Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"Locking people up without explaining why, and without giving them a chance to prove their innocence, seems a peculiar way to advance the cause of freedom in the world." -- Bob Herbert, in the New York Times, 2005-05-30

Bonus quote, from the same editorial a few paragraphs later: "This is much more than an image problem. The very idea of what it means to be American is at stake."

• Beware Of Camera! A collection of safety warnings from the sections of camera owner's manuals you probably skipped past in too much of a hurry. Go read these important safety tips so that you can take photographs safely. Includes such gems as, "The rim of the lenshood can cause injury. Take care not to accidentally strike anyone with the camera when the lenshood is attached," and "Placing the camera strap around your neck could result in strangulation."
• Assicons
• A vehicle that transforms from bike-like to trike-like depending on how fast it's moving "would have wide appeal to able-bodied children and children and adults with special needs." The idea is to provide the stability of training wheels or a trike only when needed. "You can get a kid up on two wheels and as long as they're moving and they're looking where they're going, they're going to do OK. But once they slow down and stop, they fall over, get scared and get off. Then you have to start all over again." With this, as it slows down it changes to trike-mode. (Thanks to syntonic_comma for forwarding me email about it.)
• The Mathematics of Love: "We were able to derive a set of nonlinear difference equations for marital interaction as well as physiology and perception. These equations provided parameters, that allowed us to predict, with over 90 percent accuracy, what was going to happen to a relationship over a three-year period." And, "What's different about what I do, compared with most psychologists, is that for me the relationship is the unit, rather than the person. What I focus on is a very ephemeral thing, which is what happens between people when they interact. It's not either person, it's something that happens when they're together."
• Media-Sensitive Glasses: "As part of her Social Defense Mechanisms: Tools for Reclaiming our Personal Space research, Limor Fried developed the Media-Sensitive Glasses that automatically darken whenever a television is in view, so as to protect the wearer from television's 'hypnotic' effect. The name of this project originates from the fictional 'Peril-Sensitive Sunglasses' used by one of the characters in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
• A tale worthy of Aesop, or at least a fair quantity of giggling. Some of y'all saw this when lots of people linked to it a couple of weeks ago; the rest of you put down your beverage and go read this adorable tale of a cat and a snake.
• Another one that made the link circuit, reposted here for anyone who missed the pointers to it on the last go-round, a heartwarming underdog story about four undocumented immigrants in a Phoenix high school who beat a team from MIT in an underwater robotics competition.
• Favourite words not in the dictionary courtesy of Merriam-Webster. (Though really, a few have been around so long I'm surprised they weren't already in the dictionary.)
• The Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries according to a panel of judges assembled by conservative weekly Human Events. Commentary and discussion here (not much yet, listed in case more comments show up), here, and here (unsurprisingly, misia's journal is where most of the discussion seems to be -- I don't think theferrett has chimed in yet) that I've noticed so far on LiveJournal, and apparently on Metafilter as well but I haven't been able to access it today. My suggestion: go right to Misia's entry unless you've got a compulsion to read the site-of-origin before seeing any commentary.
• And finally, the must-read link of this pile (though the snake/cat story is a very close second): A wonderful story of human/canine interaction by axiomaxiom. "We barked and jumped and leaped and panted until the husky gave the 'it's over' signal. She actually came up to me and indicated in dog-speech that barking time was over. It was so clear, from the set of her ears and tail. I went down into a submissive posture I'd seen on Discovery channel, and she resumed her post. I had become a dog. I had joined their little impromptu pack. So long as I respected the leadership of the female husky, I was welcome. So long as I obeyed the rules, I could stay and be one of them. They must have thought I was a dog." And: "I rejoined the party, laughed with my friends about my sojourn with the dogs, had some awesome lemon squares and had a good time. I was in a much better mood. I didn't feel alone at the party any more, I felt part of something." The reasons for wanting to share this are many -- just o read it. (Take the time to scroll through the comments as well.)