Delirious

Thu, 27 Nov 2003 00:26:16 GMT

If a chemist from the twentieth century could step into a time-machine and go back two-hundred years he or she would probably feel a deep kinship with the chemists of that time, even though there might be considerable differences in terminology, underlying theory, equipment and so on. Despite this kinship, chemists have not been trapped in the past, and the subject as it is studied today bears little resemblance to the chemistry of two hundred years ago. Kabbalah has existed for nearly two thousand years, and like any living discipline it has evolved through time, and it continues to evolve. One aspect of this evolution is that it is necessary for living Kabbalists to continually "re-present" what they understand by Kabbalah so that Kabbalah itself continues to live and continues to retain its usefulness to each new generation. If Kabbalists do not do this then it becomes a dead thing, an historical curiousity (as was virtually the case within Judaism by the nineteenth century). These notes were written with that intention: to present one view of Kabbalah as it is currently practised in 1992, so that people who are interested in Kabbalah and want to learn more about it are not limited purely to texts written hundreds or thousands of years ago (or for that matter, modern texts written about texts written hundreds or thousands of years ago). For this reason these notes acknowledge the past, but they do not defer to it. There are many adequate texts for those who wish to understand Kabbalah as it was practised in the past. These notes have another purpose. The majority of people who are drawn towards Kabbalah are not historians; they are people who want to know enough about it to decide whether they should use it as part of their own personal mystical or magical adventure. There is enough information not only to make that decision, but also to move from theory into practice. I should emphasise that this is only one variation of Kabbalah out of many, and I leave it to others to present their own variants - I make no apology if the material is biased towards a particular point of view. --- From the intro to Colin Low's Notes on Kabbalah

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:38:57 GMT

The ladder theory is a funny, scientific explanation of how men and women are attracted to each other. It also covers such topics as why women sometimes just want to be friends but men always want sex. It is based upon many years of sociological field testing, and was first conceptualized in 1994 in Exeter, CA by Dallas Lynn with acknowledgements to Jared Whitson for his role in formalizing the theory.

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:23:07 GMT

A man was crushed to death when he dove under a slow-moving semi-trailer to retrieve his baseball cap.

High winds had blown the hat off the man's head as he got out of his white convertible in the parking lot of a farm supply store on Tuesday.

The wind carried the well-worn hat underneath a loaded semi-trailer just as it started to move.

"The truck was rolling forward and he dove under to grab the hat. He tried to grab it and wiggle out quickly," said witness Josh Emard.

Emard said he wondered at first if what he was seeing might be a stunt.

"It was just unbelievable that someone would go under a moving semi for a hat."

Derek Keenan, 44, of Lethbridge, died at the scene after the truck's rear wheels rolled over his upper body. The truck came to a stop with Keenan underneath the flatbed trailer loaded with precast concrete drainage pipe.

The 40-year-old truck driver, looking visibly shaken, was helped into an ambulance and taken to hospital.

Lethbridge police Sgt. Tom Ascroft said no charges will be laid.

"A very odd set of circumstances led to a very tragic accident," he said.

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:14:10 GMT

The prosecutor in the Michael Jackson case praised a law that can halt civil lawsuits during related criminal cases, saying it would prevent a scenario where the singer's accuser accepted a settlement and then refused to testify in the criminal trial.

The state law was passed because another child backed out of a 1993 molestation case against Jackson after the singer reportedly paid him a multimillion settlement, Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon said...

(As Star Gomamon notes:
"I love kids."
"SICKO!")

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:12:13 GMT

Thank you for your interest regarding ESPN, Cox Cable and cable pricing. This is an important subject and you should have the facts.

First, Cox Cable's argument that the cost of ESPN is too high causing your cable bill to increase is incorrect. Cox sets the price you pay for cable. They make plenty of money off the fees you pay them, and Cox's own financial statements show that only about 22 cents of every dollar Cox spends goes to purchase programming. ESPN is only a fraction of that 22 cents. In fact, Cox pays more each month for non-programming operating expenses (e.g., its trucks and office space) and capital expenditures (e.g., replacing and upgrading its cable plant) than it does for all the programming it carries on its basic service. In effect, Cox is charging you for the new services that its new infrastructure provides, like telephone service and cable modems, even if you never subscribe to them....

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:00:00 GMT

A 20-year-old college student from Long Island has been charged with disorderly conduct after he ran into a Native American Studies class wearing a toy headdress and shot a rubber-tipped arrow at the instructor, campus police said.

Michael D. Johnson launched the suction-cup arrow, shouted, "Go back to your own country," and ran out of the classroom at the State University College at Oswego shortly before noon Oct. 31, police and students said...

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 00:57:41 GMT

The Austin Police Department's SWAT team stood guard in front of an East Austin home for almost seven hours, trying to persuade a robbery suspect to give himself up. But when they entered the home, they found no one inside.

Officers did find a handgun in the house, said Austin police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz. Witnesses told police that the robber was carrying a weapon, and investigators said they think they found that weapon in the home. It was unclear whether there was any connection between the man and the house.

The incident began at 12:45 p.m. when someone called a 911 dispatcher and said a man had robbed someone in the 1800 block of Airport Boulevard, Chovanetz said. The caller said the man was black, 6-feet-4-inches tall and in his early 20s. The man, who weighed about 185 pounds, was last seen walking on 13th Street toward Cedar Avenue, the caller said.

A police officer saw a man who matched that description at 1:05 p.m. and tried to identify him, but the man fled. The man was seen going into the house on East 13th Street near Chestnut Street, and police thought he had barricaded himself inside, Chovanetz said. The SWAT team was called at 2 p.m., and several neighborhood streets were closed.

Officers shot out the windows of the house using bean bag rounds -- considered less lethal -- and fired tear gas into the home, but received no response, Chovanetz said. Officers used a portable public address system to try and coax the man out of the house, but also received no response. The SWAT team left the house about 8:45 p.m. No one was arrested.

Fri, 21 Nov 2003 00:54:36 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Almost two weeks ago, 12 young Russians arrived in Berlin, without money, food or any idea where they were. In under three months, one will have won $1,000 dollars a month for the rest of his or her life.

The six men and six women aged between 20 and 28 are competing for the prize in a new Russian TV show called "Golod" or "Hunger" where contestants are deposited in a container in an unknown city and forced to find their own food and money.

After the first three weeks, the audience votes to eliminate one person every week until just the winner remains, having in the words of the show's website -- www.golodtnt.ru -- survived for one hundred days without food or money.

A German tabloid reporting on "Hunger" thought this meant the contestants would actually be starved.

"Russian TV lets young women starve in a Berlin container", said an outraged Bild newspaper on Thursday, branding the show "perverted television" and reporting police warnings which threatened to pursue any contestants caught stealing food.

But TNT producer Dmitry Troitsky rebutted the claims they would be left to starve, saying contestants could eat all the boiled pasta and potatoes they wanted as well as a special vitamin drink and would be closely monitored by doctors to prevent them coming to any harm.

Speaking to reporters through an interpreter near the closed-off container on the edge of Berlin, Troitsky said the show aimed to make contestants feel an emotional hunger for home and familiar comforts, but would not turn them into criminals or force them into prostitution.

"The contestants are sent into the city with camera teams, so there is no question of them resorting to crime," he said. The contestants, selected from 10,000 applicants, are taken out in pairs to try their luck on the streets of the German capital.

"One of the show's main objectives is that the participants develop a means of communicating which transcends cultural boundaries so they find a common language with Berliners, win their sympathy and make friends," said TNT in a statement.

So far the contestants' attempts to earn an honest crust in the city have not met with outstanding success.

The "Hunger" website said that Yana, 24, had managed to earn 40 cents for singing in Russian, while the first pair to be sent out had to fall back on the kindness of some Russians they met who gave them some bread, cheese and ham.

Language fascinates me

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:19:02 GMT

Recently, Verbatim ran a piece by Erin McKean entitled "L33t-sp34k" about the typographical games played with words by hackers, warez d00dz, and other online lowlife (although open source coders will of course complain that "hacker" should be used in its original sense, meaning a programmer of astounding skill, rather than in the popular, degraded sense of an online vandal). The piece touched on the language used by online gamers--some of whom, particularly in the world of first-person shooters--adopt hacker terminology.

McKean defined fragging (killing another player, from Vietnam era soldiers' slang) and gib (from giblets, the bloody goblets left in the playing field after a player or monster is killed). But first person shooters (FPSes) -- games in which the player sees the playing area as his character would see it (first person view) and plays mainly by shooting weapons at others--have produced rich terminology.

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:56:56 GMT

Game time, kids. Which of these two covers do you think is the modified one for the US audience?

Cover 1
Cover 2

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:48:02 GMT

Fed up with garbage-strewn streets- Berlin thinks it has found a solution -- trash cans that say thank you.

Starting next spring, the German capital's trash service will build electronics into a handful of the city's 20,000 street-side wastebaskets that will allow them to speak or sing to the public, a spokesman said Thursday. "We want to encourage people in a nice, funny way to throw their trash in the baskets and not on the street," said the official, Bernd Mueller. The talking trash cans -- powered by solar cells -- are meant to show that Berlin is "a modern city with high-tech services, and that it is also very cosmopolitan," he added.

Still, the garbage cans will be silent after dark. "Some people might feel uncomfortable if these things said something to them at night," Mueller said...

(Delirious thanks diepunyhumans and Mr. Ellis)

Thanks Wil Wheaton

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:23:00 GMT

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:20:29 GMT

A snake was found in the divorce courtroom in Danbury, Conn., and no, it wasn't someone's spouse.

Officials say a small, harmless reptile was discovered in the divorce courtroom at Superior Court. The snake wasn't venomous.

It was about a foot long and about as big around as a small finger. Staffers aren't sure where the reptile came from, but they suspect it may have come in the mail.

A state judicial marshal took the snake home and set it free on some farmland.

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:16:46 GMT

A man picking mushrooms in a forest area stumbled upon a leg sticking out of the ground, leading to the discovery of a dead body, police said Wednesday.

"I've found a human leg," the mushroom picker said when he alerted police shortly before 5 p.m., Tuesday.

Officers arriving on the scene in Takayama, Gunma Prefecture dug up the area to find the body of a dead person Wednesday. Although they have yet to determine the age and gender of the body, a pair of women's underwear and a watch were found on the corpse.

Police added that the body was badly decomposed.

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:14:55 GMT

A Hanover County man was found guilty today of two counts of felony animal cruelty for beating two cats to death earlier this year.

Darryl D. Bischoff, 24, was living with his former girlfriend and her cats in Henrico County when he kicked at least one of the cats to death. The two cats, Ronkie and Lucy Lou, died within about five weeks of each other.

"We're satisfied with the outcome," said Heidi S. Barshinger, the assistant Commonwealth's Attorney who prosecuted the case in Henrico County Circuit Court.

Three veterinarians testified as to the conditions of the two cats, one of which entered the household after the first one died. Both cats had symptoms consistent with blunt-force trauma, the vets said, including hemorrhaging, bruising, dilated pupils, broken ribs and teeth, and blood clots in their eyes.

"He's very sorry," said Mark K. Tyndall, who represented Bischoff. "He's an educated, nice guy and he's very sorry about the whole thing."

Bischoff was sent to Henrico County Jail to await his Dec. 11 sentencing.

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:05:03 GMT

Do you know who's living in your attic? One Kansas man discovered his attic was home for an intruder.

Newton police said that a man would come and go from the homeowner's residence. He did that for about six weeks before being discovered.

The uninvited guest apparently spied on the homeowner, tapped into the electricity and phone service, and even ate the homeowner's food.

"He noticed the cereal was running low and he couldn't understand. But now he knows why," neighbor Max Roberts said.

"There's probably a good chance that 75 percent of the community is checking their attics right now," Detective Todd Hanchett said.

Police said that the homeowner woke up Saturday night and discovered the intruder. He chased the man from the home. Police have not caught up with the intruder yet.

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 00:01:35 GMT

The CIA once built a mechanical dragonfly to carry a listening device but found small gusts of wind knocked it off course so it was never used in a spy operation.

THE AGENCY ALSO tested a 24-inch-long rubber robot catfish named "Charlie" capable of swimming inconspicuously among other fish and whose mission remains secret.

Charlie and the dragonfly were among spy gadgets displayed at CIA headquarters in an exhibit to mark the 40th anniversary of the Directorate of Science and Technology. It is not open to the public.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:56:46 GMT

Technological breakthroughs get big press because they can give us new tools and toys. We feel technology's impact directly: wheels and gears, zippers and microchips--the list is endless. But where would technology be without scientific discovery?

Nowhere, I say. Technology marches on a highway laid down by those absent-minded geeks who merely figure out what's true. So what are the ten greatest scientific discoveries of all time?

It's a good list. Anyone think he missed one or two?

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:51:47 GMT

Fibrominn is developing the United States' first poultry litter fired power plant in Benson, Minnesota. The company and the city are working together on this project, which will bring important benefits to the region.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:48:34 GMT

A teenager accused in the death of another teen who died of injuries from being struck in the head with a skateboard will remain in the custody of juvenile detention until further notice.

That ruling, followed a hearing Monday in St. Louis County Family Court where the Judge ruled the charges against the unidentified 14-year-old boy were justified.

Family Court officials say the 14 year old acted recklessly, causing the death of Michael Aubuchon, 15, of Maryland Heights last month. The incident occurred at the annual church carnival held on the grounds of St. Blaise Catholic Church.

Investigators say the 14-year-old Bridgeton teen left the scene of the incident after striking the victim in the head with the skateboard, but was met by police investigators at his home a short time later.

Juvenile officials say the ruling by the Family Court Monday means the 14 year old will be placed into a group home equipped with treatment facilities, since he will be living there around the clock for a minimum of one year...

No doubt the writer of that "men used to be tough" article noted earlier will be displeased the boys "toughness" was dicouraged.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:42:15 GMT

Some men are mentally primed for unsafe sex. The threat of catching a disease doesn't cool their desire, as it does for most people, and blue moods or stress can send them cruising for casual partners, suggests a Kinsey Institute study.

There's very little known about how personality and sexual arousal habits affect the likelihood of adults pursuing risky sex, says John Bancroft, Kinsey Institute director. His study of 1,500 gay and heterosexual men identifies a minority, about 10% to 20%, who are most likely to engage in sex that could threaten their lives.

The report on 589 gay men will be published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior. The findings on straight men will be published in 2004, Bancroft says. Results for both groups are similar.

"For most of us, the way our bodies are set up probably makes it easier to do the right thing," Bancroft says. When depressed or stress-ed, 40% to 45% have less appetite for sex, and about the same percentage feel no change, past studies show.

But a minority feel more aroused when they're upset. These men did more "cruising" for casual sex partners, many of whom they didn't know well.

Sex that could lead to a disease or unwanted pregnancy causes many men to lose erections. The men who didn't have problems under these risky conditions also were more likely to practice unsafe sex, such as anal intercourse or without condoms. "They get excited despite the threat," he says.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:39:12 GMT

The resignation of a School District administrator last summer was prompted by an incident at an eighth-grade graduation ceremony, where he told a School Board member she was showing too much cleavage and then put his hand down her shirt, according to documents released Monday.

Details of the incident, which led to the suspension with pay of former Friess Lake Administrator Kenneth Laudolff, were contained in a package of documents related to Laudolff that were released Monday to the Journal Sentinel in response to a request under the state's open records law. Laudolff had challenged the release in court, and the documents were released at the order of Washington County Circuit Judge Andrew Gonring earlier this month.

Laudolff, 50, resigned July 24, four months after the School Board voted to give him a new two-year contract. He had been with Friess Lake since 1999.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:34:44 GMT

A Japanese woman in her 20s is seeking asylum in North Korea after swimming across a river from China, government sources said Tuesday.

Her action is not politically motivated, according to the sources. North Korean government officials are questioning the woman, but have not decided whether to grant her asylum. The Japanese Foreign Ministry is set to urge North Korea to respect her will and ensure her safety.

Pyongyang notified Tokyo via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing several days ago that the woman entered North Korea in late August after crossing the river that separates the country and China.

The woman, whose name was not immediately disclosed, had visited the Japanese Consulate in Shengyang in April and asked that she be allowed to defect to North Korea, but was persuaded by consulate staffers to abandon her plans.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:32:27 GMT

NASA has taken on the look of a lost-in-space agency. Its shuttle fleet is stuck on the ground. A multi-billion dollar international space station project seems to some observers more a pork barrel claptrap than a hoped-for "world class" research laboratory.

Then there's the fallout from the Columbia tragedy earlier this year. It has served as a horrific metaphor for bureaucratic, managerial and technological blundering, not only within NASA, but at the aerospace contractor level too. To dig out the space agency that flew humanity to the Moon, one now has to look at Apollo as more a part of the fossil record…of space vision past.

This Wednesday, a Senate hearing will attempt to sort out what's wrong with NASA, but also what amount of right stuff remains at the space agency to propel humans outward into the future.

Against this backdrop, and more importantly, the White House has stepped into the fray. The Bush Administration, according to Washington, D.C. buzz, is thinking about anointing NASA with a new, beyond Earth orbit vision statement.

Some suggest that this declaration could occur as soon as December 17th -- during the 100th anniversary festivities marking the first successful sustained powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine by Wilbur and Orville Wright. Other insiders envision a Presidential decree coming as part of the State of the Union address to the nation early next year.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:29:03 GMT

A Barnstable man who thought he was settling an old score for his dad when he savagely pummeled a black man Saturday night was arraigned yesterday on felony civil rights charges, authorities said.

Michael W. Perry, 29, was held in lieu of $10,000 bail last night, while his victim, 48-year-old Richard Florence, said he looked forward to getting back home to Brooklyn where he feels safer.

``I'm black and blue on my right side, and my eyes are completely swollen dark red,'' said Florence, who drove to Cape Cod with his 15-year-old daughter, Tansi, to visit a cousin in South Yarmouth. Tansi was knocked to the pavement and badly bruised in the attack, he said.

``The trauma she went through really bothers me,'' Florence said.

Perry's father, Michael T. Perry, 44, of West Yarmouth, himself the son of a black man, also was charged late yesterday with a civil rights violation in the bizarre racially charged beating, police Sgt. Sean Sweeney said. The elder Perry, who Florence said joined in the beating at first, was scheduled to be arraigned today.

Florence was waiting with his daughter in a Wendy's parking lot for his cousin to arrive and lead them back to her house just after 10 p.m. Saturday. The Perrys were in the drive-through line with another man when the elder Perry spotted Florence, police said.

``The father tells the son, `Hey, you see the guy over there. I think that's the guy who screwed me on a drug deal 15 years ago and beat me up,' '' Sweeney said.

With that, the younger Perry allegedly jumped out of the truck and made a beeline for Florence with fists clenched.

``He goes over and just starts whaling on this guy,'' Sweeney said. ``Then the father realizes it's not the same guy.''

Florence said the elder Perry then shielded him from his son's blows, helped him up, apologized and even hugged him before the three sped off with the truck's license plate in full view. But not before his son made a racial slur, witnesses told police...