Are cell phones killing all the bees?

I’m predicting no. But there are some folks who say bees are being killed off by excessive cell phone radiation.

It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world’s harvests fail.

They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world – the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon – which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe – was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.

Color me skeptical. Cell phones have been around for decades now. Bees have just started dying out. Unless there were a massive spike in the number of cell phones in use in the past year, I’d label this claim improbable. Luckily for me, there are others who doubt this theory as well. This way, I won’t be the only one looking foolish if cell phone radiation does turn out to be the culprit. But I’m not too worried that will happen:

Many beekeepers are skeptical of the reports or at least how they’re adding up. For 100 years, beekeepers have logged periodic reports of sudden and inexplicable bee die-offs.

People refer the latest die-off by its initials “CCD,” but one Georgia beekeeper instead calls it the “SSDD” crisis for “Same Stuff, Different Day.”

“People have lost bees from the beginning of time,” Sowers said. . . ..

Most empty hives have been discovered at large, commercial migrating bee farms – and that has led some beekeepers to theorize that it’s the stress of being trucked cross-country that’s killing the bees.

“The (bee’s) instinct is to go out and collect pollen and nectar, and that’s what they do. When they can’t get out of the hive, it puts them under stress. They need to go to the bathroom on a regular basis, but they won’t go in their hive,” said Ken Ograin, an Elmira beekeeper. . . ..

Finally, beehives simply die. Scattered reports of large-scale mortality date from 1915, 1960 and 1987. Scientists don’t always know why.

“This may be a repeat of that situation where we simply don’t figure it out,” said Morris Ostrofsky, president of the Lane County Beekeepers Association.

In fact, some farmers say they are puzzled about the dire news stories appearing in local, state and national media in the past several weeks.

“It’s not new this year,” Williams said. “If you know what I mean.”

So yes, that skepticism thing I’ve got going on looks pretty reasonable right now. Of course, if I’m wrong and we all die because of this in a few years, I’ll apologize on the other side.

[tags]Are cell phones killing all the bees (hint: probably not), Theory on massive bee die-off: cell phones did it![/tags]

Super Mario Bros. – version from hell

If you are a long-time gamer, you reallllllly need to watch this.  I’ve not finished it, but I can’t quit laughing at every failure this guy has in this modified Super Mario Bros. ROM.  I wouldn’t have to patience to play it, but it’s great to watch.  Definitely not safe for work (NSFW).  Video runs over 20 minutes.

[tags]What Mario would be like in hell[/tags]

Tennessee House responds to V. Tech shootings

From the local newspaper:

NASHVILLE – In a surprise move, a House panel voted Wednesday to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments — including parks and playgrounds.

“I think the recent Virginia disaster … has woken up a lot of people to the need for having funs available to paw-abiding citizens,” said Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains. “I hope that is what this vote reflects.”

So good news for those who appreciate the legal right to self-defense.

[tags]Tennessee repeals state/county/city government property firearms restrictions[/tags]

Shocking news headline of the day

Sometimes, you just need to stick to the disposable stuff.

Japan’s leading toilet maker Toto Ltd. is offering free repairs for 180,000 bidet toilets after wiring problems caused several to catch fire, the company said Monday.

The electric bidet accessory of Toto’s Z series caught fire in three separate incidents between March 2006 and March 2007, according to company spokeswoman Emi Tanaka. The bidet sent up smoke in 26 other incidents, the company said.

So be careful how you clean our backside.  On the other hand, fire is an extremely effective manner of cleaning and disinfecting.  I suppose it all depends on how much you value quality sterilization.

[tags]Bidets catching fire in Japan?[/tags]

Rare show of clarity in Congress – No rush to new gun control

I’m not used to seeing this kind of reaction from the liberals, but Senator Harry Reid has suggested caution in any push for stricter gun control laws in wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

After the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid cautioned Tuesday against a “rush to judgment” on stricter gun control.

A leading House supporter of restrictions on firearms conceded passage of legislation would be difficult.

“I think we ought to be thinking about the families and the victims and not speculate about future legislative battles that might lie ahead,” said Reid, a view expressed by other Democratic leaders the day after the shootings that left 33 dead on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Yes, it will be difficult to get additional restrictions on firearms. There’s still that whole 2nd Amendment guarantee that needs to be protected. Sure, a few of the Senators have already started the gun control battlecries:

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, a few Democrats renewed the call for gun control legislation, and more are expected to join them.

“I believe this will reignite the dormant effort to pass commonsense gun regulations in this nation,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who was a leader in the failed drive to renew a ban on certain types of assault weapons that expired in 2004.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., was one of very few lawmakers to refer on gun control in the early hours after the shootings. “There will be time to debate the steps needed to overt such tragedies,” he said on Monday, “but today, our thoughts and prayers go to their families.”

Hopefully enough of them realize the problems that this won’t gain traction though. Personally, I look at this from the other side – had just one student in that classroom been carrying a firearm, the number killed by this nut could well have been far fewer. Restricting guns might reduce law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms, but it won’t slow down the criminals too much. Considering that the shooter acquired the weapon over a month before the shooting, it seems likely that he planned this and therefore would have pursued other means of arming himself were he unable to buy legally from a gunshop. I don’t believe restrictions on firearms would have stopped this, and I don’t think it will improve student safety in the future.

[tags]Senate Majority Leader cautions against pursuing stricter gun controls in wake of Virginia Tech shootings[/tags]

Adobe to deliver new media player

Hoping to cash in on some of the still unclaimed money floating around in the media-everywhere int4r-web thingie, Adobe has announced the imminent release of Adobe Media Player to the, ummmm, complete lack of notice to users everywhere. So what’s so great about Abode Media Player, and why should we be excited? Well, let’s see what the experts have to say:

Bruce Chizen, CEO at Adobe Systems Inc., commented that: “Adobe Flash has revolutionized the distribution of video content across the Internet and Adobe Media Player builds on this leadership position,” with regard to the company’s aspirations for the introduction of its newly integrated media player.

. . .

“Adobe has created the first way for media companies to release video content, secure in the knowledge that advertising goes with it,” said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey in a Reuters report. “Control is something that media companies absolutely get high on,” he continued on the subject of media company reticence concerning the release of their content to the Web.

That’s right. Thanks to Adobe, you’ll now be able to get your media, secure in the knowledge that you’ll not miss out on your advertising when you receive your content. And if this product holds to the standard Adobe product features set, you can count on it being large, slow, intrusive, and possibly annoying.

I will give credit for one thing though – as much as I despise advertising, I do think having advertising tied in with the content distribution will get more premium content online for the enjoyment of consumers online. Not much more, but I believe it will help increase premium media distribution. It’s just dumb to proclaim how great it will be because it can force advertising in with content when sharing with end-users. Sell to them based on features they want – non-intrusive, lightweight, speed, ease of installation and use, and so on. Of course, Adobe might not be doing that in this case given the difficulty the company faces in producing applications that meet any of those requirements other than maybe ease of use.

[tags]Adobe announces new media player, Rest easy knowing you’ll not miss your advertisements in future distributed content[/tags]

Sony keeps showing hatred for customers

I’ll admit that I sometimes wonder how one company can hate potential customers so much that they would make their products non-functional and then tell customers to buy new hardware or wait for an update that is probably never coming. If you choose to invest your money in products from a company like this, might I suggest you have your head examined?

At this point, I honestly believe the smart thing to do is to download illegal copies of the movies or music that you want and then just send Sony a check for the amount of the product you would have purchased had it not been created in a manner as to make use difficult or impossible for customers who acquired it legally. That way Sony will still have your money and you’ll have a product that works.

YES ! It appears that Sony have done it again. In their zeal to make their DVD movies copyproof (yeah right) they have in fact made their latest releases unplayable on some DVD players, including my Sony DVP-CX995V DVD player. I recently rented “Stranger than Fiction” (2 copies) and “The Holiday” ( please no comments on my choice of movies) both by Sony Pictures. Both load up to the splash title screen and then load no further, then after about 60 secs the player turns itself off!

ALL my other DVD’s and new releases from other movie companies play perfectly

I called Sony Electronics help line and they said to call Sony Pictures 1-800-860-2878 which I did.

The following is a compression of our discussion:

Sony Tech: We know about this problem. Its our new copy protection that’s making these discs unplayable in some players including our own, we do not intend to change the copy protection. The only correction to this problem is a firmware update to your player. The electronics division know about this and should have given you this information.

If you hit Google and search for whatever movie or music CD you want followed by the word Torrent you should have no trouble finding what you are after. If that doesn’t pan out, try The Pirate Bay and enter the movie or CD name in the search box there. After downloading, use Google again and search for instructions on burning your movie or music to a disc if you don’t already know how to do that. At this point, you’ll have a functioning copy of the product without the restrictions that make it fail like the legal product does. Now you can send your check to Sony along with a nice letter thanking them for the wonderful movie/music you’ve downloaded. Plus, you’ll have a backup ready in case your original gets destroyed.

If all that doesn’t convince you, at least look at what Amazon customers are saying about problems and lack of help from Sony. (via slashdot)

[tags]Sony hates customers more than before, Sony shows the hatred of consumers, Sony encourages downloading of pirated material[/tags]