Mr. Lee, the Three-Eyed Cat

Animals, Fun, Geekdad, Technology

[from my GeekDad post]

OK, so he’s not a mutant, but he’s no ordinary cat. Mr. Lee has been outfitted with his very own CatCam, designed and built by his owner, J. Perthold, from a keychain digital camera and some custom circuitry. The CatCam provides a peek into the daily adventures of Mr. Lee as he prowls the neighborhood.

The success of the original Mr. Lee CatCam has spawned more feline tech accessories, like the CatTrack GPS tracker and the forthcoming CatCam Live, a CatCam with integrated antenna for broadcasting live TV feeds. Each has detailed (but accessible) technical specifications and build notes; it’s obvious that Perthold is a real enthusiast.

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You Tube Happens, or, Adventures in Eponymous Googling

Agriculture, Film, News/Media, Oddly Enough, Organics, That which is awesome

This is what happens when the press visits: they come, say g’day, take some video and then disappear. Many moons later, you suddenly find yourself on You Tube.

Well, they spelled my name wrong, but the video is still pretty good. (Don’t worry, I’m as shocked as you are at how good I sound. They must have done some heavy editing to make me seem so coherent.)

What Makes People Vote Republican?

Academia, Education, Government, Oddly Enough, Politics, Science

or, What Democrats Don’t Understand About Morality

This is really fascinating stuff, folks.

Read this.

Then watch this:

And to quote from Jonathan Haidt’s article:

Here’s my alternative definition: morality is any system of interlocking values, practices, institutions, and psychological mechanisms that work together to suppress or regulate selfishness and make social life possible. It turns out that human societies have found several radically different approaches to suppressing selfishness, two of which are most relevant for understanding what Democrats don’t understand about morality.

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It’s the Equality, Stupid!

Community & Activism, Government, Politics, Sexuality

This opinion piece from The New York Times, entitled Preserving California’s Constituion, pretty much sums it up, so I’m posting the whole article here. Bottom line is that Prop 8 is a “mean-spirited attempt to embed second-class treatment of one group of citizens in the State Constitution.”

Oh, and about those “activist judges?” They were just doing their job.

If passed, Proposition 8 would add language to the State Constitution stating that “only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” Supporters of the amendment complain about the “activist” judges who wrote the court decision. But the majority in the 4-to-3 ruling was acting to protect a vulnerable group from unfair treatment. Enforcing the state’s guarantee of equal protection is a job assigned to judges.

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the omnivore’s hundred

Food, Fun

Karen shared an intriguing challenge from the Very Good Taste blog called The Omnivore’s Hundred. It’s one of those list-things-you’ve-done quizzes, but based on a fascinating list of possible foodstuffs. The rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

My list is after the jump. If you’re wondering about any of the items, the original article has links to more information. The comments there also have lots of other people’s lists.

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