Paul ⁽³³⁹⁾

Dear Mr. Romney. You are probably devastated that you did not become president of the United States. I know there are many people who mourn this with you, so you won't be alone. Do cheer up. If all else fails, maybe a few rides in your car-elevator can lift your spirits. Do you now really leave US politics as you said you would? Or will you change your mind about that? People won't be surprised…

DNA: The Ultimate Hard Drive ENLARGE IMAGE When it comes to storing information, hard drives don't hold a candle to DNA. Our genetic code packs billions of gigabytes into a single gram. A mere milligram of the molecule could encode the complete text of every book in the Library of Congress and have plenty of room to spare. All of this has been mostly theoretical—until now. In a new study, researchers stored an entire genetics…

In half an hour or so I'll head out. For Samhain. To meet the ancestors. Laugh if you want, nod if you understand, shrug if you don't care. Last year's memory of leaving the house still makes me laugh. As I went out (dressed for the occasion) a few trick or treaters (it's taking some foothold over here as well), also dressed for the occasion, were walking up to the door and then I heard one…

No. It is not Halloween. It's Samhain. See wikipedia if you don't believe me. ;-) Samhain is a Gaelic festival celebrating the end of harvest season and the beginning of winter. For Wiccans and Pagans it's considered a Sabbat to honour the ancestors who came before us and moved on to the Summerland (somewhat compared to heaven for Christians although different). It's usually held right between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice and a good time…

Woke up at the normal time. 5 in the morning. Which of course turned out to be 4 in the morning. Tried to sleep some more, which did not particularly work out well. Quite cold too with -4C/24F. Now it's officially 11:10 in the morning but I'm getting a taste for lunch already and I don't feel anything near well rested. Let it be known that I am not a fan, and unfortunately therefore not…

First good thing: Since long I participate on www.care2.org and yesterday I had accumulated enough butterflies (points) to do some good things. And a few minutes after that, this appeared! -=-=- Next good: Nanowrimo is coming. Only a few more days and the madness takes off again. Since a few weeks it feels as if there is a brake on my writing other stories. In a way as if I am holding back the writing…

It's getting more and more difficult in the Netherlands to obtain a gun permit. I think that is a good thing. Just too bad that this only affects the honest people who want to own and shoot a gun for hobby. It's not going to deter any criminally minded individuals from obtaining and using pieces of similar hardware...

Dutch Ministry Proposes Powers for Police to Hack into Computers, Install Spyware, Destroy Data Written by Ravi Mandalia The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security has proposed some rather over the line measures and wants to extend such powers to the police that would allow them to break into computers and mobile phones in any part of the world. According to the proposal [PDF] (in Dutch), dated October 15, the ministry has asked for powers that would…

MEANWHILE . . . during my acid flashback

(NaturalNews) Unless the rice you buy is certified organic, or comes specifically from a farm that tests its rice crops for genetically modified (GM) traits, you could be eating rice tainted with actual human genes. The only known GMO with inbred human traits in cultivation today, a GM rice product made by biotechnology company Ventria Bioscience is currently being grown on 3,200 acres in Junction City, Kansas -- and possibly elsewhere -- and most people…