Sunday, May 06, 2007
Another silly date meme
Okay, this one hits at 02:03:04 am today, 05/06/07.
Neat, huh?
Yeah, I didn't think so either.
“Oversight? What oversight?”
- Fleen
- On what complaint or authority did these detectives say they were talking to you?
- Boyd
- On the complaint that I may have made terroristic threats through computers. At least, that's what was passed down to me from the State's Attorney through the detectives on the phone.
- Fleen
- So who is it that you're supposed to have threatened? Is it now law in the state of Maryland that if anybody anywhere unknown to you feels uneasy at something you write, it's a crime?
- Boyd
- Well, a terroristic threat is an old legal concept. Basically, it's calling in a bomb scare or something similar.
Now, in the second comic, there's the verbatim transcript of what I said that got me fired. And there's a co-worker who overhears it, which as far as I know is what happened. And Ian [McConville]'s drawing resembles someone in the office to an uncanny degree. Of course, he's never met her, because he lives in California.Via Snarkoleptics, Interview With The
VampireTerror Suspect
This is for Smirk, with whom I've gone back and forth over topics like this. Matt Boyd got fired over something he said at work and was later investigated for making terrorist remarks.
Okay Smirk, how much do you want to bet Matt Boyd's name is on the No Fly List? (Also interesting is this list of people on the list, including a few American military and government workers)
Junk science vs. junk science
Finally, CFL critics like to remind you that CFL bulbs contain mercury, a highly toxic pollutant. This is true. The typical CFL bulb contains approx. 5mg of mercury. (Manufacturers are working to reduce this. Phillips is said to have developed a bulb that only has 1.5mg of mercury.)
If a CFL bulb is broken, special care must be taken to properly clean up and dispose of the remnants to prevent health risks. Further, CFLs must be recycled or properly disposed of to prevent the mercury from escaping into the environment. Here are the federal government guidelines for CFL disposal and cleanup.
What the critics forget to mention, however, is that coal-fired power plants are a major source of mercury pollution. Further, most of this mercury is emitted into the air, and is thus not contained or containable. Mercury in a CFL is already contained unless it is broken, and if properly recycled is fully containable.
Via Instapundit, Everything you wanted to know about Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, including the mercury problem
Snopes weighs in as well (link also via Instapundit), so that pretty much puts the whole “We're gonna die by Mercury poisoning!” thing to rest.
