Found Functions

A few photos with function plot overlays: Found Functions.

BYOR

In Wisconsin: Woman found guilty of planting rat in meal at restaurant.

A woman who attempted to extort money from an upscale restaurant by putting a rat in her lunch entered no-contest pleas Tuesday to two criminal charges.

Judge Dee Dyer found Debbie R. Miller, 43, guilty after she entered the no-contest pleas to a felony extortion charge and a misdemeanor for obstructing police. She will be sentenced March 8 in Outagamie County Court.

Miller planted a rat in her lunch at The Seasons on April 17, 2008, and then demanded $500,000 from the owners. She threatened to alert the media if the money wasn't paid.

Why did it take so long?

The case was delayed in the past year because of questions about Miller's competency. Judge Dee Dyer ruled in October that Miller was competent to stand trial despite a psychologist's report that the she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has multiple personalities.

Investigating The 99-Cent Store

A shocking investigative report from Dvorak Uncensored: 99 Cent Stores Actually Charge On Dollar.

I went to the local 99 cent store in Gilroy California yesterday and noticed that I was being charged one dollar on every item I bought. Although it is just a penny and I can afford a penny, it's the fact that I'm being lied to one more time that bothers me.

The way they cover this is once you are in the store, some signs have the fine print where it's not really 99 cents, it's 99.99 cents. When you get to the cash register however the screen indicates that they are rounding the 99.99 cents up to a dollar, so it's not really even 99.99 cents. It is actually $1.00.

When a store uses 99 cents as it's identity stating that you will never pay more and 99 cents for anything and then you end up paying a dollar, that's more than just a 1 cent fib. It makes the whole premise of your business model a lie. It makes your identity a lie. It makes your brand a lie. That's a big lie. It takes the magic out of the 99 cent name.

He's right. The magic is gone for me.

FBI Wants To Track You Online

Privacy? FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited.

The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.

FBI Director Robert Mueller supports storing Internet users' "origin and destination information," a bureau attorney said at a federal task force meeting on Thursday.

The FBI is not alone in renewing its push for data retention. As CNET reported earlier this week, a survey of state computer crime investigators found them to be nearly unanimous in supporting the idea. Matt Dunn, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Department of Homeland Security, also expressed support for the idea during the task force meeting.

Sounds outrageous, but it's really nothing new.

Greg Motta, the chief of the FBI's digital evidence section, said that the bureau was trying to preserve its existing ability to conduct criminal investigations. Federal regulations in place since at least 1986 require phone companies that offer toll service to "retain for a period of 18 months" records including "the name, address, and telephone number of the caller, telephone number called, date, time and length of the call."

Countdown until somebody write a comment: Well, if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about ...

(Thanks Blayne)

Fruity Clock

Does this work? It's one of many embeddable clocks at ClockLink.

Defaced Money

There's something about defaced money that appeals to me. Here are 30 bizarre examples of defacing money.

This one reminds us that all of our money contains the word sofa.

This one might be considered in poor taste.

(via The Presurfer)

Saint Bone Is Cat Bone

Saintly news: Joan of Arc 'Relics' Confirmed to Be Fake.

The so-called "relics of Joan of Arc," overseen by the Archbishop of Tours in Chinon, France, do not contain the charred remains of the Catholic saint.

Rather, the artifacts consist of a mummified cat leg bone and human rib, both dating to the 6th-3rd century B.C., according to a new study.

The "relics," which have fooled onlookers for decades, did resemble burnt bones, in keeping with historical accounts of the death of Joan of Arc (ca. 1412-1431), who was convicted of heresy and executed by burning.

Simplify Your Life

Excellent advice: 43 simple ways to simplify your life.

A few examples:

• Sit on a big, thick book
• Mail a surprise toaster
• Amputate favorite limb
• Freeze your clutter
• More crying but quieter
• Resimplify your simplicity

I'm going to try that toaster-related one.

Chevron Vs. Ecuador

Interesting case: Chevron hires twelve public relations firms to discredit indigenous Indians in Ecuador.

In response to an environmental lawsuit filed against the oil giant, Chevron has fortified its defenses with at least twelve different public relations firms whose purpose is to debunk the claims made against the company by indigenous people living in the Amazon forests of Ecuador. According to them, Chevron dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste in the Amazon between 1964 and 1990, causing damages assessed at more than $27 billion.

The company is being criticized by people and organizations from across the social and political spectrum for its unethical behavior in regards to the case. Originally filed in U.S. federal district court back in 1993, the lawsuit was eventually moved to courts in Ecuador at Chevron's behest. Having initially lauded Ecuador's legal system in an effort to have the case moved there, Chevron later changed its mind and began attacking the system when that system found the company liable for damages.

Shareholders are also upset with Chevron for its gross mismanagement of the case in which it has sidestepped the rule of law and employed guerilla-style tactics in a last ditch effort to fend off an unfavorable ruling.

Corpsman

I've been reading references to "corpseman" in the comments, and I didn't understand it. So I googled it. Obama Calls Navy Corpsman 'Corpse Man'.

The media, including the blogosphere, talk radio, and cable news is all abuzz over President Barack Obama's mispronunciation of the word "corpsman" in praising American military personnel at the National Prayer Breakfast.

President Obama pronounced "corpsman" as "corpse man" twice in the same address. This mispronunciation has caused quite a bit of ridicule about a man who ascended to the presidency based upon his rhetorical skills.

Good thing I'm not president. I would have pronounced it the same way. It's not a word that I've ever spoken before. I don't think I've even heard it spoken.

Punch Scheduled For Thursday

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sez: Iran anniversary 'punch' will stun West.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a "punch" that will stun world powers during this week's 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

"The Iranian nation, with its unity and God's grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned," Khamenei, who is also Iran's commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

The country's top cleric was marking the occasion when Iran's air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah on February 11, 1979.

No Bighorns

Local news: Mourning the loss of bighorn sheep in the Catalinas.

Bighorn sheep are everywhere in northwest Tucson. The iconic beasts are seen in galleries, on signs, and in public art. The rams show up as subdivision logos and school mascots. The town of Oro Valley's seal features the silhouette of a ram. Small consolation to be honored so by the species that drove them out.

Bighorns are omnipresent save for one place. On top of Pusch Ridge they are conspicuously absent. Outdated trail signs wrongly note their existence on the ridge, posing a question that is emblematic of the changing West. Should the U.S. Forest Service change the signs to reflect the reality that they are gone?

Irony is common here in the West. First we carelessly vanquish the subjugated. Then we celebrate the vanquished by transforming them into kitsch.

Vulgar replicas of our lost treasures appeal to popular taste and proliferate. We festoon our sterile yards with rusted metal likenesses of the native wildlife you're lucky to ever glimpse.

We hawk bigger-than-life bronzes of Native Americans depicted with a romantic awe that was utterly absent when we rolled across their world centuries ago.

We honor the vanquished by turning them into things that serve as sentimental totems for our regret.

Human Dogs

YouTube has a bunch of videos of dogs acting very human. Like this:

Best And Worst Chips

At Taquitos.net:

• Worst Chips Ever. The winner is Sepasang Naga Squid Cracker.

I had a need to test, and as the bag said, "If you think of test, please try squid cracker," so I complied. The initial odor is that of a 3-day-old fish market in a third world, or at least the section of the fish docks where the chum isn't even processed. Once you're over that, the rest of the chip isn't that bad.

It comes looped together in deep-fried curls of 3 or more strands, which can only be assumed to be squid strands. The actual consistency is that of cheap styrofoam. And I mean cheap, as in not the high-quality foam used to protect electronic equipment; it's more the sytrofoam used to protect $2 Christmas ornaments. The actual taste is that of dead fish, not really squid as the bag promises. It's also not the taste of say, dead grilled salmon, more like the dead fish that didn't make it into shore via net, but rather was carried in by the tide. That's about it. It tastes like dead fishy styrofoam.

• Best Chips Ever. The winner is Tim's Cascade Style Hot Jalapeno Seasoned Potato Chips.

These are truly some of the best chips I've ever had. If you can't handle really hot stuff, don't even try them. They're really hot. Really. I mean, eat one or two, and you're all set. Definitely plan on having these with a cold beverage. But heat isn't all they've got going for them. They're also really thick, crisp and crunchy. These are truly good chips.

Property Tax Assessment

Whenever I get a notice about property taxes, it always comes from an individual. For example, I just got a notice telling me of my house's value in 2011, and it came from Bill Staples, Pima County Assessor. When I lived in San Diego, it was the same thing. Property Tax notices always came from some guy (whose name I can't remember).

A quick check on Google tells me that this is pretty much true everywhere. If you go to a tax assessor Web site, you'll almost always see the name (and usually a photo) of the person responsible.

Can anyone explain this? Why doesn't the notice just come from the Office of the Assessor? Why must a person's name be listed? Is there really just one person doing all the work?

The answer is probably common knowledge, but it just seems odd to me.