Tag Archives: government

FCC Overloaded, Rough Road to College, Red Velvet Mites of Love, Genderless, and Slenderman Delusions

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This entry is part 39 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

One of the strangest bits of news that came through today (amid a crazy work schedule and some really annoying Facebook problems), was the story of two 12-year-old girls who stabbed another 12-year-old “friend” of theirs in an attempted murder.

They did it, the article said, to gain the favor of the Slender Man and earn the comfort of getting to hang out with him in his mystical mansion in the woods.

In a word, that’s crazy.

For those who don’t know, Slender Man is a meme that kind of got out of control. Started in a “make something creepy” flavored thread on an online message board. He’s kind of taken on a life of it’s own, growing far beyond the confines of that one thread and making appearances in videos, art, and even computer games.

Apparently now he’s a focus for human sacrifice, too.

And that’s just sad.

Delusional is as delusional does, but at least most delusions in the past have been based on things that aren’t as easily dismiss-able (or searchable) as being, well, genuine fakes. Angels, demons, aliens, even most other urban legends, all have their origins buried in generations of ambiguity. Slenderman’s creation is documented on a Wikipedia page that’s one of the first things that comes up when you search for him.

If these kids can’t make the distinction between something that obviously made up and reality, it’s no wonder they have no problem with the idea of killing someone they called a friend.

There’s no connection to reality, let alone real-world cause and effect or empathy, to be found here.

At least not yet.

Maybe something more… human… will emerge if the case proceeds and the media covers it with any sensibility.

The one vaguely positive thing here is that it’s not the media fishing for a cause… this whole Slender Man motivation is apparently what the girls explained when they were caught.

Lots of Questionable Government Decisions, VR for Chickens, Public Fiber, Vocal Range Ranked, Netflix Glitched, and Why I’m Amazed We Still Any Money in the Bank (Computer Security)

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This entry is part 32 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

There’s a lot of stuff in this world that amazes me. Some of it in good ways, some of it in very bad ways.

On the list of “bad ways” is how utterly broken our ideas (and implementations) of security are. There’s a good (and terrifying) article about that, focused on computer security, in the feed. Of course, the related “good way” is that I’m constantly amazed any of us have any money in our bank accounts, despite the ease with which it can be whisked away.

Also on the “bad” list is how quickly people escalate things to ridiculous levels. Skipping over pretty much everything regarding the Department of Homeland Security (in the feed: the billion plus dollar over-run on building their headquarters… which still hasn’t even really started being built), there’s the feed article about the guy who called the cops when he came across two kids who were out for a walk. There seems to be no reason he couldn’t have called their parents, at least not from the article. But the mess it’s made is epic in the worst ways.

On the good side, sometimes people are just so full of joy. That really shines through in the video where two complete strangers join in the music with another dude who’s just playing guitar and signing on the sidewalk. It really made my day.

There’s always going to be amazing stuff out there on both sides of the divide. I always hope to run into more of the positive than the negative. Sometimes, that happens. Other times… well… reality conspires against me, it seems.

Body Image, Movies on the Horizon, Brain Science, Gut Science, Net Neutrality, Photo Etiquette, and Paranoia

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This entry is part 29 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but even I agree that things are getting a little out of hand.

Once upon a time, you had to either already be looking for them or meet someone who was a little “off” in order to really get a line on a conspiracy theory. Then they really started getting used on TV shows (like The X-Files) a lot more. Then along came the Internet and, suddenly, even the most outlandish, poorly conceptualized conspiracy theory had a place where it could find a vehement audience.

It’s only grown from there.

Right now, we have thousands of people who genuinely buy into the most unsubstantiated claims of conspiracy (usually against their personal interests) by either the government, corporations, or some mysterious foreign power. And these people are loud and proud about it. They slow down, if not completely derail a number of legitimate discussions when they get involved by refusing to adhere to even the most basic rules of logic. The only good news is, it’s easy to spot them so you can dismiss them.

One step down from them are the really dangerous group, though. The wingnuts who have just enough actual information in their theories to sway the opinion of people who are on the fence. In small doses, they don’t sound crazy… but after prolonged exposure to them and their arguments, the holes in their logic (usually at the basic premise level) become evident. By that point, though, there’s a high chance a number of people have already bought into and acted on the ideas. This is how we see measles make a comeback after being virtually wiped out in the U.S.–through people buying into the idea that vaccines are somehow worse than the diseases they prevent.

Down in the stream report, there’s an article that goes into a whole lot more detail. I highly recommend it. I’m left wondering how much further it will all go. We’re already seeing public discourse that’s more polarized than we’ve seen in generations… and it already swings with a heavy set of conspiracy theories. How much more can the argument for sensible discussion take before it’s rendered completely non-viable?

Being Watched, SHIELD Finale, Amazing Animals, History Underwater, Far Fetched Contingency Plans, and Anticipa…

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So, the U.S. military apparently has a plan for dealing with a zombie apocalypse.

On first blush, that’s both disturbing and reassuring.

But if, like me, you know a bit of the history of contingency planning, you know it’s really not that unusual.

There have been numerous times in the history of the U.S. where the government has called upon the best and brightest of the creative types (and sometimes not the best or brightest, but still Hollywood types) to help them come up with things that everyone hopes will never happen. Disaster creation is an interesting thing to be able to put on your resume…. especially if it’s just fictional disasters.

You can pretty much bet if you’ve seen the plot on the big or small screen, someone in some government agency has a dusty stack of protocol documents for how to deal with it. Alien contact? Brookings Institute did that decades ago for the Feds. Alien attack? Someone’s got it. Nuclear holocaust? Done to death during the Cold War. And now zombies.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Crawfish Boil, Taste the World, Star Wars Day, Church and State, and a whole lot of other stuff

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This entry is part 21 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

This past weekend was a busy one. Some friends of mine had their second annual crawfish boil. A day full of more food than you can sensibly eat. (Not that that stopped any of us from trying.) Also the requisite and assured good company of good friends. Really can’t beat that.

Followed that up on Sunday with another food-oriented event, the fourth annual Taste the World in Fenton Village, one of the projects I’ve been helping out with for the last few years. It’s a fantastic community event that, four years in, really seems to be coming into its own. This year the weather cooperated pretty well (could’ve done with a little less wind… but that was far better than the rain drenching everyone at the end of the day last year) and we had a little extra boost from Yelp! along with all the normal local support.

Sunday was also May the 4th… Star Wars Day! Not that I did anything special for it, since I was out all day with Taste the World, but it did lead to some very entertaining online things to come home to.

All in all, pretty solid weekend… and one that I could really use another weekend to recover from.