Author Archives: tacit

Wooooooowwwww…

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I just got my first email spam from a sex toy company located in Pakistan.

Pakistan.

Now let’s think about that for a moment. Pakistan, a deeply Muslim country currently engaging in a low-level civil war with the Taliban, which is arguably the single most repressive religious entity the world has ever seen. And a company in Pakistan is offering to sell me, wholesale, stainless steel knockoffs of NJoy sex toys.

Anyone want to start a betting pool about how long before the guy (and I guarantee it is a guy; women are barely able to leave the house in much of Pakistan) who owns this company is assassinated?

There’s something a little surreal about the notion of a sex toy company in Pakistan.

Yet Another List o’ Linky-Links

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Once again my Web browser is devouring half of my system’s available RAM and more swap space than you can shake a stick at, so it’s time once again for a long list of links.

Including naturally enough, some Watchmen-related links.

I’ve got several real posts brewing, none of which I’ve actually had time to write (just got home from the office, if that’s any indication), so without further ado, here we go!

Science

Obama to lift restrictions on stem-cell research

Obama Science Memo Goes Beyond Stem Cells

If Obama accomplishes absolutely nothing else in his entire term in office, if he does nothing to stop the pointless and expensive war in Iraq or right the capsizing economy, then his presidency will still be an epic win. Abandoning religious ideology in favor of actual, genuine science is one of the most important things this nation can do. First World superpowers keep their position only by dint of their technological and scientific basis, yet in the past eight years under anti-intellectual Republican rule, the US slipped to #22 in the world in terms of financial support for basic scientific research.

Rewiring the Brain: Inside the New Science of Neuroengineering

This is an incredibly exciting time to live in. We’re closing in on being able to understand and manipulate the stuff of the universe on the smallest scale possible, and we’re also closing in on the ability to understand in ways never before possible the most fundamental things that make us who we are. These areas of exploration bring incredible promise.

New Scientist: Humans may be primed to believe in creation

I’ve written before about how the brain is not an organ of thought so much as an organ for generating beliefs–a “belief engine,” if you will–and this research shows that a predisposition belief in purpose is a very strong component of that belief engine.

Missing Link Between Fructose, Insulin Resistance Found

For the first time, a concrete, documented mechanism between fructose and fructose-containing sweeteners and diabetes is uncovered.

Sociology

Catholic Church excommunicates doctors who perform lifesaving emergency abortion on 9-year-old rape victim; take no action against her rapist

The Vatican uses the line “life must always be protected” to justify the excommunication, in apparent ignorance of the irony that without the abortion, the young rape victim, and the babies, would have died.

Bush: ‘Sanctity of Human Life Day’

In the last days of his Administration, former President Bush declared Jan. 18 to be “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.” Apparently, the sanctity of human life doesn’t apply to the citizens of Middle Eastern nations that happen to be geographically close to other nations that were responsible for terrorist attacks on us.

Steve Pavlina: 2009 Focus – Intimate Relationships

So there’s this guy who is…well, I’m not exactly sure what he is. He seems to be a motivational coach (or “personal development” coach, whatever that is). Anyway, he writes a blog, and in his blog he says that 2009 is the year he’s going to explore polyamory. And he linked to my site on his list of resources.

Bizarre

Photos of abandoned Russian ships frozen in ice

I really, really, really, really want to visit this place. The Russians have always been amazing at taking urban decay to the next level, and this place is just beautiful.

The Most Amazing Star Trek Collectible of All Time

If by “amazing” you mean “horrifying beyond all human reason.” The commentary is priceless.

Watchmen condoms: We’re society’s only protection

If you want your schlong to look just like Dr. Manhattan’s, now’s your chance! These blue condoms come in a flip-top case with the smiley face on the front, and …yeah. I have nothing else to add.

On the Value of Twitter

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In the past, I’ve never quite grokked the whole deal about Twitter. Now that I’m using it, I still don’t quite grok what other folks use it for, nor why it’s as popular as it is. It strikes me as a fun toy (that’s losing six figure quantities of money every month), but not really a useful tool most of the time.

However, I will say this: I’m a wordy bastard, and I appreciate that Twitter enforces a very strict limit on brevity. Learning to say what I want to say in 140 characters or less has been…interesting. I find that if I have an idea I want to Twitter about, I usually have to edit it multiple times to bring it down to 140 characters. It’s good writing discipline.

A recent example: “Between having a brain optimized for finding patterns (even if they don’t exist) and confirmation bias, it’s amazing we understand anything.” Number of characters: exactly 140. Number of edits to fit it in that space: 3. Brevity is hard, but sometimes squeezing out the extraeneous stuff makes the idea more accessible.

Whew! Just did a major update to the interactive map

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The interactive version of the Map of Human Sexuality has been largely re-written; I’ve fixed a number of PHP error messages, added two new options (“tried and didn’t like,” “like in fantasy only”), updated the map itself to the current version, made the pins smaller so they don’t obscure as much, and made a lot of behind-the-scenes database changes that’ll help things out going forward. And all this without breaking the display of existing maps.

The one thing I most need to do, make the ability to remove a pin you place by accident, still isn’t done. I’m working on it! If/when I get that one licked (I know surprisingly little PHP and JavaScript, when all is said and done), I’ll add an option where you can enter a username and a password when you save your map so you can go back and edit it later. Whee!

And now to see if I can go see Watchmen.


Find out where I’ve journeyed
on the Map of Human Sexuality!
Or get your own here!

Call to the Lazyweb

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So I want to start selling posters of the Map of Human Sexuality wholesale to sex toy stores and places like that, and I’m trying to get a feel for places that might be interested in carrying it. dayo suggested approaching the The Museum of Sex in NYC (and how cool is it that there IS a museum of sex?). I was thinking of cool, indie placesike Blowfish.

So, any ideas out there in LJ-land? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Engrish: It’s what’s for breakfast

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Over the past year or so, a goodly amount of the avalanche of spam that ends up in my inbox every day has been from companies in China that sell cheap, knock-off sex toys at wholesale prices.

Not too hard to figure out why. I’d be willing to bet that anyone who owns a Web site that talks about sex toys, or sells sex toys, gets ’em. They’re invariably from companies in China that want to sell me ripoffs of the Jack Rabbit vibrator and stuff like that, in bulk, at pennies on the dollar for the real thing. Their Web sites typically stay up for a few months and then disappear. (Got one of these spam emails in my mailbox today for a company whose Web site really inspires confidence: they have a hit counter on the front page, and as of right now the hit counter is at 4.)

That’s not the funny part, though.

The funny part is the Web sites themselves. They’re invariably written in Engrish, the particular variety of badly-translated English common amongst Far Eastern businesses who want to save money by not hiring professional translators.

The question I have, though, is does this approach work? How safe am I supposed to feel placing a $3,000 order for sex toys, when their Web site says things like “We are a professional and experience manufacture of condom products, lingerie, and sex toys for male uses and the female use. We have certificate for the condom. We have established the friendly relation with customers in USA. If you are interested in it, please don’t issue to contact us.”

Long List o Linky-Links

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Since my Web browser currently has a zillion pages open (and is consuming mass quantities of RAM as a result), and since I can’t use the browser on my iPhone because the maximum possible number of pages is open, it’s time once again to share the wealth and post another Grand List of Linky-Links.

In today’s assortment, we have a wide variety of links for your edification and viewing pleasure.

Ready? Here we go!

Society & Politics

New Scientist: Conservatives are biggest consumers of porn

Not that it’s really a surprise to anyone. I’ve long suspected that many social conservatives fall into one of two broad camps: closeted self-loathers, and people who are really only concerned with the appearance of propriety rather than with actual propriety.

Business Week: Portland, Oregon is America’s unhappiest city

Uh-oh. And I’m planning to move there shortly!

Lesbian Nation: Chronicles of the Lesbian Separatist Movement

In the seventies, a movement arose among lesbians who believed that the key to sexual and social freedom lay in withdrawing entirely from American society–including, in many cases, refusing to interact with or even speak to men. Battle too long, and you become the thing you’re fighting against.

Science

Will You Perceive the Event that Kills You?

My favorite link on the list. Will you even be aware of the thing that ends your life? The human sensory apparatus and nervious system are so slow that we are constantly living in the past–about 300-500 milliseconds in the past, to be exact. Many of the things that can kill you do so in less time than that. Interesting stuff, including a rundown of the sequence of events in a car crash, and how far behind your awareness of those events will lag.

Researchers solve mystery of deep-sea fish

Meet the barreleye–a fish with nostrils that look like eyes, a transparent head, and tubular eyes that swivel up and down entirely inside its head. Man, there is some seriously weird stuff in the deep ocean.

Natural selection: Darwin’s God-killer

Two centuries after Origin of Species and people STILL don’t actually know what evolution is. (Hint: If you’re thinking “survival of the fittest,” you ain’t really got it.) Is this idea really a “god-killer”? Of course not. But it does demolish one very specific notion of god–the idea that the world was created in six literal 24-hour days exactly six thousand, four hundred and some odd years ago.

Junkfood Science: Why we think overeating causes obesity

There are many things we all know are true that actually aren’t. Turns out that the notion that people are overweight simply because they eat too much is one of them. The history of a fascinating study on food and food deprivation, which probably would not be possible today ’cause it would violate ethical guidelines on human research.

Globe and Mail: Canadian researchers turn skin cells into stem cells

The new technique is easier and safer than previous techniques to coax mature cells back into becoming stem cells.

Mermaid Dream Comes True Thanks to Weta

Weta Digital, the company that did the special effects for the Lord of the Rings movies, has a lot of experience with advanced prosthetic effects. So when a girl with no legs approached them with the idea of making her a functional mermaid prosthetic, they said “Sure!”

2009: Shaping up to be a bad year for anti-vaccinationists

Everything under the sun has its conspiracy theorists. Terrorism has its 9/11 “truthers.” The space program has its moon hoax conspiracy nutters. Geologists have the flat-earthers and the young-earthers to contend with. And the medical community has, among others, the anti-vaccination nutters. Difference is, the moon hoaxers and flat-earthers don’t put other people’s lives at risk. 2009 looks to be a bad year for this particular breed of nutter.

Sex and Relationships

The Single Best Working Assumption for Drama-Free Relationships

Sometimes it’s the simple things that are most effective.

Control Tower: The Hot Bi Babe

Yes, I know it’s an old article, but Mistress Matisse lays it on the line about why those zillions of married poly-in-theory couples will not likely find that hot bisexual woman they’re looking for.

And finally, here’s an old video circulating YouTube about the evils of pornography, though it has an interesting historical footnote:

The footnote? The person who made this video is none other than Charles Keating.

Keating, for those who don’t remember him, was an anti-sex, anti-porn moral crusader for many years, and joined President Reagan’s Meese Commission on Pornography in an attempt to lobby for tough anti-porn laws.

He later went on to embezzle about $1.2 billion from Lincoln Savings and Loan, singlehandedly triggering the collapse of the entire S&L industry. To Keating, you see, porn = immoral, stealing the life savings from working families = perfectly moral.

Woo-hoo! Posters are here!

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Drafted my roommate into helping me roll posters and stick mailing labels last night; the first batch of the poster versions of the Map of Human Sexuality will be going out this afternoon (and just for the record, sixty mailing tubes is a lot to fit in a 2-seat car). Everyone who placed a pre-order should be getting their posters in the mail over the next few days! (Well, ‘cepting for those of you not in the US; delivery will take a bit longer, I reckon).

It turns out that whoever shipped them from the printers did have OCD, after all. They registered six UPS tracking numbers for one shipment. Weird.

Going to try to find a poster frame this evening, I think. I want one of these hanging on my wall; they look great!

Anyone who didn’t pre-order…sorry, you missed the pre-order price. Price is increasing this afternoon. Don’t let that stop you from ordering one, though!

Posters! And soon to be in Philly…

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First off:

I’ll be arriving in Philadelphia at somewhere around 2ish in the afternoon tomorrow (Saturday the 28th). joreth won’t be arriving ’til about midnightish. That gives me a number of hours unallocated and unspoken for, though I won’t have transportation. Anyone in the area fancy a get-together?

Second off:

The posters of the Map of Human Sexuality are printed and en-route. Funny thing, though. The printer gave me six UPS tracking numbers(!), and when I check them online, each tracking number says that the shipment contains three parcels. Which means, if I’m reading it right, the printer is sending me the posters in eighteen boxes(!!). WTF??! Eighteen boxes to ship 500 posters? That can not possibly be right. Even three boxes sounds like a bit much.

So I’m thinking there are a number of potential scenarios here, all of them wildly unlikely:

1. The person at the print shop who ships stuff out has OCD, and registered my order with UPS six times. (Clicky goes the button! Clicky goes the button! I like the way the label printer sounds. Clicky goes the button!)

2. The person who ran the order on press misread the job ticket, and printed 5,000 posters rather than 500 posters. I’ll have posters and posters and posters and posters! And also, more posters! Psst, wanna buy a poster?

3. Due to an unfortunate mix-up involving a hacked computer, a Russian ex-KGB operative, an Al Quaeda sleeper cell, two vials of sodium pentathol, and a mysterious flat tire on a Greyhound bus, at this very moment I have over five hundred pounds of parts for AK-47 rifles on their way to me, and a whole print run of posters of a sex map are en route to a shadowy underground Pakistani arms dealer in Cyprus. Boy, won’t he be surprised! Heads will roll, oh yes. Heads will roll.