Posts Tagged ‘links’
Let’s Get More Excited About Space Travel
Here’s an idea. Instead of endless reports about Justin Bieber and other mindless crap, let’s get more excited about space travel.
(This isn’t a picture of real space travel. It’s Captain Video and His Video Rangers. Old TV show.)
Live streaming video by Ustream
(By the way, the latest Bieber news, as of this writing, is that Usher flew to be by Justin’s side and offer emotional support or something. In case you’re curious. Who says this isn’t the DaddyTips age of having your cake and eating it too?)
On January 23, 2014, three days ago, NASA launched a Next-Generation Relay Satellite. No, not Star Trek: The Next Generation. Something real. The TDRS-L Satellite. Launched by NASA. Frickin’ NASA! And they broadcast the launch live on Ustream! And I didn’t even know! (The video is archived and embedded above. I was wrong. The video embedded above appears to be NASA’s live Ustream channel. Sorry. Here is a link to the video of the launch.)
Nobody cares. Why doesn’t anyone care? We should really care about this a lot more than we do.
Why should we care? Read more »
No Vaccines Means We Get Diseases Back
This NPR article is upsetting, and not only because looking at the constantly moving graphic is giving me a headache.
(This isn’t a full-on rant, but me expressing my opinion tends to lead to someone feeling like I’m ranting. Hence the graphic.)
I used to write a lot about the anti-vaccine folks. Here’s a post from 2010 that links to a piece I wrote for AOL ParentDish about the retraction of the Lancet study linking vaccinations to autism. And here is the very first Babble Podcast I did way back in October of 2008.
In that podcast I discussed how perhaps Jenny McCarthy is not the person to whom we should be looking to for medical advice of any kind. (I also wrote and recorded the theme song. I’m very talented.) McCarthy was very vocal about the link between vaccines and autism. Her proof was debunked. More on that in a moment.
Ante Up For Autism (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In addition to being the year when I recorded a podcast, 2008 is also when the Council on Foreign Relations began “tracking news reports” of disease outbreaks. Diseases that had been all but wiped out, if not wiped out entirely.
From NPR.org:
Since 2008 folks at the think tank CFR have been plotting all the cases of measles, mumps, rubella, polio and whooping cough around the world. Each circle on the map represents a local outbreak of a particular disease, while the size of the circle indicates the number of people infected in the outbreak.
As you flip through the various maps over the years, two trends clearly emerge: Measles has surged back in Europe, while whooping cough is has become a problem here in the U.S.
Whooping cough is back? Seriously? Preventable diseases should stay prevented. So much of the anti-vaccination information has been proven to be 100% false. (It’s possible that all of it has been debunked; I don’t know and therefore am not going to make such a broad statement.) What’s left is parental fear. Statements like “I believe vaccines are bad” don’t have any basis in scientific reality. Are doctors always right? Of course not. I don’t have a gall bladder because a certain doctor couldn’t be bothered to examine me for six months. Eventually the thing grew to the size of a football, became gangrenous, and I needed immediate emergency surgery or I would have died. Does that mean I no longer go to the doctor? Well, I no longer go to THAT doctor. But I haven’t thrown out all science, or the scientific method. Nor do I pretend that I am a scientist.
We should all be able to agree that whooping cough is bad. Whooping cough was gone. That was good. Now whooping cough, which is bad, is back. That is bad. Why is whooping cough back? Because some parents, based on bad information disseminated by a number of people, Jenny McCarthy being one of the more famous ones, are afraid of vaccinating their kids. That’s not good. At all. Stop it.
Here is a Public Health Report document from 1916. The text is as follows:
PATERSON, N. J.
Whooping Cough — Prevention of Spread — Affected Children Under 10 Years of
Age Required to Wear Arm Bands. (Reg. Bd. of H., Mar. 7, 1916.)1. No parent or guardian of any infant under 10 years of age suffering from the
disease commonly known as whooping cough shall permit any such infant to appear
in the street or in any other public place within the city of Paterson, N. J., unless
such infant shall wear and expose upon the arm a band of yellow material bearing
upon it the words “Paterson health department — Whooping cough.” The band
shall be in a form to be prescribed and supplied by the board of health, and shall
be worn for a period beginning with the earliest recognition o” the disease and con-
tinue until danger of infection is over, but in no event less than six weeks.2. No parent or guardian of any infant under the age of 10 years suffering from
whooping cough shall permit any such infant to board any street car or other public
conveyance or to visit any house other than the house in which such infant resides,
or any store, school, Sunday school, or building of public assembly.3. Any parent or guardian violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall
be subject to a fine of $10 for each offense.
(Source: Internet Archive/JSTOR)
Armbands for kids! Doesn’t that sound fun? That was the best we could do in 1916. It is now 2014. We’ve come a long way, baby. Get vaccinated.
Zero deaths. That’s the goal.
(Above image from The Prelinger Archives.)
How Vaccine Fears Fueled The Resurgence Of Preventable Diseases : Shots – Health News : NPR.
Bring Back The Cry Room To Movie Theaters
From Mental Floss, a trip down movie theater memory lane for some, a history lesson for others (the stuff on this list is before my time, despite what my kids may think). It’s worth reading, but I was drawn to the last item, The Cry Room:
Those elaborate movie palaces had many amenities that not every neighborhood theater had, including “cry rooms.” A cry room was a soundproofed elevated room in the back of the theater with a large glass window in front so Mama could still watch the movie (and hear it over a public address system) while trying to calm down a fussy baby. Many theatres that provided cry rooms also came equipped with electric bottle warmers, complimentary formula, and a nurse on duty.
Anyone who has ever experienced someone else’s cranky kid at the movies would likely welcome the return of The Cry Room.
Now let’s all go to the lobby!
via 11 Things We No Longer See in Movie Theaters | Mental Floss.
Temporary Reddit Rules For DadJokes
Reddit is kind of the Amazon.com of user-generated content. There’s a category for almost everything. Including (drum roll) dad jokes.
In the words of Dana Carvey doing Johnny Carson, I did not know that.
Anyway, at the moment there are some rules in place for posting dad jokes.
Starting on the 1st of December and running until the 10th, /r/dadjokes will be self-post only. This 10 day trial is being conducted to measure the overall effect on post quality. We hope to see a reduction in posts that exist purely for karma-gaming, and an increase in posts that represent our favourite dad jokes and stories.
Got that? I think it means the powers that be at Reddit (/r/bosses perhaps?) want people to submit actual jokes/stories about dads rather than links to jokes/stories about dads. I am willing to admit that I could be totally wrong here but I think that’s what is going on.
UPDATE: I read more of the text on the page (I know, crazy, right?) and found this, which offers more of an explanation:
As of this time there are no strict formatting requirements that you must adhere to.
Only self-posts are allowed from Dec. 1 to Dec. 10th
A couple of suggestions to follow:
Leave the punchline out of the title!
Preferred to be a joke your actual father said.
Tag [NSFW] or [NSFL] if ever necessary.
Hit the link below for more details. And if you understand it better than I do, please leave a comment. Or throw money. Either one is fine.
Hi Hungry, it’s Dad. I have an important update for you. : dadjokes. (Reddit)
Tweets Of Interest (Links)
Here are some tweets that we thought might interest you. Follow the links to find out more.
First up, a program to get boys to read more. My kids read constantly so this isn’t an issue in my house. But reading is fundamental so we’re all for any program that encourages kids, boys or girls, to read. (RIF still exists, by the way, I thought it had disappeared but it hasn’t.) Via @RookieMoms.
Just discovered http://t.co/0z6NYieefV program/blog/book list for getting boys into reading by @Jon_scieszka
— Rookie Moms (@rookiemoms) November 8, 2013
Next up, another boy thing: “When should boys use public restrooms alone?” That’s actually a tough question. At some point a boy is really too old to be going into the Ladies’ Room, and if it’s just mom and son out and about, well… I don’t have an answer for this one. As with so much of parenting, it’s like the old man said to the pharmacist – depends. There are so many factors to consider, including the age of the kid, your comfort level, and of course where you happen to be. The bathroom at a small restaurant is very different from one at a multiplex. Via @Mommyfriend and @BabbleEditors.
When should boys use public restrooms alone? http://t.co/aQoHlO1cdg
— Babble.com (@BabbleEditors) November 9, 2013
October 22 Tweet Round Up (Links)
You know that twitter thing all the kids are into? It’s not just young’uns that are tweeting. (Actually, for all I know, the kids are into something I don’t even know about yet. If so, don’t tell. Sometimes, in very rare cases, it’s easier to live in denial. And I don’t mean the river.) It’s grown-ups too. Especially Dad Bloggers, Mom Bloggers, Parent Bloggers, Pet Bloggers, journalists, celebrities… who knows. Octopi?
Isn’t that cute? You could get it as a Halloween costume
But we digress. Here is a round up of some tweets we came across that we will now pass along to you, the reader, in the hopes that you will find them intriguing. Click a link or two. What else are you doing? Working? Don’t answer that.
And now… TWEETS!
Space news and pics via GeekDad:
Most distant gravitational lens helps weigh galaxies – but deepens a galactic mystery: http://t.co/Wv0rPDiz3Y
— NASA Goddard Images (@NASA_GoddardPix) October 22, 2013
This one is via HuffPo; the comment is from Brett Singer’s Twitter feed. Still not sure what the headline means. Likely will never know.
What the hell does this mean? RT @HuffingtonPost: White women with black hairstyles redefine corporate America http://t.co/FPMa2q4QXX
— Brett Singer (@brettsinger) October 21, 2013
Next is via reporter Tamara Lush, who has the most awesome Twitter feed ever. Two words — Florida news. Another word — dogs. Follow her. You will not regret it.
Fla. teen’s selfie with teacher in labor a hit (from @AP) http://t.co/kxTsW4uCOe
— Tamara Lush (@TamaraLush) Octaaober 19, 2013
Also from Tamara Lush, a less fun but still interesting news item about bullying:
@jrosicaTBO Stepmom of teen accused in Fla. bullying arrested (from @AP) http://t.co/aelG0wefWp
— Tamara Lush (@TamaraLush) October 18, 2013
Our last tweet is also about bullying, via the New York Times Motherlode.
Should Parents Face Arrest if Their Child Is a Bully? http://t.co/9ZAPWP5Aw4
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 17, 2013
