The World

Girl Scouts

A teenaged Girl Scout is calling for a boycott on buying cookies this year upon learning that Girl Scouts of the USA admits transgender boys — i.e., admits anyone who identifies herself as a girl regardless of the child’s anatomical gender.

I expected a vitriolic rant on the evils of minorities here. What you’ll hear instead, while still tragically misguided, is a calm, well-researched position:

Of course, what this actually does is increase immensely my respect for Girl Scouts of the USA. I’ll order extra cookies this year as soon as our local troops start selling (in just ten more days).

Whereas Boy Scouts of America openly and thoughtlessly discriminates against its membership (which it can legally do as a private organization), I’ve learned from this news that Girl Scouts of the USA is more accepting. Girl Scouts of Colorado in particular made headlines when a local troop leader initially denied admission to a transgender boy prompting the state organization to intervene with a reminder that “Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization”. Anyone who identifies herself as a girl (regardless of their physical anatomy) may join.

Girl Scouts are also a bit more tolerant toward religious differences. Although the Girl Scout Promise calls for girls to try “to serve God and my country”, after a lawsuit in 1993 they now allow individuals to substitute other phrasing for “God” if that word does not describe their beliefs. (This establishes those who deviate as exceptions to be tolerated rather than equals, but is still an important positive step.)

Ultimately, why would we want to shelter our children from others who are different? At a young age children are already accustomed to discovering that much about the world is different than they had imagined and they will take those differences in stride. A girl in Kindergarten meeting a transgender boy will almost certainly respond by saying, “Well that’s nice; can we go down the slide again now?” An adult meeting the same individual in the workplace for the first time may react less favorably. Even if you cruelly characterize someone’s beliefs as “abnormal” or “wrong”, whom do you serve by pretending that they do not exist in the world? Certainly not your children.

The teen in this video advocates boycotting cookie sales since more than half of those proceeds go to the council, with only 10% to 15% staying with the local troop. She advocates sending cash donations specifically to local troops — presumably those deemed sufficiently intolerant and bigoted. For the rest of us, this is a great excuse to eat more  cookies, since funding the council is funding the same organization that’s willing to intervene when it sees intolerance in local troops.

The website behind the video also provides a form letter to send to Girl Scouts of the USA administration to protest the decision. I’ll be sending a letter of support.

Bicycle Lift

The Bicycle Lift

The Bicycle Lift

Have you ever been enjoying a pleasant bike ride when an enormous, unconquerable hill ruined the entire outing? Norway has solved this problem with Trampe: The Bicycle Lift.

Position your bicycle beside the rail and stand on the metal footplate, which when the machine is activated will propel you (and your bicycle along with you) up the hill. The website gives some instructions:

While standing astride the bicycle, put your left foot on the left pedal. Furthermore, place your right foot in the start slot of the start station. Stretch your right leg backwards determinedly while still keeping your right foot in the start slot. Remember, you are preparing for the coming push from the soft start mechanism.

From now on, the lift will carry you.

This is a brilliant if not entirely practical idea. Norway’s is one of only two bicycle lifts in the world.

Just Like the Movies

Like most Americans, I sat glued to the television screen in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The most vivid clip I remember showed a group of pedestrians fleeing down a Manhattan street as a cloud of dust closed in behind them.

My immediate thought was: “Those special effects are so fake!”

Having never seen a building actually collapse upon a city full of people before, the only way my mind knew how to judge the event was against special effects from fiction depicting alien attacks and super-earthquakes. Against that yardstick, they looked at once both unreal and more terrifying.

Michal Kosakowski created a short film called Just Like the Movies that depicts the September 11 attacks using scenes from films.  Some of the clips feature alien ships and other obvious anachronisms, but the timeline of events and the overall visual recall dramatically what really happened that day.

35 Days of Christmas

Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas

Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas

ABC Family is advertising (honestly) a “Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas”.

So, they have a 25 Days of Christmas event, effectively counting down to Christmas. But since that’s not here yet, for the last ten days of November they’re having a countdown for when they can have their Christmas countdown. But even that isn’t here yet, so all they’re doing right now is advertising that they’re going to have a countdown until the other countdown.

And what will really eat at you if you think about this is that somewhere at ABC there had to have been a meeting where someone said, “So, how many days until we can start airing the promos for the Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas?”

Google’s Own Ads

The first time I saw the end of this TV advertisement from Google, I had to rewind TiVo in order to watch the whole thing again. (I think that was the first time I ever used TiVo to not skip commercials.) The same ad was on again last night, and it’s still just as touching.

There’s a similar ad recognizing Dan Savage’s It Gets Better project, and I find both very reminiscent of the ad Google ran during last year’s Superbowl: Parisian Love.

Remember when Apple’s “Hello, I’m a Mac” ads were the ones people actually wanted to watch? Now Google’s even taking that away.

Payment for Services Rendered

When an oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded, astronauts had to depend mainly on the Lunar Module systems, designed only for landing on the moon, to carry them safely through space.

According to Futility Closet, when the crew had returned safely to Earth, Lunar Module manufacturer Grumman sent a bill for services rendered to Command Module manufacturer North American Rockwell.

Inspection:                      $     20.00

Towing Charge @ $1.00/mile        300,000.00

Loss of altitude vehicle           24,100.00
 $20/day plus .08¢ per mile

Battery charge                          5.00

Air conditioning @ $5.00/day           25.00

Room and board @ $40.00 each          600.00
 per day

I haven’t been able to find any confirmation this actually happened, but it’s the sort of story that’s so fun I’m choosing to believe it’s true anyway.

Google Ads Preferences

Google makes its money by showing you ads, and the idea is that they’ll know what ads you’ll like based on your interests. Depending on what services you use (search, GMail, Voice, et cetera), Google may know a little or a lot about your Internet life.

To see what categories Google thinks you like best, view the Ads Preferences page.

A couple of mine are accurate. As a web developer, I do find Internet & Telecom – Web Services – Web Design & Development relevant. On the other hand, I’m also tagged with Home & Garden – Home Furnishings – Lighting and Hobbies & Leisure – Crafts. Can’t you picture me sitting at my craft table decorating a new lampshade with seashells? No? Well, neither can I. But Google can.

A footnote promises that “sensitive interest categories” don’t count. So if your primary interest is Pornography – And Lots of It, you won’t find that in your profile anywhere. Handy!