Interesting Links for 8-9-2011

[andrewducker]

• Gay Homophobe - counting down the number of days since a prominent homophobe turned it to be gay.
  (tags: funny politics lgbt conservative usa)
• The West Lothian Question will finally be answered.
  (tags: scotland uk government politics)
• Minecraft Makes Little Girls Cry.
  (tags: minecraft funny)
• Gay blood donations ban likely to be lifted
  (tags: lgbt blood UK gay)
• Git Is Simpler Than You Think
  (tags: git programming development tools tutorial)
• The cutest thing in the world is apparently two otters floating around, napping, holding hands
  (tags: otter cute video)
• Why is the Windows registry a hierarchical database instead of a relational one?
  (tags: windows software)
• 20 astonishing holiday complaints. My favourite is number 5.
  (tags: holidays complaints travel)
• The India-Pakistan Border As Seen From Space
  (tags: india pakistan photo)
• 100 time more Patriot Act warrants have been issued for drugs as for terrorism
  (tags: law crime drugs government politics usa)
• UK church attendance down 18% in ten years - down 90% in people under 20. One generation to go?
  (tags: religion christianity uk)
• Fake tan: How did it become the new normal?
  (tags: tan sun beauty UK)
• Giant red crabs invade Antarctica. No, really!
  (tags: crabs antarctic life globalwarming)

Comments

cutest thing in the world

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Is a baby otter holding on to the side of his mummy while she lies on her back and teaches him to use a rock to open an oyster.

[seen at the San Diego Sea world back in 1994)

Re: cutest thing in the world

[andrewducker]

I can well believe that. There's something delightful about Otters. They seem to make everything into play.

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the cite to the "homophobe" Listing -- I was unaware that my Representative (David Dreier) had been outed in '04. I've been pissed-off at him for ages, because he was a Republican, apparently an eternal fixture, has been giving his boy-toy/lover cushy jobs at great taxpayer expense for decades (yes, that relationship has been common knowledge for ages, & I don't care about what consenting adults do in bed, aside from hoping that they have fun), and has supported a lot of (unfair, IMHO) anti-gay legislation. And he's a sleazy character who appears to have become much more wealthy during his many decades in Politics than either his salary or investment skills can reasonably account for. Not that any of this, in Politics, is New, of course.

[joexnz.livejournal.com]

really, not excuse 20?

[andrewducker]

Number 20 was also pretty darned awesome.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

It wasn't so much the first half of the video as the bit where they floated back toward one another and one reached out to the other to take its hand again...

[andrewducker]

Yeah. I know that it's a bit silly to personify cute animals, but OMGSOCUTE!

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

I often think these "complaints" are made up. But they probably aren't, there really is nothing as daft as the public.

Proof of this came yesterday when one of the guys who works in our factory came back from a fortnight in Malta. He is adamant he is going to the travel agent on Saturday to demand a refund because "he was misold the holiday because the travel agent didn't tell them Malta was so small and that there is nothing to do there".

Head-desk to infinity!!!

[andrewducker]

If it was "the travel agent told me there was huge amounts to do, and there was a Disneyland there." then I could understand it.

But who goes somewhere without googling it first???

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

Probably most of our staff. Out of the 12 people who work on the factory floor, I think only 3 have internet at home. Technically they all have access to it since they are permitted to use it at work if they want to, but don't as they have no interest in the internet. Welcome to small-town Shropshire!

[andrewducker]

This is true. And, to be fair, something that travel agents should take account of. After all, the point of a travel agent is that they do the hard work for you, and recommend things to you. This should include asking you what you want out of your holiday, and making sure you go somewhere that will get it for you.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

+1

[nmg.livejournal.com]

Good grief!

We (ias, the then three year old garklet and I) spent a week in Malta last Easter. At the pace we were sightseeing, a week wasn't enough to see all that we wanted to see. For example, we visited the neolithic temples at Mnajdra, Ħaġar Qim and Tarxien (including the Hypogeum) in a day, whereas we could have easily spent a day and a half. I could have spent a full day in the National War Museum, but the wee lad was flagging after a couple of hours. On the flip side, we were flagging after two hours at the Playmobil factory, where he would happily have stayed in all day.

Besides which, after you've seen all the places on the tourist trail, you can explore the north of the island, go to Gozo, or take the boat to Sicily (we managed only the first).

holiday complaints

[apostle-of-eris.livejournal.com]

There will always be an England!

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

I thought that http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/8743065/Tourist-complains-about-sight-of-fish-in-harbour.html was pretty impressive on the 'stupid complaints from tourists' stakes.

[andrewducker]

Yes. I thought that was fairly unbelievably stupid.

We seem to have a bunch of people who think that the world outside of their home town exists purely to be a theme park.