Archive for December, 2009
Coffee Powered People
According to the last study for 2009 of the Bureau of Probable Statistics (BPS), sudden restriction of coffee supply to the people of Australia poses a greater and more immediate risk to national security and productivity than global terrorism or climate change, probably.
Releasing the results at a fold out card table outside the official precinct of the Copenhagen Summit, study author Frecht Van Spruchner, made these observations to a largely disinterested audience:
To bring the urgency of the risk closer to home, it is unlikely that this event (Copenhagen) would have been possible had not the participants been dosed heavily on coffee, Penny Wong has rushed passed here 4 times in just 90 minutes to fetch each time what appeared to be 1 litre coffee boosters from that starbucks store you can see from here. Kevin Rudd according to inside Chinese sources has been taking mega doses of Red Bull concealed in his Copenhagen show bag. The point we are making today is that Climate Change, or at least this conference, would not have happened if not for the mass acceleration effects of the drug caffeine. Take away the coffee and the conference and do some simple computer modelling and that’s instantly a saving of 5000 international flights, 5000 show bags, and the enormous electrical energy consumed in delivering the urgent message across the globe.
If that information and statistics is not sobering enough, the BPS study goes on to examine the immediate and longitudinal impact of a coffee crisis upon not just Australia, but the entire globe.
We identify a risk far greater than Climate Change and describe it as ‘Caffeinism’ or the political manipulation of global coffee supplies to achieve a premeditated and political effect on the target country. The map on our website shows the countries most at risk and Australia is clearly one of them. The embargo of just one days supply of coffee from producing nations would have a downstream impact on the economy at least 10 times more dire than the 2008/9 Global Financial Collapse, and our modeling suggests the national parliament under such a situation and without emergency supplies, would fail to contemplate let alone respond to such a national emergency. Its one thing for the major political parties to debate Climate Change but it needs to now be acknowledged that caffeine consumption is a primary driver of Climate Change and Caffeinism whether we like it or not will over shadow terrorism as this countries number one threat.
When pressed for a copy of the 423 page study, Spruchner said the information contained within is a matter of national security and is being examined by Senator Faulkner who will need to decide what parts if any, can be made public considering the isolated position of Australia and therefore the heightened risk.
The rest is up to the Rudd Cabinet, our job of collecting the information and modeling is over. One of our recommendations designed specifically to appeal to our leader is a national television campaign to create a wholesale switch in consumption to Green Tea…its easier for us to grow tea in Australia and it will endear us to our biggest trading partner China, but given the failure of Rudd’s past TV campaigns it may be a case of the ‘boy that cried wolf’, but we will have to wait and see.
Source: Coffee God Image
The Trouble with Modern Scrabble
People are saying that the game of scrabble has been corrupted and asking why this situation has occurred and when the relevant scrabble authorities will look at the problems causing arguments and upset every minute across the globe.
Scrabble:
verb (used with object)
1. to scratch or scrape, as with the claws or hands.
2. to grapple or struggle with or as if with the claws or hands.
3. to scrawl; scribble…..verb (used without object):
4. to scratch or dig frantically with the hands; claw (often fol. by at):
scrabbling at a locked door to escape the flames.
5. to jostle or struggle for possession of something; grab or collect
something in a disorderly way; scramble.
noun
6. a scratching or scraping, as with the claws or hands.
7. a scrawled or scribbled writing.
8. a disorderly struggle for possession of something; scramble.
After the fumble, there was a scrabble for the football.
History (wikipedia)
In 1938, architect Alfred Mosher Butts created the game as a variation on an earlier word game he invented called Lexiko. The two games had the same set of letter tiles, whose distributions and point values Butts worked out meticulously performing a frequency analysis of letters from various sources including The New York Times. The new game, which he called “Criss-Crosswords,” added the 15-by-15 game board and the crossword-style game play. He manufactured a few sets himself, but was not successful in selling the game to any major game manufacturers of the day.[5]
In 1948, James Brunot,[6] a resident of Newtown, Connecticut — and one of the few owners of the original Criss-Crosswords game — bought the rights to manufacture the game in exchange for granting Butts a royalty on every unit sold. Though he left most of the game (including the distribution of letters) unchanged, Brunot slightly rearranged the “premium” squares of the board and simplified the rules; he also changed the name of the game to “Scrabble,” a real word which means “to scratch frantically.” In 1949, Brunot and his family made sets in a converted former schoolhouse in Dodgington, a section of Newtown. They made 2,400 sets that year, but lost money.[7] According to legend, Scrabble’s big break came in 1952 when Jack Strauss, president of Macy’s, played the game on vacation. Upon returning from vacation, he was surprised to find that his store did not carry the game. He placed a large order and within a year, “everyone had to have one.”[8] In 1952, unable to meet demand himself, Brunot sold manufacturing rights to Long Island-based Selchow and Righter (one of the manufacturers who, like Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley Company, had previously rejected the game). Selchow & Righter bought the trademark to the game in 1972[9] JW Spears began selling the game in Australia and the UK on January 19, 1955. The company is now a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc.[5] In 1986, Selchow and Righter sold the game to Coleco, who soon after went bankrupt. The company’s assets, including Scrabble and Parchesi were purchased by Hasbro.[9]
In 1984, Scrabble was turned into a daytime game show on NBC. Scrabble ran from July 1984 to March 1990, with a second run from January to June 1993. The show was hosted by Chuck Woolery.
So what is the controversy?
If you go to the ‘official’ website
http://www.mattelscrabble.com/en/adults/index.html
And enter the letters ‘ZED’ and surprisingly the computer returns ‘allowed’….if you dont believe me here it is:
While obviously this was never the intention of Alfred Butts the changes in the official rules seem to allow this, no doubt causing arguments constantly across the globe and for what reason? ZED and the likes of it clearly are not words but possibly allowed to increase the possible word score but at what expense to the English language.
While the world argues bitterly about Climate Change and such I have seen no media coverage of this outrageous situation and an eerie silence on the issue from the manufacturers and international scrabble associations that have allowed the rot to set in this classic game.
Every word counts indeed!
Medical Cannibis first in Nimbin, Australia
Medical Cannabis dispensary opens in Nimbin on World AIDS Day. If you have a letter from your doctor confirming your condition as one that is known to benefit from cannabis you may be able to visit Australia’s first Medical Cannabis Dispensary in Nimbin.
Director of Mullaway’s Medical Cannabis Pty Ltd, Anthony Bower says he has waited long enough.
“We are sick of being ignored,” said Mr Bower who has been breeding, growing and researching cannabis strains for their medicinal properties for over thirty years.
“The Premiers Department is taking too long, and I have friends who are dying or suffering terrible pain and I know I can help them. It is against my culture to with-hold help from someone who asks, if I have the knowledge and the means to assist and reduce their pain and suffering.”
“I have been in communication with the Premier and the Health Department for a year now and they are just stalling. Premier Nathan Rees sent his best wishes in his letter last week and I appreciate his support.”
A Medical Cannabis Dispensary, which provides therapeutic doses of cannabis, of a known potency and character, to patients who present a recommendation from their doctor, is an entirely unremarkable sight in many western world communities.
In 14 of the US States, the dispensing of medical cannabis is legal, with another 13 indicating an intention to follow very soon. In Los Angeles there are currently more than 1100 dispensaries operating, or three times as many cannabis dispensaries as there are McDonald’s restaurants.
In several Canadian provinces medical cannabis dispensaries have been operating for more than a decade.
Nimbin’s Medical Cannabis Dispensary began operating on World AIDS Day, 1st December, with free medicine dispensed to genuine cardholders from other countries and Australians with a letter from their doctor.
Throughout the world, medical cannabis is used to treat: nausea, vomiting, premenstrual syndrome, unintentional weight loss and lack of appetite, spasticity, neurogenic pain and movement disorders, asthma, glaucoma, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease / ulcerative colitis), migraine, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorders, alcohol abuse, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, collagen-induced arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis, autism, bipolar disorder, childhood mental disorders, colorectal cancer, depression, diabetic retinopathy, dystonia, epilepsy, digestive diseases, gliomas, hepatitis C, Huntington’s disease, hypertension, urinary incontinence, leukaemia, skin tumours, morning sickness, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Parkinson’s disease, pruritus, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sickle-cell disease, and sleep apnoea.
Discuss this with your doctor.
Photo: Anthony Bower (centre) dispenses cannabis extract to Mulgum House tenant Smolder, watched by supporters of medical cannabis.
Source:
http://www.nimbingoodtimes.com/archive/pages09/0912/NGT-1209-1.pdf
Further Information:
Legal and medical status of cannabis – Australia:
After politicians in the Australian Capital Territory voted to allow doctors to determine when cannabis was appropriate for their patients, intense lobbying by the federal government resulted in the legislation being overturned.
In May 2003 the then Premier of New South Wales (Australia’s most populous state), Mr Bob Carr, promised patients a four-year trial into the medical uses of cannabis – but little to no action was taken.
Northern Territory use of Cannabis is decriminalized, and in Western Australia, ACT, and Northern Territory you can grow your own plant (For personal use ONLY) subject to height restrictions.
In January 2009 the Premier of New South Wales approved a four-year trial of medicinal cannabis to treat chronically ill or terminally ill patients. The trial is currently underway.
Further Information: