SunFyre...words from a seated position

The FULLWARP poll for this month is "In your opinion, if we start today, how long will it take to reverse Global Warming?" Tell us why you think global warming is reversible, and how long it will take. Maybe you even think global warming is a myth.

read more | digg story

Most Americans think they're helping the earth when they recycle their old computers, televisions and cell phones. But chances are they're contributing to a global trade in electronic trash that endangers workers and pollutes the environment overseas. www.FullWarp.com

read more | digg story

I recently wrote an article for a technology blog, www.fullwarp.com. Your home could be smarter today, if companies would just utilize technology we already have. This article takes a look at every room and shows how it could be improved. It also introduces a new room in your home, "the server room".

read more | digg story

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I'm beginning to believe it.
- Clarence Darrow


Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Labels: Friday Funnies, politics, quotes, videos

Labels: food and drink, Friday Funnies, videos

A Swiss welfare group is recruiting volunteers to have sex with disabled people. The Basel-based Welfare Group for Disability and Sexuality already arranges erotic massages for people with disabilities. But it is now providing full sexual intercourse and is also signing up gay volunteers to have sex with homosexual disabled people.

The group’s leader Aiha Zemp said it was a subject that ‘needed to be tackled.’

She said: “It’s a big taboo that needs to be broken. Having sex is a basic human need like eating and drinking and we have to fight for this right for the disabled.” At present three men and one woman offer an erotic ‘touching service,’ and nine new volunteers have come forward to offer sex at £65 per hour. Zemp rejected criticism that the group were simply training up prostitutes.

Source: Annanova

Labels: disabled sex

How to break up with your girlfriend ...in just 64 easy steps.

Labels: animation, dating, humor, videos

The creators of Wallace and Gromit have unveiled their latest characters - all of whom share a disability.

Aardman Animations have teamed up with the Leonard Cheshire Disability charity to launch Creature Discomforts, based on their much-loved Creature Comforts series.

The six animal characters are voiced by disabled people who talk about the discrimination and difficulties they encounter.

Peg the Hedgehog, Slim the Stick Insect, Flash the Sausage Dog, Tim the Tortoise, Spud the Slug and Brian the Bull Terrier will feature in TV adverts from January. They are available to view online at www.creaturediscomforts.org.

The campaign aims to highlight the disadvantages that disabled people experience every day, and to raise awareness among the public.

It will feature in newspapers, magazines, bus stops and online from Thursday, and in TV adverts in January.

Recent research carried out by the charity revealed that nine out of 10 disabled people in the UK believe they are the victims or prejudice or discrimination.

Bryan Dutton, director-general of Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: "We want people to change the way they see disability, to think and act differently and to make a positive difference to the lives of disabled people.

"Creature Comforts is well known and much-loved for its ability to bring home messages in a simply, everyday way. Our Creative Discomforts campaign builds on this, making a serious point with humour."

The campaign's director, Steve Harding-Hill of Aardman, said: "Taking the real voices and experiences of disabled people and creating animated stories that are informative, entertaining and poignant has been an immense but incredibly satisfying challenge."

Labels: animation, disabled people, television

I was browsing a group about traveling with a disability when I ran across this post. The woman has the same disability I do. I thought I'd pass it on, verbatim.

Hello everyone.

My childhood fantasy was to visit Mongolia. My reality is that I was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) which has left me dependent on a wheelchair, with limited strength and significant breathing problems. Not exactly the best circumstances for even the hardiest person to contemplate such a trip across the world. But I can say that my dream of visiting Mongolia is "no longer a fantasy."

On July 15, 1995, Ro, Sally, Pat, Fred and I embarked on a fantastic journey... to Outer Mongolia. Together we flew eight times, travelled on the Trans Mongolian Railway, drove through and over the Gobi desert in a bus, slept in tents on the steppes of Mongolia, touched the Great Wall of China, slept in a yurt, and saw a yak. We visited countries, saw places, met people and experienced things we never thought possible. And I found that most spirit truly belonged in Mongolia.

The book about my journey, "Outer Mongolia... no longer a fantasy", has now been published and is available as an e-book and CD-ROM.

The book has an important underlying message... that if you truly believe in doing something, and if it is meant to be, then anything is possible, whether you are disabled or not.

You can find out more about my book by visiting
http://www.synergebooks.com/ebook_outermongolia.html
For further information please contact Jeanne May at my website at www.aspirationsplus.com

All proceeds of my book go to the people of Mongolia via the Red Cross.

Thanks
Jeanne

Labels: disabled people, e-books, travel

As much as I hate to admit it, I like Rachael Ray.She's cute, bright, and the only slightly annoyingly peppy. However, when I read this quote in Time magazine, I laughed out loud. He's so right.

Anthony Bourdain is self described "old-school French Chef". He has a show, I think it's on the Travel Channel, where he eats all kinds of strange things from all over the world.

He was asked "Why do you always pick on Rachael Ray?"

He said "She can take it. She's incredibly powerful and far more loved than I am. But she genuinely offends me. Julia Child, for example, raised people's expectations of food. When Rachael tells you that it's perfectly okay to buy a pre-chopped onion from the supermarket... I mean, how hard is it to chop an onion? The takeaway is, I could cook, but [instead] I'll finish this bag of Cheetos and that gallon of Diet Pepsi before dying of diabetes."

I agree with Bourdain. We're living in a time when quick and easy, particularly in the kitchen, is not only popular, but it's endorsed by our corporate food economy. Granted, microwavable food and boil-in-bag dishes are tasting better and better these days, but that's leading to a generation of Americans who are never learning how to cook. When I was a kid they advertised ways of preparing meals in 30 minutes or less. Today the benchmark is five minutes, without any dirty dishes.

It's kind of sad. They talk about the degradation of mealtime as family time, but part of that stems from the fact that families are no longer putting effort into the meal itself. My mom was never a fabulous cook, but she did cook, and we all had our favorites. Missing a meal with our family was a big deal, because we knew that Mom and put effort into it.

Rachael is still cute. But I would like her a whole lot better if, instead of showing of shortcuts, she made as passionate about food. Rachael needs to take a night off, put up her feet, and watch a few episodes of Emeril.

Labels: Anthony Bourdain, Family values, food and drink, quotes, Rachael Ray

Men, we need to prove to women of the world that chivalry is not dead. As this Russian video clearly displays, it is our duty as men to defend and protect our wives. If someone wrongs the woman that we love, it's our responsibility to right that wrong. I don't speak the language, but the video speaks the universal language of manliness. Enjoy.

Labels: Friday Funnies, marriage, videos

I usually hate e-mail forwards, but this story is, well, priceless. It's just a matter of time until I have an experience similar in nature to this. I love pets, and I encourage my kids to love pets and care for them. We are working our way up to a dog, or a monkey if I have my way.

To all of those pet lovers, or haters, particularly those with children... enjoy.

Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me there was "something was wrong" with one of the two lizards he holds prisoner in his room. "He's just lying there looking sick," he told me. "I'm serious, Dad. Can you help?" I put my best lizard-healer expression on my face and followed him into his bedroom. One of the little lizards was indeed lying on his back, looking stressed. I immediately knew what to do.

"Honey," I called, "come look at the lizard!"

"Oh, my gosh!" my wife exclaimed. "She's having babies."

"What???" my son demanded. "But their names are Bert and Ernie, Mom!"

I was equally outraged. "Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn't want them to reproduce," I said accusingly to my wife.

"Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their cage?" she inquired (I think she actually said this sarcastically!).

"No, but you were supposed to get two boys!" I reminded her(in my most loving, calm, sweet voice, while gritting my teeth).

"Yeah, Bert and Ernie!" my son agreed.

"Well, it's just a little hard to TELL on some guys, you know," she informed me (again-- with the sarcasm...).

By now the rest of the family had gathered to see what was going on. I shrugged, deciding to make the best of it. "Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience," Iannounced. "We're about to witness the miracle of birth."

"Oh, gross!" they shrieked.

"Well, isn't THAT just great? What are we going to do with a litter of tiny little lizard babies?" my wife wanted to know. We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what looked like a tiny foot would appear briefly, vanishing a scant second later.

"We don't appear to be making much progress," I noted.

"It's breech," my wife whispered, horrified.

"Do something, Dad!" my son urged.

"Okay, okay." Squeamishly,I reached in and grabbed the foot when it next appeared, giving it a gentle tug. It disappeared. I tried several more times with the same results.

"Should I call 911?" my eldest daughter wanted to know. "Maybe they could talk us through the trauma..." (You see a pattern herewith the females in my house?)

"Let's get Ernie to the vet," I said grimly. We drove to the vet with my son holding the cage in his lap.

"Breathe, Ernie,breathe," he urged.

"I don't think lizards do Lamaze, dear" his mother noted to him. (Women can be so cruel to their own young. I mean what she does to me is one thing, but this boy is of her womb, for goodness sake.).

The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and peered at the little animal through a magnifying glass.

"What do you think, Doc, a C-section?" I suggested scientifically.

"Oh, very interesting," he murmured. "Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, may I speak to you privately for a moment?" I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.

"Is Ernie going to be okay?" my wife asked.

"Oh, perfectly," the vet assured us. "This lizard is not in labor. In fact, that isn't EVER going to happen . . . Ernie is a boy. You see, Ernie is a young male. And occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most male species, they. . . um . . . um . . . 'play'. Just the way he did, lying on his back." He blushed, glancing at my wife. We were silent, absorbing this.

"So, Ernie's just ... just ... excited," my wife offered.

"Exactly," the vet replied, relieved that we understood.

More silence.

Then my vicious, cruel wife started to giggle. And giggle. And then even laugh loudly.

"What's so funny?" I demanded, knowing, but not believing that the woman I married would commit the upcoming affront to my flawless manliness. Tears were now running down her face.

"It's just that . . (and then with the fingers) I'm picturing you pulling on its . . its . . . teeny little ..." She gasped for more air to bellow in laughter once more!

"That's enough," I warned. We thanked the vet and hurriedly bundled the lizard and our son back into the car. He was glad everything was going to be okay.

"I know Ernie's really thankful for what you did, Dad," he told me.

"Oh, you have NO~ idea, son." my wife agreed, collapsing with laughter.

• Two lizards: $140.
• One cage: $50.
• Trip to the vet: $60.
• Memory of your husband pulling on a lizard's winkie for therest of your LIFE: Priceless!

Moral of the story: Always pay attention in biology class. Lizards lay eggs.

Labels: Friday Funnies, pets

I had a dream last night, a very weird dream. Here's the short version. Zombies were taking over the earth. A handful of us were trying to defend ourselves against the zombies. I know what you're thinking, sounds more like a bad movie than a dream that Sigmund Freud would find intriguing. Bear with me.

So we have successfully defended ourselves from the zombies who could scratch or bite us, infecting our blood, ultimately leading us to join them in the realm of the undead.

That's when it happened a tiny horsefly landed on my ring finger of my left hand. It bit me and I realized that now my finger had become infected, because clearly the horsefly's last meal was on zombie flesh. That's when I got my friend, Peter Petrelli (yes, from the TV show "Heroes"), and told him he had to cut off my finger. Luckily there happen to be a brand-new Swiss Army knife handy, and I winced as he cut off my ring finger before the tainted blood could move my arm and zombify me.

I looked down at my wedding ring fell to the floor. I picked it up and realized I no longer had a finger on which to where it. I was debating on whether to wear on the other hand or on a chain around my neck when I awoke.

So how would Sigmund Freud interpret my dream? Probably something like (in a thick German accent) "SunFyre is being bothered by a spousal pest. He knows that if he allows this pest to infect him through marriage, eventually he will become a zombie."

Okay, maybe not.

Let's hear your dream interpretations. Post your comments below.

Labels: dreams, Heroes, marriage, zombies

Every car company in America, and most of the rest of the world, thinks they are going "green". This is the first sample I've seen of a car company truly producing an environmentally friendly car. The French company, Venturi, produce three vehicles; a completely electric sports car, a solar electric hybrid, and this, the first autonomous energy vehicle. It's capable of running exclusively on solar and wind energy. Solar energy is actually captured as vehicle drives. While parked the vehicle can capture wind energy and solar. In emergencies, you can plug in the vehicle and obtain a full charge in only five hours.

While it certainly isn't the solution for all of our energy concerns, and frankly, it isn't sexy, it is the first production car that could run completely exclusive of fossil fuel. Additionally, the company is carbon neutral so even the production of the vehicle is offset.

They are currently producing 20 units as demonstrators. Starting in March of 2008 they will produce 200 more units.

Here's some information borrowed from their website, along with a fancy little slideshow I made.

-- --
Of decidedly original design, this is a vehicle that has no desire to look like other cars which depend on “black gold” : priority has been given to integration of the photovoltaic cells which compose its translucid roof.

Eclectic thus does not pass unnoticed in traffic: its elevated central driving position offers exceptional panoramic vision and considerable space, for both driver and passengers.

Eclectic’s message is loud and clear: this is not an ordinary car, but an avant-garde way of getting around. Owning an Eclectic is also a personal commitment : it means changing one’s way of getting from one place to another by exchanging one’s role as a “consumer” for that of a “producer” and this, in the general interest.

Its designer Sacha Lakic describes Eclectic as : “a modern, autonomous and intelligent automobile. The energy that drives it exists all around it : it simply has to deploy its wind turbine, expose its solar cells or, if necessary, find a simple electric plug. It is usual practice to “stylise” a car. In the case of Eclectic, its contours were born of an approach to design. Its appearance reflects its function. Its silhouette pays homage to certain icon-cars such as the Lunar Rover, Mini-Moke and Méhari. Though its technology positions it clearly in the present and, above all, the future”.


Venturi marks a new era in technological history by launching the production of Eclectic, an urban 3-seater electro-solar vehicle which goes well beyond anything offered so far by car manufacturers of today :

• 1st vehicle powered by renewable energies ;


• 1st solar production vehicle (2.5 m2 of photovoltaic cells) ;


• 1st vehicle that can be directly recharged with a personal wind turbine ;

Eclectic is thus the vehicle with the least possible impact on the environment.

Unlike other vehicles which are not used for over 90% of the time, Eclectic takes advantage of moments of immobilization to store energy in its batteries; contrary to a petrol tank, this energy reserve remains available for other uses. It’s well worth betting that one day, and at national level, this could comprise a considerable reserve of energy which could compensate for breakdowns in the production of electricity as already seen, for example, in California.

Available as an option with last-generation NiMH (NIV-7) batteries (liquid cooled), Eclectic offers a range up to 50 km at a speed of 50 km/hr (electronically restricted), which suffices largely to cover daily movements in urban areas.

The share of solar recharging is approximately 7 km per day of exposure.

When using electricity, a full recharge requires 5 hrs using a standard connection (16 A) or 3 hrs with 2 onboard chargers (optional).

Finally, as an option, Eclectic can be recharged with a wind turbine, set up on the ground next to the car. It is small and light enough to be carried easily. In this case, the share of recharging is approximately 15 km per day in windy areas.

Sources: verturi.fr

Labels: Automotive, environment, technology

It's official, my blog has reached a new level of prominence. I haven't been quoted by CNN. I haven't been interviewed by Good Morning America. But, I'm definitely on my way because spammers have discovered my blog. It's just a matter of time until the press starts calling and the money starts rolling in. Soon, the Gods of Google will deliver wheelbarrows full of cash to my doorstep.

A couple of days ago I got my first spam in a post comment. I get an e-mail every time someone comments on my blog, so I usually know within an hour, unless I'm sleeping. This morning I logged in and had to delete six spam comments from various posts.

One of the core values of doing a blog, and one of the most important parts from the perspective of blog writing, is the ability for readers to comment. It's a silly little thrill I get every time I get a comment, so I don't want to disable them altogether. Unfortunately, I've had to install the image verification in my commenting system. I hate that because it isn't extremely user-friendly for disabled people, and many of my readers are disabled in one form or another.

I'm not going to allow my blog to be free advertising for spammers. I encourage you, if you have a legitimate website and a comment that's on-topic, to include the link. But don't add your link just to get a freebie.

The new system won't eliminate all spam, but it will reduce the spam produced by robots.

Finally, if you don't want to comment publicly, or if you prefer not to use a commenting system for some other reason, please feel free to e-mail me your comments. Unfortunately I can't publish my e-mail address, or those silly robots will start sending e-mail to my personal account.

Remember in math class in eighth grade? Those dastardly word problems were always so annoying. So here, if you're interested, is my e-mail address in word problem format.

Begin with my domain name and subtract www. and .com, save the .com for use later. Now press shift-2. Take the letter "g" and add it to the word "mail" and add the .com you recycled from the original domain name. If you followed these instructions you should now have my properly formatted e-mail address.

/emote Flips the bird to spammers

Labels: site news, Spam