November 14, 2013

It's Joseph McCarthy's birthday or, as Fox News calls it,

@pourmecoffee:
"Founder's Day."

Ha!

November 14, 2013

A cat named 'Room 8'

The Elysian Heights Elementary School is in Echo Park, a district of Los Angeles, California, only some 3 miles (5 km) from the city centre. One school day in 1952 a large but rather thin, shorthaired, grey-striped tabby cat turned up and wandered into a sixth-grade (Year 6) classroom, where he jumped up, walked on desks in a friendly manner and was welcomed by the children. The teacher wasn't so sure about allowing him to be there, but when the children pointed out how skinny he was she agreed they could give him some milk. They then went out for their break (recess); when they got back, the cat was asleep on a desk, and some of the children's lunchboxes had been opened and the contents scattered around! Later he followed them into lunch; they shared some of their food with him, and he ate and ate. After another sleep he got up, crossed the playground and left through the gate. They weren't expecting to see him again.

Naming
But he was back next morning, following the children into their classroom, and as time went by a routine was established. Overcoming initial teacher concerns, the cat was adopted by the children — but he lacked a name. One of them suggested, 'Why don't we call him "Room 8"?' — that being the classroom he liked to frequent — so 'Room 8' he became. He eventually became official school mascot and was usually to be found patrolling the corridors or sleeping on a desk. He often went into lunch with the children; although they weren't supposed to feed him they did, of course, and he became quite plump. Later a pupil from sixth grade would be appointed 'cat feeder' each year, and that was regarded as the most important student position in the school. Room 8's formal feeding took place in the teachers' room, so the cat feeder was privileged to enter this sanctum! The school also had a strict rule: 'Don't bother the cat'. If he did interfere too much with classroom activities, he would be gently relocated by a 'cat remover'.

Fame spreads
No one knew where Room 8 went at night or during school holidays, but it's thought he probably slept in the nearby hills. The head teacher at the time, who was a great friend and supporter of the cat and later co-authored a book about him (see below), found out that he'd been born in 1947, making him about 5 when he first came to the school, and that he was a neighbourhood animal who had been ill treated at his home, so it seems likely that he just moved out — or maybe he had a second home. But the remarkable thing was that every September he would be back, right on schedule, for the start of the new school year.
<snip>
Media interest
Former teachers recall many visits to the classroom by TV, radio and newspaper people. In 1964 the cameras rolled as Room 8's pawprints were embedded in wet cement in front of the school. Caretaker (custodian) Sam Ross, one of the cat's greatest friends there, gently encouraged him as he walked across the cement with head and tail held high. Though much worn by footsteps and the passage of time, the prints and accompanying inscription, Room 8 — School Cat, survive still today. Each year he joined the sixth-grade children for their class photograph, and the honour of holding him went to that year's cat feeder.
<snip>
Health problems
As Room 8 aged, there were some health issues. He made his annual visit to the vet, accompanied always by Sam Ross, but he started to lose teeth; then he was injured in a cat fight late in 1963. More seriously, just over a year later he contracted pneumonia and nearly died, but he was treated successfully at the Lockhart Animal Hospital in Hollywood and eventually recovered. With increasing age he began to accept hospitality from friends and neighbours near the school at nights and when school was not in session. The Nakano family, in particular, gave him shelter and looked after him; Sam Ross would carry him across the street to make sure he crossed it safely and reached their house. Not that he always stayed there! — sometimes flashlight teams had to be organised to go and find him at night, usually visiting a neighbour or napping in someone's garden. He increasingly liked attention from people as he became older.

Room 8 dies
In 1968 a summer school was held at Elysian Heights for the first time for some years. Room 8 attended faithfully every day until he became too ill and had to be taken to the hospital. He died on 13 August 1968 of kidney failure, as happens so often with older cats. He was 21, and in his lifetime had become an important part of the school and the community at large.
<snip>
More:
http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/room8.html
A late RIP to Room 8.
What a great learning experience for those kids and adults who knew him.

November 14, 2013

Boston Police Department Claims Contacting Its Public Affairs Number Is A Criminal Act

Boston Police Department Claims Contacting Its Public Affairs Number Is A Criminal Act

Most long-term Techdirt readers will be familiar with Carlos Miller, the man behind the Photography Is Not A Crime blog (usually shorthanded to simply "PINAC&quot . Miller, along with several other citizen photographers, have challenged local law enforcement officials repeatedly on their baseless claims that recording them is a crime.

Miller himself has been repeatedly arrested, harassed and charged with various dubious misdemeanors in an effort to curb his First Amendment rights. Now, Miller is being charged with something much more serious, thanks to the Boston Police Department's uncontrollable urge to silence critics and shutdown photographers.

<snip>
After being informed that the BPD was pursuing Hardy on wiretapping charges, Carlos Miller posted the following to PINAC.
Maybe we can call or email Richardson to persuade her to drop the charges against Hardy considering she should assume all her conversations with reporters are on the record unless otherwise stated. Her listed number is (617) 343-4520.

Maybe we can build up an entire collection of recorded conversations with her. After informing her, of course.
The BPD's response to this action -- Miller posting a publicly available contact number (something Miller has done dozens of times previously without issue) -- was to charge him with a felony.
[T]hat led to Detective Moore filing a criminal complaint against me for witness intimidation, which I received Friday and is posted below, claiming that I caused Richardson all kinds of pain and grief because I posted her publicly available work contact info on my blog.

He also threatened to charge any readers who called her, making me think that perhaps the Boston Police Department is recording all incoming calls because how else would they gather the evidence to charge my readers for witness intimidation?
<snip>
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131113/08171425229/boston-pd-claims-contacting-its-public-affairs-number-is-criminal-act.shtml

smh.....

November 14, 2013

LOL! For some reason,JP Morgan hosted a twitter chat after 13B fine. They were epically trolled:

Some genius in the JPMorgan PR department decided that now, just after agreeing to pay $13 billion to settle the many federal investigations targeting it, was the time for the reviled bank to host a Twitter chat. And just like when Fix the Debt tried to have a Twitter chat, the trolls won the day.

Click “Know More” to read more about JPMorgan’s settlement. Steve Perlberg has more Tweet highlights; the full list is here.
http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/jpmorgan-hosted-a-twitter-chat-and-got-epically-trolled/

November 14, 2013

Link to video of news clips from the 1st reports of JFK shooting until announcement that he haddied:

http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,2832883712001_null,00.html

If social media existed then, the mind boggles at what would have been reported.

November 13, 2013

Anonymous has started OpBarberMiddleSchool. They've posted a video stating their demands:

That 30¢ may end up helping a whole lot of kids.
I wonder if Barber Middle School has a clue?

November 13, 2013

The new name for the New Orleans NBA team is now the Pelicans. This is their new mascot:

Meet
Pierre The Pelican-

http://deadspin.com/pierre-the-pelican-just-got-infinitely-more-terrifying-1463616659

And you thought clowns were scary.

November 13, 2013

Death of MI6 spy Williams, whose body was in a padlocked sports bag, was probably an accident.

<snip>
Mr Williams's body was found naked at his flat in Pimlico on 23 August 2010 after colleagues raised concerns for his welfare.

He had been on a secondment with MI6 from his job as a communications officer at the GCHQ "listening post" in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

The reality is that for both hypotheses, there exist evidential contradictions and gaps in our understanding”.

Police discovered his body inside a zipped-up red sports holdall, in the empty bath of his bathroom.

It had taken a week for MI6 to investigate the code-breaker's disappearance, and a post-mortem examination carried out by a Home Office pathologist failed to determine the cause of death.

During a seven-day inquest in May 2012, the question of whether Mr Williams could have padlocked himself into a bag in a bath was central.
<snip>
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078#TWEET953525

Wait! Wut?!?
Is padlocking yourself INSIDE a sports bag now a spy skill that's taught?

November 12, 2013

BREAKING: Israeli PM cancels plans to build 20,000 settler homes in West Bank: official statement

Israeli PM cancels plans to build 20,000 settler homes in West Bank: official statement
http://abcnews.go.com/International/t/story/israel-thousands-settlement-homes-20866076

Whoa!

November 12, 2013

Wait! Wut?!? Snow in NE South Carolina?

@VoiceOfPeeDee:
PEE DEE WEATHER: Partly cloudy. Isolated rain showers. Rain may briefly mix with snow late. Lows around 30. Wednesday: Sunny. High 46.

Yes, I realize this is nothing compared to the real snows. However, this is weird. Haven't seen this type of weather in a long time.