Surfing the web anonymously

I noticed Personalized Google now has the ability to give you HowTo's of the day. Today's HowTo was on surfing the web anonymously using anonymous proxies.

How to Surf the Web Anonymously With Proxies

By using an (anonymous) web proxy, you can not only speed up your Internet access (due to caching in the proxy), but you can help protect yourself from identity theft, advertisers, and even spyware that is able to target your IP address. (note that this also (unless I know which proxy you are using and no one else uses that proxy who visits) prevents me from knowing that you read my blog :) )

It's easy to setup a proxy, and it usually has little to no negative consequences to most people.

There are instructions on that page for Firefox as well as Internet Explorer. There is also a link to a site that gives you a list of proxies that you can use for free:

Public Proxy Servers

Looked for the ones marked "anonymous" if you're into that sort of thing.

Google Fighting

This is cute.

I'm a little confused by the magnitudes though -- they seem awfully high.

Try your name compared to other people's names. That's always fun.

It's not just Bush - Catholics can say stupid things too

Cardinal: Chavez needs 'exorcism'

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- An outspoken Catholic cardinal took his war of words with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to a new level in an interview published Sunday, calling him "a paranoid dictator" who needs "an exorcism."

Atkins: Not So Healthy Business

Low-carb king Atkins files Chapter 11

Company owes $300 million in outstanding principal and interest

NEW YORK (AP) -- Atkins Nutritionals Inc., the company that promoted low-carb eating into a national diet craze, filed for bankruptcy court protection Sunday, a company spokesman said.

Atkins has been hurt by waning popularity of its namesake diet, which focuses on eliminating carbohydrates such as bread and pasta to shed weight. The diet became one of the most popular in U.S. history, spawning a virtual cottage industry of low-carb regimens, but also drew criticism from experts for its focus on fatty foods and low fruit and vegetable consumption.

Frist Flop

Frist backs increased federal stem cell funding

It turns out Bill Frist might remember what it's like to be a doctor.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Friday threw his support behind House-passed legislation to expand federal financing for human embryonic stem cell research, breaking with President Bush and religious conservatives in a move that could impact his prospects for seeking the White House in 2008.

Of course, the religious right is pretty upset:

"Sen. Frist should not expect support and endorsement from the pro-life community if he votes for embryonic research funding," the Christian Defense Coalition said in a statement as Frist finished his speech.

"Senator Frist cannot have it both ways. He cannot be pro-life and pro-embryonic stem cell funding," said Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the group. "Nor can he turn around and expect widespread endorsement from the pro-life community if he should decide to run for president in 2008."

But who else are they going to vote for? Are there serious Republican hopefuls that are more to their liking? If not, then... Hillary Clinton? I don't think the religious right are going to vote for a pro-choice CLINTON (a FEMALE one at that!) because they don't like Frist.

Additionally, I think most of the religious right are going to forget about this issue. I can't imagine the Democrats are going to remind them either -- the argument to vote for a Dem just because a Republican got a little too liberal is pretty bizarre.

So, good for Frist. I still don't like the guy, but maybe he's grown a conscience and some morals recently. Or, maybe more realistically, this is just a political move because supporting this research may be politically better than stopping it (despite what the "right" says).

Canibalism Inside the Womb

So this is fascinating...

Scientists to breed test-tube sharks

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- The endangered grey nurse shark is its own worst enemy, its young eat each other in the womb, so Australian scientists have a radical rescue plan to artificially inseminate and breed the ocean predator in test-tubes.

In a process called intra-uterine cannibalism, grey nurse embryo pups develop a jaw and razor-sharp teeth very early in their development and cannibalize siblings in the womb.

The sharks have two wombs in which a dominant pup will consume its siblings, leaving only two surviving pups every two years when the shark breeds.

In hearing of this very un-Christian like behavior, George W. Bush has decided to bomb all grey nurse sharks. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld believes that this altercation could be over in 1, 2, or 6 months (though he doubts 6 months) or perhaps might take 10 to 15 years.

But in the end, we'll be rid of these creatures, and the world will be a better place.

It's good to know George W. Bush has his priorities straight.
 

Debate RAGES

So I saw the headline on Google News: Critics mad at Monaco's win. This was one of Google's top headlines. At first I read this and thought that maybe I missed some international event where Monaco won something. I didn't know. So, because it was a slow news day outside of the big IRA news and the CAFTA vote in the house, I decided to look into it...

Critics mad at Monaco's win

Debate rages over Dancing With the Stars judging

...the debate RAGES over DWTS!! It RAGES. If you go back to Google News now, you'll see that Monaco has responded and says that 'Dancing' was fair and square. I'm not quite sure why 'Dancing' is in quotes there. Though I'm not quite sure why the story is even a story. It must be a really slow news day...
 

Nanoparticles as Vectors for Gene Therapy AND Reactivating Stem Cells

SciAm: Nanoparticles Pass Muster as Vectors for Gene Therapy

Replacing viral vectors with nanoparticles designed to deliver genes:

Paras N. Prasad of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and his colleagues manufactured nanoparticles using organically modified silicon. The surface of these particles can be tailored to target specific cells. The team used the tiny units to transport a fluorescent marker gene to dopamine neurons in the brains of mice. After injecting the nanoparticles, the researchers observed brain cells fluorescing using a new imaging technique that works on live animals. According to the report, the study is the first in which a nonviral vector has shown efficacy comparable to that of a viral delivery system in an animal model. What is more, a month later none of the animals had experienced adverse effects from the procedure.

Using the nanoparticles to actually switch on adult stem cells to repair neurological damage:

The researchers also investigated the possibility of manipulating the behavior of specific brain cells, instead of solely tagging their presence. In so doing, they discovered that the nanoparticles can be used to reactivate adult stem cells by altering a nuclear growth factor receptor. The team will next test the approach on larger animals. "In the future," says study co-author Earl J. Bergey, also at SUNY Buffalo, "this technology may make it possible to repair neurological damage caused by disease, trauma or stroke."

Bitch Slap

My parents once asked me what a "bitch slap" was. Recently, on on Argonautical Ramblings, I found a link to a video that comes close to my ideal of a bitch slap, though the author refers to it as simply a "cat fight."

Ultimate Cat Fight

As grrrbear points out, it's a wonder why they aren't both beating up the guy who slept with both of them rather than beating up each other. This reminds me of a story of some ground squirrels of some type that live in tunnels but mate and sun with each other out on land. My evolution teacher once watched a male mate with a female, then lay next to each other out on land. Anotehr female came by, and he mated with her too in front of the other female. The three of them laid out and rested by each other, until the male went away. At that point the first female scared the second female into another hole and then literally buried her. The prof then headed out to dig her up, and she got buried five or six times more that day.

Anyway, New York resident Jenn disagrees wiith my definition of bitch slap. She thinks it's specifically a slap with the back of the hand so that women who wear lots of rings can do damage with those rings. While I think that back handed slaps may be involved, "bitch slapping" is more of a whirlwind of arms flying everywhere, with the majority of damage being done by the palms of the hand.

So I've tried to find other examples of a "bitch slap." The author of this next page calls this a "bitch slap," but I think he's being too liberal with his application of the term. It is an interesting video though. What the HECK is going on? Does anyone know what they're SAYING?

Compfused.com - Bitch Slap

A comment at this blog agrees with Jenn in defining it as a slap with the back of the hand. I still think this is being too specific and focussing on the wrong PART of the slap.

So finally I found these wonderful "Urban Dictionary" entries that I think settle the argument. I take one of them as an example, but they all seem to work okay:

Contrary to most definitions, the “bitch” is describing the “slap” rather than the destination.

A Bitch Slap is a sharp, openhanded, stinging, yet generally benign slap – similar to being slapped by a bitch. When you “bitch slap” someone, you are slapping him or her like a woman would! Scratching, hair pulling, cursing, and crying generally follow a well-placed bitch slap.

Beware, this oft-confused term has resulted in many pimps calling themselves bitches rather than describing their abuse.

This structure of the descriptor preceding the verb is also used in the “Pimp Slap”. To “Pimp Slap” does NOT mean that you’re slapping someone like you would slap your pimp – rather a pimp slap is to slap like a pimp does.

How to perform:

Imagine some bitch just called out your fake Louis Vuitton shoes and hat just to make your baby’s daddy laugh at your cheap ass.

Raise your right hand above your head, elbow bent, and pretend you are throwing a baseball like a girl. Open palm comes down in a chopping motion to the cheek and jaw of your victim. Twist your shoulders into the attack for maximum effect.

LaFawnda bitch slapped Rico for talkin bout her bunions.

Now, if you look closely, there's a reference to the "Pimp Slap," which CLEARLY is what Jenn is talking about.

slap to the face using the back of the hand. called a pimp slap because the large rings a pimp wears will cut the face when hit with the back of the hand. this is distinct from a bitch slap which is with the palm of the hand.

he didn't get pimp slapped at the restaurant fight, he got bitch slapped.

It turns out that the "pimp slap" is more disciplinary, but the "bitch slap" is more recreational.

Yet again, the "Urban Dictionary" saves the day.
 

Monkey Business

I found a free repost of the NYTimes article, "Monkey Business," by Dubner and Levitt, the authors of the recently popular Freakonomics. The free copy can be found here, and it's FASCINATING.

The gist is that they train monkeys to use money in exchange for food. It turns out that the monkeys obey classical human microeconomics. On top of that, even though the monkeys are just trading the money for food, when food is given to them in the same shape as the money, the monkeys use the food as money rather than food. Perhaps most interesting is that the monkeys actually start to trade sex for money as well. The monkey receiving the money then immmediately redeems it for food.

It's really interesting stuff.