iPhone as an SLR?!

There's brilliant, there's crazy, and there's Photojojo. They created a mount to attach your Canon or Nikon lenses to your iPhone in order to take network-connected SLR-quality photos. The problem, of course, is two-fold. (1) This turns your ultra-portable pocket camera into a bulky and awkward camera. (2) The sensor on even the best iPhone is still FAR below that of a low-end digital SLR. And if you want the ability to be able to quickly share SLR-quality photos on your iPhone, there is Apple's camera connection kit or EyeFi wireless cards + iPhone app

But you still have to admire their moxy. Or shamelessness. Can't decide which it is.

Prison is better than being without Health Insurance?

Color me skeptical, but a man robbed a bank of $1 and claims it was to get Prison Health Care. James Verone claims to have been out of work for 3 years since being laid off from his job at a Coca Cola plant, and is facing several challenging health issues.

In an interview with WNCN-TV, first broadcast Sunday, Richard James Verone said he has no medical insurance, but has an undiagnosed growth on his chest, two ruptured disks in his back and a problem with his foot.

The 59-year-old has no job and no money, so he said he decided to rob a bank in a bid to get medical care.

Last Thursday he walked into a branch of the RBC Bank in Gastonia, N.C. and handed a teller a note which asked for one dollar -- then he sat in a chair waiting for the police to arrive.

This looks more like a publicity stunt than a true cry for help to me, but it is possible I am wrong. However, I know there are a number of public and private charity organizations out there to help those without health care who are in dire need. And let us not forget that no Emergency Room can turn away anyone for lack of ability to pay.

If you are in dire need of health care - and are without insurance - I encourage you to let your needs be known to your local church and civic organizations. Let people help. Given the opportunity, Americans are known for their willingness to help their fellow man.

Are pistachios the next terror weapon?

Peanuts are a major part of my diet these days - a low-carb snack that I can have pretty much anytime - but I have never been big on the other nuts out there. But I was still horrified to learn how dangerous the pistachio can be. Did you know a single load of these terrorist kernels could sink or burn the ship carrying them?!

When the water content in pistachios gets too large, fat-cleaving enzymes kick in. The fat-cleaving enzymes produce free fatty acids, and those fatty acids are broken down when the nut takes in oxygen and spits out carbon dioxide. During that process it also spits out water, which makes more fat-cleaving enzymes kick in. What's more, that process of breaking down the fatty acid, taking in oxygen and putting out carbon dioxide has a more common name; burning. The process gives off a lot of heat, and that heat builds and builds until the entire bunch of nuts catches fire and sometimes explodes.

Remember this the next time you pick up a bag of these horrible nuts. You may be taking your life into your hands.

CT Town Legalizes Ice Cream Trucks

When you think about the various threats to our way of life, what do you think of? Terrorism? Drugs? Silly Bandz? I am guessing nowhere in your list is the humble Ice Cream Truck. In fact, typically it is a staple of the childhood experience - the saccharine-sweet jingle sounding from its speakers, the stampedes of hungry kids clamoring for a rocket pop, the parents looking on sadly knowing their waistlines can't withstand another sugary assault until swimsuit season is over.

But for Stratford, CT - a neighboring town to two Mod-Bloggers - Ice Cream Trucks have been illegal for 27 years. Why? No one seems to know. Perhaps someone in 1983 feared Communists were attempting to undermine America with doctored fudgesicles. Either way, we're glad to see the law is being repealed and "pop goes the weasel" will soon be playing in Connecticut neighborhoods again.

Daily Candy Intake Leads to Crime?

This is one of those studies which may turn out to be an excellent example of "correlation does not equal causation." But researchers from Cardiff University are claiming that daily candy intake leads to a significantly increased risk of being convicted of a violent crime by 34. The researchers are careful to avoid blaming the sugary snacks themselves.

So, does this mean parents should ban sweets entirely?

Not necessarily, Moore said. A possible explanation for the candy-violence association is that giving children sweets and chocolate regularly may prevent them from learning to delay gratification. That, in turn, may encourage impulsivity, which is linked to delinquency.

"We think that it is more to do with the way that sweets are given to children rather than the sweets themselves," Moore said. "Using sweets to quiet noisy children might just reinforce problems for later in life."

I am sure that we'll see a contradictory study soon sponsored by the Nestle corporation conducted in the vicinity of Hershey, PA.

Lego Jesus?!

When I think of ways to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, showing the defeat of Death, and the inauguration of a new era of history, I have a lot of ideas. I have to admit that a Lego Jesus statue is not one of them.

Churchgoers had donated nearly 30,000 Lego bricks to build the 1.78 metre (5.8 foot) high statue, said Per Wilder, the pastor of the Oensta Gryta Church in Vaesteras, about 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of Stockholm.
"This work began a year and a half ago so we saw that the initiation date was fitting in well (with this year's Easter holiday)," Wilder said....
The model was based on Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsens's 19th century work Christus, which depicts the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Being from a Protestant New England tradition, I have to say my first reaction is iconoclastic. But I guess that is an overreaction to something which in the end is pretty much just silly.

When Squirrels Attack

This is an older story, but I've been going through e-mail, catching up. A squirrel was able to knock out power to almost 7,000 power company customers. Let the Squirrel jokes begin.

"Holiness Highway" = Interstate 35? Oh, my.

I am considered by most objective observers to be one of those strange beasts called an "Evangelical." I believe the Bible (Old and New Testament) is the inspired Word of God, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died and was raised to life on the third day, and I enjoy wearing t-shirts with overtly Christian slogans on them. But even I am not sure what to make of the claims that a group of "Evangelicals" believe Interstate 35 is the highway of holiness prophecied in Isaiah 35. Apparently, Pat Robertson did a major piece on it (which is not a recommendation to me, based on our past posts about false prophets).

And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
Isaiah 35:8 (NIV)

Even as a man of faith who believes in prophecy, I simply fail to see any connection. Why not one of the many Route 35s around the world? I have to hope that I am missing something. If there is anyone out there from this group who reads Mod-Blog, I'd love to hear from you in the comments section explaining it.

Talk about an Impractical Practical Joke!

I am not a big one for practical jokes. Most of them just strike me as cruel. But this eBay auction has to be easily the most creative attempt I have ever seen.

You are bidding on a rare chance to traumatize a treasured friend or relative with baffling, mind-numbing, mystery correspondence from abroad.

Here is the arrangement:

I will be spending the Christmas holiday in Poland in a tiny village that has one church with no bell because angry Germans stole it. Aside from vodka, there is not a lot for me to do.

During the course of my holiday I will send three postcards to one person of your choosing.

These postcards will be rant-ravingly insane, yet they will be peppered with unmistakable personal details about the addressee. Details you will provide me.

The postcards will not be coherently signed, leaving your mark confused, guessing wildly, crying out in anguish.

"How do I know this person? And how does he know I had a ferret named Goliath?"

Very interesting, mildly insane, and undeniably cruel.

One Reason to Not Play RPG's in Brazil

The top player in a role playing game called GunBound was kidnapped and held hostage by a gang for his account password. The gang planned to sell the password to make some quick cash. Even though they held a gun to his head for FIVE HOURS, the guy would not give up his password. When do you know that you're too into a game and too far removed from real life? When you're willing to bet your life on it.

VP: I am not an Executive

I have only held off posting about this story, because it is almost impossible to find an article on this which is not a commentary piece. It is so weird that right-wingers are trying to ignore it, and left-wingers can't talk about it without a sneer. I am, of course, talking about VP Dick Cheney's comments earlier this week on the role of the Vice Presidential office within the U.S. governmental structure.

Mr Cheney had been complying with a presidential order to surrender sensitive papers but then stopped, saying although he works in the White House, he is not part of the executive branch.

He argues that he is a member of the legislature because of his dual role as president of the Senate.

This is truly a bizzare statement, although not entirely without precedent as George Washington originally refused to include John Adams in his cabinet because he viewed his role as President of the Senate as an inherently Legislative function. But that being said - and that is about the only defense I can imagine for the statement - historically otherwise the VP has always been viewed as part of the Executive and even President Washington's view changed for his second term. The White House should bite the bullet and admit this statement for what is - a lawyerly delaying tactic on releasing some information they want to keep classified for some (maybe even good) reason. It doesn't pass the sniff test in the public, and is only serving to weaken an already lame duck presidency in the eyes of the public.

NBA Referee Suspended for "Fight" Taunts

This past Sunday we were watching the Spurs game - and I was typically paying little attention due to my sports attention deficit disorder - when suddenly I couldn't look away. One of the referees seemed to go crazy, and eject Tim Duncan from the game while he was on the bench... for laughing at something. It was one of the weirdest moments I have seen in basketball. And apparently, it only got weirder in the retelling. The referee who made the call is now officially suspened for the rest of the NBA season, and may be asked to retire after that. Apparently, he actually challenged Tim Duncan to a fight before tossing him out of the game.

And here I thought basketball was about getting an ball through a hoop more times than the other team.