are you really Adrian Christopher Hastings?
hmm... if only you were old enough to have been born in 1929... in Kuala Lumpur...

The only other Alison like me has a middle name of Joy... and she's a couple years younger than me and lives in Dawson Creek, or Innuvik, I've forgotten. And we're likely related.

And, I didn't think Material Safety Data Sheets in and of themselves were all that geeky to be honest, just the context in which I was so interested in them... so it's much less so the topic but the context of the thing with that one. I mean, really, every work place that uses chemicals has MSDS sheets hanging around, it's only when someone (like me) gets really excited at the idea of seeing one up close that it becomes excessively geeky.

I'm dead??

And I meant trainwreck, sans la unnecessary K. Thanks Par. - And, by the way, I don't make my sandwiches like Tycho - just my taco-stuffed lobsters. (And with my +4 Constitution modifier ... deliciousness ensues, always.)

Sorry, I meant MSDS...

Par what the hell is HSDS?

I feel obliged to make fun of a level of geekdom above (below? let's go with beyond)... beyond mine. (For the record, geekdom goes in a pyramid. Whereas HSDS, MMFT and Hi-MD obsessiveness geekdom is lateral to my own, there are certain depths which are rarer, and transcend those levels. It is these transcendencies I feel free to make fun of here.) From now on this is how I picture anyone who plays D&D (and you know who you are!) making lunch. I don't care if I actually see you carefully prepare the sandwich in a perfectly normal way, without hesitating for some chance outcome to make a decision for you, this is how it will be played out in my mind when I recall the experience (preferably when I am boisterously laughing, and you have just walked into the room, wondering what I was talking about.)

Oh, and Beck, I'd just like to point out that James Randi's website isn't this. I wish there were a way to tell you that on your website, but you don't have comments. Also, I don't know if you want advertising, but EVERYONE READ THIS!!

Actually, that was a brilliant move by The Yes Men. Not only does it bring the issue to light, but it forces Dow to release a press release to the effect of "No, no. We're still assholes."

Also, Tony sent me this, and I think it's worthwhile. Before Stewart, there was Zappa in <insert dramatic music here> THE CROSSFIRE! And Novak was still a dou... er... a principled individual. (But I love Lofton's hair (the guy berating Frank Zappa).)

Thanks Alison for reminding me that I should be studying for Engg 404: Industrial safety loss management. Bhopal was one of the case studies I should be looking at right now. Well back to studying.

well, don't I feel special. no one else is up yet so I'm making my third post this morning... uninterrupted...

anyway, so it's the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal Disaster where the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal India released tons of toxic gases which proceded to instantly kill people, and leave lasting, deadly effects across the entire community. To this day, the site remains contaminated. Dow chemical - which bought the Union Carbide plant has refused to claim responsibility whatsoever... until someone told the BBC otherwise.

And for a little while everyone believed that DOW was this wonderful company, cleaning up what messes were made... But DOW finally came forward and declared that they do actually not claim any responsibility... talk about image-damaging announcements. to go from "yeah, we care about these people and have set up a fund to clean up the site and compensate the dead and dying" to "we never claimed responsibility for this accident, and we have no intentions of righting any of the wrongs" It's no wonder their stock took a nosedive. I'm just sorry it didn't stay down.

Actually, I wish DOW had decided to agree with the impostor and start a program. Wouldn't it have been awesome if that's how things worked? I mean, one measely terrorist and entire nations can start fighting eachother, but one person making a switch to the positive, and those nasty self-important companies just come right out and tell us they still don't care enough to improve things for us all.

Paras, when you were looking at the Real Women website, you skipped over something kind-of interesting:
Our Objectives are as follows:
5. To support the right to life of all innocent individuals from conception to natural death.

I'd hate to see what they do to non-innocent individuals.


Admittedly the whole "back to Judeo-Christian values" part is really the hugely bad part, but holy cow. That at least I sort of expected, this I'm not sure how to take... is it a commentary on abortion, or a commentary on the death penalty, or euthanasia, or something else? perhaps how holy and righteous those Judeo-Christian women are (because they're REAL) and therefore the rest are somehow dirty in comparison... not to mention men at all... REAL Women make me worry. Did you know they call themselves feminist, and have actually co-opted a lot of the feminist movement during their time of existence? creepy stuff.