David Veksler

If you haven’t done so recently, check out the spiffy new look of the ObjectivismOnline forum.

I got an email today from “HotSexyYellaFella31”:

…i am very interested. I am a 17/m/tx and I live very close to the area you live in….I am str8 but I wanna see what messing with a guy is like. If you need your dick sucked or a quick jack off email me or give me your phone number ASAP SeenMnz1010@hotmail.com
-Of course I would be looking for the same, but i am a reasonable person so just try it out wit me.

For some freakish reason I have gotten at least a dozen of such emails from various “str8” men. Normally I just delete them, but I’m going to make an example out of this “kid.” A few points:

• If you are propositioning random men for gay sex, you may be “str8” but are definitely not straight.
• My website states quite clearly that I am interested exclusively in the female sex.
• In case you missed that, it states even more clearly that I am a 23 year old graduate student, which is probably a good sign that I won’t be picking up any “confused” 17-year olds anytime soon.
• If “HotSexyYellaFella31” is indeed 17, then he probably needs a good grounding and a psychiatrist. I suspect however that he is an adult looking for vulnerable minors, in which case he probably needs a cop.
• I don’t care if you the Olson twins and you just turned 18, I absolutely refuse to talk to anyone who thinks that ”wit” “u” and “r” are legitimate words.
• Parents, please check your kid’s email.

Here is the actual ruling handed down by a judge in the Eminem defamation case, quoted verbatim:

Mr Bailey complains that his rap is trash,/
so he’s seeking compensation in the form of cash./
Bailey thinks he’s entitled to some monetary gain,/
because Eminem used his name in vain./
The lyrics are stories no one would take as fact,/
they’re an exaggeration of a childish act./
It is therefore this court’s ultimate position,/
that Eminem is entitled to summary disposition.

Monkeys’ brains move robotic arms: researchers at Duke have conducted experiments in which monkeys learned to operate a robot arm using only their brain signals.

Winamp 5 is in beta. I have just two words to describe it: GET IT

In other news, iTunes is now available for Windows. I was not particularly impressed with it. On the plus side, $1 per song is a lot cheaper than buying CD’s, especially since you only pay for the songs you like. On the downside, the iTunes software is not very powerful and does not support WMA. With my very limited student budget, I’m still waiting for an unlimited subscription model, even one that doesn’t allow songs to be stored locally.

What I’d really like, is music that plays in surround sound to justify the 5.1 speaker system I bought…

Terrorists can have serious moral goals, says Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Furthermore,

“Violence is not to be undertaken by private persons,” he said. “If a state or administration acts without due and visible attention to agreed international process, it acts in a way analogous to a private person. It purports to be judge of its own interest.”

A nation protecting its self-interest? God forbid!
In related news, here is an interesting story on Shirin Ebadi, the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize: “Why the Mullahs Fear Her“

In response to Yahoo’s refusal to delete a listserv run by “banned separatists,” the Indian government forced Indian ISP’s to ban the entire Yahoo Groups community. The easily circumvented ban is one of many instances of censorship in India and Pakistan. I’m curious as to whether the site is still being blocked. Perhaps some readers in India could enlighten me…

Amir Taheri writes on “The Real Iraq“: “a first-hand account of an Iraq that is rapidly moving forward in nearly every aspect of life – political, economic and cultural. And a people that, while understandably skeptical after decades of tyranny, is nonetheless hopeful – and grateful for their liberation.”

China has successfully flown its first “taikonaut.” According to Glenn Reynolds, China’s space program represents a new outward focus that’s an improvement over, say, preparing for WWIII or invading Taiwan. I’m more inclined to think that it’s an attempt by the Communist leadership to show the relevance of the Party in response to the growing influence of businessmen. As Americans should know well, nothing justifies billions of dollars of government waste and useless bureaucratic jobs like a space program.

While China is rushing ahead with its space program, NASA’s fleet of 1980’s era space shuttles is still grounded with little hope for change due to an entrenched bureaucracy that cares more about their jobs than innovation. Our best hope in space is a private initiative run by amateurs – currently waiting for FAA approval to launch their flight-tested space vehicle. What’s the federal government’s response to this dilemma? To ban model rocketry of course. Clueless politicians claim the rockets fuels are a “high explosive” that private citizens cannot be trusted with. Did you ever notice how, unlike real high explosives, the rockets don’t just blow up on take off? Anyone inspired by the awesome movie October Sky should keep their dreams to themselves these days: not only is the rocket fuel illegal, but launching a model rocket requires FAA approval.