What the Hetts?! #N: Wow

A high school senior kicked major butt on, like, every standardized test ever.

Amazing.

"What the hetts?!"

"What the Hetts?!"

Hello, depression.

What the hetts?!

What the Hetts?! #18: This Person Does not Know Me

Facebook applications have gotten way out of hand. I can deal with all the invitations to become a zombie and bite people, or the invitations to join the Jedi in their fight against the Sith or the ninjas in their battle with the pirates. I definitely do use a few of these applications (not so much the "battling" ones, unless Office trivia qualifies.) But...

Someone just sent me an invitation to some wingman application that showed up on my "home-page" thing as a "freecondoms" invitation.

Granted that the person in question doesn't know me ultra-well (we were in separate graduating classes in high school) I'm still sort of at a loss. Almost everything else I've been invited to I might conceivably join. But this just proves that someone being on your friend list really has no relation to whether they know you at all.

I'm going to file this under "What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #17: God by any Other Name...

Well, an article here has a Roman Catholic bishop suggesting that Christians use the name Allah to refer to God.

"What the Hetts?!"

I'd be more comfortable of this if I were convinced that Christians and Muslims worshiped the same God...and I'm not convinced of such a thing. For purposes of philosophy of religion we could certainly talk about the Judeo-Christian-Islamic concept of God (all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving/benevolent), but when the rubber hits the road I think there are some decent differences. And I don't mean differences like Calvinists/Arminians arguing over a few verses in Paul. I mean differences between systems that are more fundamentally about grace and systems more fundamentally about works.

Also, since this is a news site--and I no longer rely on those to keep articles up for years and years--I'm providing a link to the Google-cached version of the article at this location.

What the Hetts?! #16b: BONUS: Reincarnation and the Chinese Government

Ran across this post by the Dispatches from the Culture Wars guy, Ed Brayton, about a newspaper article which informs us that, apparently, Buddhist monks are not allowed to reincarnate without the permission of the Chinese government. Okay, so it's really just living Buddhas, which if I remember my World Religions (and I probably don't) is a smaller set. But they may have meant monks. Brayton used it as an opportunity to compare reincarnation to transubstantiation and "turning someone into a newt." Honestly I can't quite say I appreciate that, but I'm still glad he posted the article. It's proof that there's actual religious oppression in the world not being perpetrated by religious people. And no, I'm not going to deny past realities of Christendom or even current realities (if there are any of any substance), or the reality of many Middle-Eastern governments. But it's good that this stuff makes the news so it'll be known. A government trying to regulate not just a religious practice, but something which is, really, supernatural and which may not even actually exist--that's crazy. Then again it does make some sense. Buddhism is, in some ways, a threat to China. And I'm going to stop now because at this point I'm just ranting.

Original article is here. Disfrutalo.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #16: Pencil, Brain

Ho-ly snap. Also, a What the Hetts?! on Tuesday. Guess I'm on a new schedule now.

Woman with pencil in brain. For YEARS. Caused some nosebleeds and headaches.

Hat tip to Pure Pedantry.

Pure Pedantry, for me, is general recommended reading. Not always appropriate but when the articles are on issues of science they tend to be pretty educational.

What the Hetts?! #15: This is...Sparta?; also, CostCo

I'd recommend you take a second before reading to remember that I'm about to link you to an article that's purporting the facts. Not opinion or conjecture or conspiracy theory--no, facts. As in if this isn't true, someone owes the world a big explanation. And if it is true--which it seems to be--well, I guess the Pentagon's already done its explaining. I can't guarantee any of these links will be child-safe reading, but they could be at least entertaining. A couple of the comments on Dispatches are funny, at least. I saw this linked first in this DigitalMZX thread, and secondly linked on Dispatches from the Culture Wars. I'm not kidding you on this. The third link is the link to the article--it's found here. So there you have it...our government apparently conspired to change the sexual orientation of enemy soldiers.

"What the Hetts?!"

Also, I've been discussing Ron Paul, politics, theology, and a whole host of other things recently with Andy, a friend from UP who is actually going to be one of my RAs next year...Something fun came up in our conversation just tonight that I'll post here:

[11:04:14 PM] KKairos> i think if i ever actually get into education i'm going to do my best to try and cut down on the spending that has to come from my school
[11:04:17 PM] KKairos> whether it's public or private
[11:04:33 PM] KKairos> ...in other words i'll be getting a costco membership and doing my supplies shopping there
[11:04:35 PM] Andy> cool man, that will take you far, i think
[11:04:39 PM] Andy> haha, nice
[11:04:52 PM] KKairos> that's what they should really do, is get costco memberships for public schools
[11:05:01 PM] KKairos> if they haven't already
[11:05:20 PM] Andy> hmm, that's a good idea, i don't know if they do or not
[11:05:24 PM] KKairos> $100 worth of pencils will last them like 10 years
[11:05:32 PM] KKairos> perhaps that's a bit extreme, but you get the idea
[11:05:46 PM] Andy> until they go out of style, but yep i got your drift

What the Hetts?! #14: Specialty Cows

Okay, so this isn't quite as much of an odd news thing, but it is a bit odd and it's entertaining. And it tells us things about cows that we didn't know before.

An interesting article on Scienceblogs's "pure pedantry" describes how cows have been discovered that have the ability to produce skim milk. As in, milk without fat. Coming straight out the cow. That's pretty sweet--and apparently it's not the result of human interference but is actually naturally present in some cows already. At least, from what I can tell.

AND, one cow has been identified as being able to produce milk that will give butter that will be easier to spread straight from the fridge. Again, as I understand it, this is the cow's natural ability.

Check out the cow-related awesomeness at this link.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #13: A Double Whammy

Yes, yes...As the result of my having found two stories thus far today, there will be not just one but TWO stories for this week's "What the Hetts?!" To get the original story click on the header.

1) Internet Taxes

The story came through Slashdot. Apparently there are some over in Washington who feel that it would be a good idea to tax the internet. So our internet connections and what we shop for online could become susceptible to various taxes...Actually, it seems as though depending on where we live, we may be intended to voluntarily cough up cash for stuff we buy online--at least according to this article we are. And this would make that essentially voluntary taxation an enforced thing.

The other aspect of this debate is that some in Congress want to enable the government to tax internet access; here I think they mean mostly broadband. One member of our wonderful Congress even claims we could see taxes on e-mail. I'm a bit irked.

"What the Hetts?!"

2) UK School Ignoring the Holocaust

This one also came from Slashdot. Apparently there's a history department in the UK that's ignoring the Holocaust. It's because it's afraid of encountering anti-Israel sensibility in certain segments of its Muslim student population. Apparently there's been some "resistance" (from the article) over the teaching of the Crusades, which are covered by local mosques differently from how they're covered in the classroom. Lastly there was even a bit of resistance from Christian parents who wanted the Israeli-Palestinian conflict taught a certain way.

It's good to note that, as Snopes points out, this isn't a UK-wide ban on Holocaust teaching and it's only one history department. Still, it's sort of scary.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #12: Pee Where You Will?

A man was recently electrocuted. That's not so unusual, but here's how he did it: he peed on his Playstation 2 gaming system while it was still plugged into the wall! Apparently it also rendered him unconscious about ten seconds. I guess it's not exactly what I'd have done or the outcome I'd have seen coming, but it's still rather unusual. Why on earth you'd pee on your game system is beyond me. The original story, which I believe was linked from Kotaku, can be found at Fox News.

"What the Hetts?!"

Well, that piece is back now.

What the Hetts?! #11: ...Wow is All I Can Say

Utterly twisted? Yep. Utterly immoral? Yep. Here we have the disgustingly bad story of the year.

Obviously this "What the Hetts?!" is less in awe of human silliness, or the silliness that exists in our lives, and more in awe of the amazing stupidity or depravity (or combination thereof) that permeates this situation. The kid dies for a reunion. The big question I have reading this is what they were thinking and why they didn't just take the kid with them; disabled or not, he's theirs to care for.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #10: They Can DO That?

Apparently they've apologized for it, but they ought to be called on it. Because it wasn't a breach, wasn't an accident--oh no, they did it totally on purpose.

Pretty much anything you've ever looked for on AOL may have been among searches done by the 657,427 accounts whose search results were released by AOL. Granted, all of the data is credited to anonymous numbers, but as an article quoted on Slashdot points out, much of that "anonymity" could be easily removed due to the highly personal nature of information that gets entered into search engines, including but not limited to names, addresses, social security numbers, and who is looking for information on how to kill their wives. Your call as to which says more about humanity--the release of these searches or what they contain. AOL's taken them down now but they're still on the internet; I have no idea how legally they are so, but still.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #9: Celebrity Celibacy

In the first of a double-dosage of "What the Hetts!?" this week:

Paris Hilton is now out there claiming that, for one year, she will be going celibate. Apparently she is allowing herself to kiss but not to go any further. Among other thoughts in the article: She feels she can relate to Princess Diana what with the media attention, and apparently she's only 'had' two men in her lifetime. Read the article in the link for this and more, including the picture they chose, which I believe is probably one of the best they could've picked given their topic.

There's another one of these coming on Thursday.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #8: ESP Tests

Well, this story on Slashdot is certainly interesting, if nothing else. I actually followed the links a bit on this one and found the original story that their original story was based on. Basically, they were testing people in a "scientfic" manner for telepathy.

The gist of it is that they put people in different rooms and had them do this virtual reality thing where they had to pick a certain object in the room and try to "transmit" it to another person in another room. The other person in the other room then had to try and figure out which object was being "transmitted." Quite an interesting experiment, to say the least, but it makes me wonder why people are even testing this.

I really don't know exactly how "scientific" the method is, but on the surface I'm quite skeptical of how much so it can be by the nature of what they're testing for.

"What the hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #7: Crazy Stuff

Pre-Reading: ANY guesses or questions as to who the source is will be deleted immediately to protect the source's privacy. Should I discover the source to be in error I will correct this post via a future post.

I heard today from a reliable source that a student at LaSalle High School was caught recently with two rifles in his car--and ammunition. Apparently he was going to bring them in at lunchtime. I don't know much more on that.

Here's the kicker--he was only suspended.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #6: Doubt is no Benefit

The latest bizarre case comes from a young boy, age six, who called 911 to report that his mother was having serious health problems and had collapsed. Rather than taking him seriously, the 911 operator thought that the kid, Robert, "was playing on the phone." (Italics mine.) So of course the worst possible thing, the poor kid's mom's death, was the result. Now there's a lawsuit being brought against Detroit for wrongful death. The attorney representing Robert notes that "Robert did exactly what he was taught to do."

Even given the age of the kid, it seems awfully careless tha the operator chose not to give him the benefit of the doubt. I know I'd prefer to answer a prank once in awhile (are 6-year-olds even capable of that, criminally?) as if it were serious than to let someone die. I know I don't want operators like that working in Portland. By the way, if you want it, the full story is here.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #5: Every Tongue Shall Confess...or a Security Breach Will

Warning. Subjects discussed in links (indirectly, here) may be inappropriate for children under 10.5 or so years of age.

Wow. Talk about a great revealing of peoples' sins. This is definitely a fairly significant breach of security and privacy. Part of me wants to smile, being reminded of the idea that, one day, all sins will be revealed, and thinking of all those old sermons about how, if you don't pray to God, allow Him to convince you to reveal something to someone--even if only in accountability--then Satan will pick a time. Not that there's no flaw in that--it's possible and even plausible that some of those whose names appear on this list have since repented and are working through the issue with different forms of accountability.

Obviously, either way, this breach of security isn't acceptable. But it's still sort of interesting that of all the services that could have had this breach, it was the ignominous service.

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #4: H&R Mental Block AND Phase III Begins

Slashdot reports that H&R Block, that tax-return firm that's always talking about how much money it can save you, has actually managed to "[goof] on its own taxes," which I find to be an amazing feat for a tax-return firm. Not only did the goof on their own taxes, but the amount apparently hovers around $32 million. So if they save you money, will you end up owing it in the future?

What the Hetts?!

Also, Phase III begins now as the Bib-Trad paper is done, and is about to be turned in. Phase III consists of me trying to make it to see at least a bit of CJ's performance and a bit of the tail end of Christie Pub as well, while cramming for a Persuasion and Leadership midterm and finishing a Spanish dialogue. And when I'm done with this feat, I'm going to breathe fire and swallow four swords. Heheh, four swords. Zelda reference. After Phase III comes Phase IV: Operation Don't-Get-Killed-by-the-Dialogue-or-Midterm. Why of all the times to get an actual 1-2 minute Spansh dialogue NOT over the weekend did I have to get it on this Wednesday? This is, seriously, the first bigger dialogue I've ever gotten that I didn't have at least a weekend to do.

It's sad. This week, the usual Physics quiz doesn't have me worried one bit. Not because, as in some weeks, it shouldn't. Because everything else is so much worse.

What the Hetts?! #3: Dangerous Wi-Fi

Recently a story from Slashdot said that a Canadian university had banned wi-fi internet access due to possible health concerns. This article, a link from Slashdot, has the University official giving a further rationale. I know this is a sort of lame "what the hetts?!" moment, as it's not quite as absurd as the other two, but this is what I've got.

I guess I'd better start getting stuff checked out whenever I visit the Cove or Library, as each place offers a lot of Wi-Fi...

"What the Hetts?!"

What the Hetts?! #2: Drunk in Eastern Europe

In Vienna, Austria, a few birds began flying into buildings and, as a result, dying. Some people feared this was an effect of the avian flu. However, more research showed that this was not the case--the real situation was much funnier.

The birds were drunk.

"What the hetts?!"