Prison Weapon Made Out of a Ruler

The image above is a ruler sharpened to a point. I found this in a collection of prison weapon pictures. One can only imagine the environment that creates the need for a person desperate for a weapon such as this.

I think this also speaks about the kind of person who is so removed from society, he thinks mostly about his own survival. This kind of person has to be physically removed from society because his thoughts were removed prior. Who knows whether it is because he does not have the ability to empathize with suffering or because he was pushed too far. I cannot read his thoughts.

However, he feels the need to have a weapon, and he will use materials that may not be ideal for a weapon. The intent is real, however. If the circumstance comes, he will harm someone. If this weapon is removed from him, he will create another. This is certain.

Fine Sewer Art

One of the first things I did when I bought a digital camera was take pictures of manholes. It was easy, did not require lots of lighting, and gave a kind of "modernist" feel. Well, it looks like ManHole.ca was thinking the same thing. They've catalogued a large collection of manhole covers from around the world.

Again, I'm going to point out what I've often said. We often do not consider certain mundane objects to be art by virtue of the fact they are mundane. If we were to step back, though, and observe the craftsmanship involved in making these objects, art will be found.

Scientists Have Resurrected 5 Million-Year-Old Virus

This is kind of like Jurassic Park, only with virii instead of dinosaurs. There are definitely some "What if?" questions circulating around my head right now. For instance, even though this virus may be 1,000 times less infectious than HIV, how infectious would this virus be if it got out of the labs? Certainly, it was infectious enough to have left traces of itself in our genome — despite being "extinct" for thousands of years.

The ancestral virus was able to copy itself and manufacture new virus particles, they found. And these particles could infect fresh cells and copy and paste its genes into these cells' genome.

The study suggests that cells acquired numerous copies of this ancestral retrovirus by the same cyclical process: the retrovirus manufactured new particles that escaped one cell and infected eggs and sperm again and again. This may have still been happening just a few hundred thousand years ago.

news @ nature.com - Ancient human virus resurrected - Virus from distant past may throw light on role of retroviruses in cancer.

Yet there is an obvious benefit towards resurrecting this virus. It may shed light on cancer and how to treat it. If we can understand how the DNA this virus contributed to our genome contributes to cancer, some forms of cancer may soon become treatable. Seeing how one out of every seven people die from cancer, this could be a boon to medical science.

Still, what a bet to make. Create the possibility an obsolete virus could be released out of the lab. Or refuse to research a cancer-causing factor due to the chance the virus could expose itself to the public. For now, I think I'll take the first option.

Men Demand Their Equal Rights

For years, the sense of entitlement amongst Radical Feminists has grated on me. It's not because I'm against equal opportunities or freedom. Quite the opposite. I realize women, in general, have had a bum deal. Rather, it's the sense that because they are women that that automatically makes them victims. It's this that bothers me.

I have been unwilling to speak out against this general sense of "victimhood" because, you know, we are all victims in one sense or another. The difference between me and a Women's Studies major, apart from hormones and genitalia, is my willingness to cut my losses and move on. And really, if there are real issues of sexism that must be addressed, and I'm being ignorant about it, I'm willing to admit my sense of frustration is missplaced. However, I can't help but feel that same grating feeling upon encountering Masculinism as I do Feminism.

Most of it has to do with the Masculinist's absolute insistence that they and all men are being oppressed. That they are entitled to certain "rights" or "privileges" by virtue of them being men. That the system is stacked against them and society has to change in order for their lives to be better. That pisses me off. Take a look at some "Demands of Men" Masculinists are insisting upon.

37. End the criminalization of normal men's sexual behavior. Repeal all laws making men's sexuality, exposure, penetration, etc., into a criminal act unless there is demonstrable physical harm to a victim. Release and pardon all men who have been arrested for "statutory rape," "date rape," "spousal rape," "pornography," "soliciting a prostitute," and other weasel worded versions thereof. A woman's hurt feelings do not turn a man into a criminal.

38. Repeal laws prohibiting men from obtaining commercial sexual services from women who choose of their own free will to work in the sex industry. Such prohibitive laws serve to sexually control men by limiting men's access to sex and preventing open competition with wives' monopoly. Promulgate OSHA guidelines for the health and safety of sex workers.

Demands of Men

First of all, whatever is men's "normal" sexual behaviour is up for debate. I am speaking as a very libidinous man myself. With that said, there is normal sexual behaviour and there is acceptable sexual behaviour. While you may feel comfortable running around naked in the comfort of your own home, that does not give you the right to do that in public. Secondarily, respect has to be the basis of all sexual relations. If a woman wants to be treated a certain way during sex, it is best you either respect her wishes or not have sex with her at all. It's that simple. Don't feel she's your only option. There is always your hand.

Onto the second point. I'm not going to argue about whether prostitution should be legal or not, but I will argue this: if a woman does not have a sexual monopoly over her husband, the two of them should not be married. One of the roles of a marriage is to create a binding legal institution out of a sexual agreement. If there's no exclusivity, all you really got is a financial partnership, and that can be satisfied in other ways. So no, do not go complaining to me about a wife's sexual monopoly over her husband.

Seriously, all these "rights" groups need to take a chill pill. Stop becoming so concerned about your lack of privileges. By virtue of living in this world, we all have to take into account that some opportunities are available to us, and others are not. Much of this is circumstance, much of this is our own doing. In any case, life is not meant to be about mourning over what you don't have. Life is meant to be "seized".

Seized as in "Carpe diem".

A Tribe Called Quest - Oh My God

A Tribe Called Quest is my favourite rap group of all time. Everything about them is good. I love how they took the smoothness of jazz and welded it to even smoother rhymes. There is a great claim against rap's detractor's that it lacks eloquence. Indeed, it can if given into the hands of one who does not appreciate the beauty of language. A Tribe Called Quest, though, took lyricism to new heights without compromising jazzy texturism.

This song is a case in point. Try and not nod your head to those agile beats. If you are successful in your resistance, simply give the words a listen. You'll like what you'll hear.