Those of you who used to be on Whitepage may be interested to know that cc is back on Vox. She used to live in Sydney  but is in the bush now. You can catch up on her here. http://cc1804.vox.com/

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26506144-952,00.html

BIBLE classes should be compulsory so children have a fundamental understanding of Christianity on leaving school, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

"I think everyone should have some familiarity with the great texts that are at the core of our civilisation," Mr Abbott told the Herald Sun.

"That includes, most importantly, the Bible.

"I think it would be impossible to have a good general education without at least some serious familiarity with the Bible and with the teachings of Christianity.

"That doesn't mean that people have to be believers."

But former Howard government Islamic advisor Dr Ameer Ali, said Mr Abbott's remarks were "over the top".

"It's one thing to say every child needs a good knowledge of history and geography or science," Dr Ali said.

"But it is something else to say all children should have a knowledge of the Bible. That might hurt other people who have their own holy scriptures," he said.

And the Australian Education Union's federal president, Angelo Gavrielatos, said that religion was not a priority for schools.

"There is a place for comparative studies of religion in the curriculum, but ultimately we consider it a private matter for parents and their children," he said.

Read more on the Herald Sun's website.

I thought long and hard about posting tonight. This is a time of year when I like to forget the crap of this world, I Iike to dwell on the good things in life. Those simple things we take for granted. Like good health, family, and the miracle of just being alive. But at this moment I am feeling rather despondent. For all his efforts, it seems that Obama will deliver a health system with cosmetic improvements. For all the efforts of a lot of good people, it seems that the Copenhagen talks will deliver a cosmetic "solution" to the climate change challenge that confronts us all. And I'll lay it on the line. Conservatives have brought us to this.

And I have to wonder why. All that Obama wanted to do was to make health care available to every American. I don't think that is unreasonable. After all, all other industrialised countries have provided for this basic necessity for their citizens decades ago.Yet, the richest country in the world refuses to do so. Instead, we are treated to a litany of lies and obfuscation that are really an insult to the intelligence of anyone with average intelligence. I really do feel for my many Vox friends who I know feel the way that I do. I do sincerely wish it was otherwise.

And it seems that the Copenhagen talks will be just that. Talks. And who will be celebrating the failure of the talks to deliver a plan to deliver the world from its folly? Why, those same conservatives who seem to think that so long as they resist change then that is all that necessary in this world. And it seems as though they have won. Only they haven't. We all lost.

Like I said, I'd sooner forget the crap. They sure make it hard, though. Maybe another whisky will help.

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The gift you shop for, online, is the wrong gift. Amazon.com should expect a some bacillus anthracis or canine flu as a return gift at the end of this week. I'm nice that way.

So now I'm scrambling to order the correct gift + return the non-requested P.O.S. Gotta love the holidays.

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Sometimes technology empowers me. Things work smoother and faster and I can write, connect, watch, create and generally do and be more, as result of magic of technology.

 

Then there are times when technology thwarts me at every turn. Things break, slow down or just become ridiculously complicated. When that happens, technology can suck the energy out of just about every task big and small.

 

After months of everything working relatively smoothly, I seem to find myself thwarted by machines, captive to electrical conundrums, bogged down by bad connections and generally wading through the muck of technology gone wrong.  

 

The televisions have had memory cards replaced, firmware upgrades and new panels installed. The cordless phones have taken to randomly deciding to let me know who's calling or not, as it pleases them. The programmable thermostat seems to want to decide for itself when the heat should go full blast or completely off. Bulbs in my bedroom and the backyard refuse to power up and provide light. My Blackberry's trackball has developed a sluggishness and a stickiness that makes me suspect that some of that nasty green goo from Ghost Busters is oozing just behind the faceplate.

 

But the most vexing problems are with my computer and its relationship to programs and the Internet. It's slow. Really realley sl-o-o-o-o-o-o-w. Which is maddening enough, but it loses things. It forgets things. It doesn't want to connect to sites and people it should connect to. It misbehaves, acting like it doesn't care to help me do the things I need and want to do. This defiant, sluggish laptop was purchased in May of this year.

 

I've tried all the usual (but not extreme) remedies that those of us with an above average comfort level with personal technology know to do in these situations. I've tried them two and three times or more.

 

It might be time for more drastic measures. But before I go that far, one of my business partners offered up his "Technology Cleansing Ritual".

 

I think it might be worth a shot.

 

When you are in the snowy cold of Minnesota, take your laptop, remove any jewelry and do the following:

 

1.       Gather freshly cut parsley and place it in a pan of distilled water. Let it soak for nine minutes. Sprinkle the water throughout the house while visualizing a calm environment.

2.       Go outside, face Seattle and chant the following: I will uphold the Redmond creed. High in spirit, I shall succeed. Power of the Elements Five, will help my data stay alive. From grains of earth to the moving air, past the burning fire that magic flares, flow with water, lakes, and streams; around the spirit's aura and dreams.  Keep my karma high aloft and let me play with Microsoft.

3.       Avoid eating any liver or organ meat for one month.

 

You should be good to go!

J  

My Vox neighbour, Endeesea, has come up with a cracker of a post about the main impediment to much human progress. It's humans.