of hardware or software.
The first abstraction solely concerns the bioelectric and biochemical properties of the CNS, specifically the brain. If the impulses traveling the various neurons are analogized as software, then the physical neurons would be the hardware. The amalgamated interaction of the software and hardware is manifest through continuously changing physical connections, and chemical and electrical influences spreading across wide spectrums of supposedly unrelated areas. This interaction requires a new term that exceeds the definition of those individual terms.
The second abstraction is relegated to a higher conceptual level. If the human mind is analogized as software, then the first abstraction described above is the hardware. The process by which the mind and brain interact to produce the collection of experiences that we define as self-awareness is still seriously in question. Importantly, the intricate interaction between physical and mental realms is observable in many instances. The combination of these concepts are expressed in the term wetware. at
Avalanches on Mars
A NASA spacecraft has taken the first-ever image of an avalanche in action near Mars’ north pole.
The High Resolution Imaging Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the photograph Feb. 19. The image, released today, shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
The camera was tracking seasonal changes on Mars when it inadvertently caught the avalanche on film.
HiRISE mission scientist Ingrid Daubar Spitale of the University of Arizona was the first person to notice the avalanche when sifting through images.
"It really surprised me," she said. "It’s great to see something so dynamic on Mars. A lot of what we see there hasn’t changed for millions of years."
The full image reveals features as small as a desk in a strip of terrain 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) wide and more than 10 times that long, at 84 degrees north latitude. Reddish layers known to be rich in water ice make up the face of a steep slope more than 2,300 feet (700 meters) tall, running the length of the image.
Mars’ north pole is covered by a cap of ice, and it even snows there.The scientists suspect that more ice than dust probably makes up the material that fell from the upper portion of the scarp.
[LINK]
Big News Around Boston
The New England Organ Bank has authorized a surgical team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to perform partial face transplants on eligible patients whose faces have been disfigured.
The team could perform an operation as early as the next few weeks, officials said, but it is unlikely a donor and recipient would be found for months, if not years.
To be eligible, recipients will have to be kidney transplant patients who have experienced facial burns, trauma, or skin cancer that has left them with "severe facial disfigurement," according to Sean Fitzpatrick, a New England Organ Bank spokesman.
Fitzpatrick said kidney transplant recipients are already taking immunosuppressive medication, which helps stop rejection.
Such patients have a higher risk of the development of facial cancers as a result of the medication.
The Brigham team is the first hospital in the United States to be authorized to perform such an operation. [LINK]
Wow, crazy news people… Unfortunately, I’ve already seen that movie.
Posted: March 7th, 2008
at 8:11am by Black Ock
Categories: life,real life news,science
Comments: 1 comment