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I was a Boy Scout till I realized that I didn’t have enough desire to do more then hang out with my friends, which I could do without lugging a 25lbs backpack up a mountain.

So, when I hear that hoopla about Boy Scouts not admitting homosexuals or atheists, I’m a bit torn. Personally, I don’t care what a person believes or is, but I believe that a private organization that wants to promote certain beliefs has the right to require their members to believe those beliefs. I hope the kid takes a stance in his beliefs and doesn’t give in to the pressure.

It seems inevitable that the EU will eventually become a USA type of organization. Given that they are now moving toward a unified currency (Euro) and almost all speak a unified language (English), the final step would be to define a Constitution, which it looks like Valéry Giscard d’Estaing has done. The thing that I find fascinating is that it was a former French president that purposed this. The French have been adamant in keeping their identity separate, going so far as to refuse non-French words for new concepts. I would like to read the new Constitution and see how it compares to the Constitution of the United States.

I love my Tivo, even though it recently died and I had to put a new hard drive in it (kids, don’t try this at home). It’s been a great tool for my TV watching pleasure, built the one thing I thought it should always be bundled with is a DVD player. This way, Joe Blow can get two toys for the space of one since a DVD player (at least for me) is used in frequently and just consumes space under my TV. Looks like Panasonic has released such a beast. Of course, it is a grand ($1000), so it’ll scare away most users, but eventually these things will become cheaper.

I have always found it a bit surprising what people will use to increase their libido. Antlers, penises, and other less appealing materials have been used, mostly to the extreme determent of the animal. Now it looks like science is actually providing relief to these animals in the form of Viagra. Looks like more and more people are wanting real effects vs. other forms. Um, this is a good thing, I think .

Moon Trees are just neat. The offer nothing except an emotional experience, which is great.

I like the concept of OpenOffice.org. For most people (and companies), $400+ is too expensive to spend on an office suite. The main issue that I have with OO is that it has crashed on me a couple of times. Other then that, for free, it’s a great suite.

This entire story is just one that draws me in. I don’t want to read about it, but at the same time I find myself clamoring for any bit of information. Who ever is doing this is either very skilled or very lucky. The amount of effort involved in tracking them is astounding. In the end I hope it turns out to be some body with a mental problem and not an Muslim cuz that would just throw more chaos onto out already tense environment.

I can’t see a real reason not to offer soymilk to kids as part of a balanced meal. A lot of kids are lactose intolerant and milk (or cheese or butter…)is not an option for a meal. I’m glad to see that organizations are trying to change the requirement. I think that it’s funny that they asked the National Dairy Council their opinion. What are they going to say? “Yes, please, don’t serve our products”.

So…Many…Ethical…Questions…Too…Few…Answers.

I have to wonder at what point people will start to worry about technology that keeps parts of the brain alive without a body. The ethical questions are abound, but I have to wonder if consciousness is alive in these slices on some level and if these brains were allowed to communicate, what would they say.

Personally, I am excited and horrified by tis technology. On one hand, it opens up incredible areas of science that would otherwise be unavailable. On the other hand, this technology allows for suffering of “non-human” being (i.e. detached brains). Would these brains have rights?

I’m a believer in technology. The world is a complex place, with things happening outside of our ability to comprehend or be aware of them them. So, when I see stories about sensors being everywhere, I’m excited, mostly because it will provide information to us that we might otherwise never knew existed and we will be able to react better to the world around us.