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Thursday, 25 October 2007

lifeasdaddy - HHMI: the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Q.  What's the second best endowed philanthropic organisation in the USA behind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation?

A.  The Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Q.  What's the second best endowed medical or biological research foundation in the world after the Wellcome Trust.?

A. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The Institute commits almost $700 million a year for research and distributes $80 million in grant support for science education.

lifeasdaddy - The best spot in the house - hoteliers take note.

David McMillan writes about a hotel's "Downtown" here. "It is that little piece of space whre small groups gravitate when your occupancy is low." 

Hoteliers real and aspiring read and take note.

lifeasdaddy - the morality of software development.

Grady Booch is interviewed about the morality of software development here.

lifeasdaddy - I hope she's OK.

My good friend's Mom lives in Santa Barbara. The fires are raging there.  I hope she's OK.

UPDATE:  I'm now advised that she moved to Marin six months ago, so she's in the clear.

lifeasdaddy - Panty power.

Over the past month I've received quite a few invitations to join certain on-line communities or Facebook groups or to sign various on-line petitions - all opposing the ruling military junta in Burma.

I've declined because I believe them to be  exercises in futility and feelgoodism.

However, there is a new grassroots movement amongst women in Thailand  opposing the Burmese junta and aiming to cripple it by sending their panties to the Burmese rulers.  Apparently,

Burma’s superstitious generals, particularly junta chief Than Shwe, believe that contact with any item of women’s wear deprives them of their power.

Doc Searls has good coverage here.

Well girls, it's up to you now.

UPDATE:

If you're in Melbourne tomorrow, you can give up your Panties for Peace!

This news just in:

Panty Power for Than Shwe & SPDC

This Friday 26 October 12.30pm - Panties for Peace - Campaign for Burma


Media launch and photo shoot at the State Library - 12.30pm Melbourne.

Bring a pair of your panties to the State Library - Burmese generals believe women's panties can rob them of their power. This is your chance to use your Panty Power to take away the power from the SPDC and support the people of Burma.

We need 200+ people this Friday to join us at the Melbourne State Library at 12.30pm for a photo shoot

Also don't forget Aung San Suu Kyi day - 7pm, Wednesday 24 October at FAD Gallery, 14 Corrs Lane, Chinatown

Please forward to your networks

Please join our Facebook Site: http://www.facebook.com/group .php?gid=6310654771

* Organised by Australia Burma Network (ABN).

As I said, an exercise in futility and feelgoodism.

lifeasdaddy - Do you cherish your freedom?

You've got it because freedom isn't free.  Which leads to today's favourite T-shirt.

Wednesday, 17 October 2007

lifeasdaddy - Kids missing sleep can be a pretty bad thing.

New York Magazine has a good article by Po Bronson about how some kids getting just one hour of sleep less than they need is to their detriment.

"The surprise is how much sleep affects academic performance and emotional stability, as well as phenomena that we assumed to be entirely unrelated, such as the international obesity epidemic and the rise of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder."

[ I dips me lid to Gretchen Rubin ]

lifeasdaddy - A Second Life scam?

I've never visited Second Life, but I've got a little bit of an idea about what goes on there.

For those of you who are intereested, Cameron Reilly has bravely related how he has been taken down by a little SL scam.

lifeasdaddy - Bag puppet craft

Today's craft activity at Playgroup was making a hand puppet out of paper baking cups and a brown paper bag.  Two cups are stapled onto the bag by an adult to make the eyes.  Then colouring in is completed by the child for hair, mouth, nose and ears.

If the cups are stapled through both the front and the back layer of the bag, then the space for insertion of the child's hand is made smaller and hence easier to operate as a puppet.

Ed liked his just fine.

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Monday, 15 October 2007

lifeasdaddy - Talking on the hose 'phone

Cimg2493 Saturday was nephew Thomas' 4th birthday party.  Ed's overseeing the present opening here.  He loves wearing this yellow jacket, and calls it his "fireman's jacket".

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Today we stopped over at Thomas' house to collect somethings and the boys spent a bit of time talking to each other using a garden hose telephone system.

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