text:
Thank you, Kim!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
50 comments:
- Doris said...
But...but...it's not a guy...
>:P - November 18, 2010 at 4:50 PM
I'm going to be unsympathetic, intolerant and a general all-round bitch by saying that agreeing to a breast exam in bars and mightclubs is a bit, um, naive.
I will now slink back to my kennel. - November 18, 2010 at 5:37 PM
You're welcome!
I would like to know just how drunk you have to be to let some person who claims to be a doctor give you a breast exam in a bar. - November 18, 2010 at 6:06 PM
- The Mother said...
I have teenage boys who can do real breast exams. Promise.
- November 18, 2010 at 7:37 PM
mother- it is an art.
- November 18, 2010 at 7:48 PM
Wait... so it's a guy... dressed as a woman... who is pretending to be a doctor... who gropes women... in bars.
That's... wow. Heh.
I don't think I've ever found a need to use the period button so much in a comment. - November 18, 2010 at 8:19 PM
No, it's not a guy dressed as a woman. It's a woman who used to be a guy!
- November 18, 2010 at 8:37 PM
There is a lot of transphobia in that article, and you should be ashamed for perpetuating it. You are a Doctor and should know better. I'm disappointed.
- November 18, 2010 at 8:53 PM
"There is a lot of transphobia in that article". There is? I thought it was very matter-of-fact.
- November 18, 2010 at 9:20 PM
- Michelle & Trevor said...
Sigh... these are the only reasons Idaho gets in the news.
- November 18, 2010 at 9:51 PM
I knew a couple of 20something guys who pulled that stunt, pretending to be doctors and offering free breast exams in bars. True story. Like the other posters above, I can't feel sorry for anyone stupid enough to fall for it.
- November 19, 2010 at 12:33 AM
Linkee no workee. :^(
- November 19, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Anon 7:53 I'm not sure what you mean when there's transphobia in the article, the fact that the accused is a transgendered individual is relevant. Where's the transphobia?
- November 19, 2010 at 1:38 AM
- stacey said...
So what's the difference between this person....
And the TSA? Are they not practicing medicine without a license now? Hell they are even administering Ionizing radiation without a license to practice medicine!
Just sayin' - November 19, 2010 at 6:28 AM
- Brad said...
As a stupid person, the tagline for your blog offends me. You are a Doctor and should know better.
- November 19, 2010 at 7:21 AM
Count me in with Anon 437 (insofar as slinking back into my cave o'shame when I am done here) but the women were idiots and the faux physician is a male. Sorry to be non-PC, but all the surgery and hormones in the world do not change one's DNA or gender. All this does is allow a person to pretend to be a member of the opposite gender with a really good costume of artifical parts and chemistry.
For the record, I don't "hate" these poor folks, but I do pity them and find the surgeries and treatments a total waste of medical resources.
Let the howling begin. - November 19, 2010 at 7:53 AM
Wow, a couple of people took this a little too seriously. I reread the artical and did not feel it was transphobic at all nor did I think his title for the blog was offensive. Life is serious enough and to be picking apart things to find negativity is kind of silly. I work with a lot of transgender clients and knowing them pretty well, I can tell you they would have got a kick out of this article. I know I did more so at the women that were getting breast exams at a bar, weren't they a little suspicious. LOL
- November 19, 2010 at 8:53 AM
"You can trust me, I'm an amateur gynecologist."
- November 19, 2010 at 9:57 AM
- Desiree said...
Good effing god people! Calm the eff down! Is this your first Dr. Grumpy post IN LIFE? For that alone you should be flogged.
Say it with me now, very slowly: Tongue. In. Cheek.
And any woman who would consent to a breast exam in a BAR regardless of WHO is doing it should soundly thrashed about the head and neck. Gah!
Transphobia - are you kidding me? That's all anyone got out of this article? Not the history of larceny? Not the posing as a physician? Not that stuff huh?
We should excuse this person because they're transgendered? Not for real. You break the law, you break the law, regardless of the private parts you were born with and had changed because you didn't like them or WHATEVER.
Lighten the eff up y'all!
I love your blog Dr. G! - November 19, 2010 at 10:42 AM
- Packer said...
Employed by TSA ?
- November 19, 2010 at 11:56 AM
I'm clearly on a different wave length from the rest of your readers. The part of the article I enjoyed the most was the pseudonym: Berlyn Aussieahshowna. And it turned out to be bogus??!! I'm shocked. Shocked.
- November 19, 2010 at 2:05 PM
I LOVED the "name", also!
But I have to agree that "transgendered" does not really exist, hormones and surgey notwithstanding.
With all due respect to Michael Jackson, gender and race remain "nomodifiable" characteritics.
Patti, RN - November 19, 2010 at 4:08 PM
So this man got "transgendered" into a woman he/she was a lesbian trapped in a man's body? Interesting...
- November 19, 2010 at 4:43 PM
This seems like a good time to point out the recent National Transgender Discrimination Survey on Health and Health Care. Out of 7,000 respondents, 19% reported being refused care, 28% were subjected to verbal harassment and a whopping 2% were victims of physical violence. All for having the audacity to see a doctor while trans.
You people are dangerous. - November 19, 2010 at 5:55 PM
First time commenter, somewhat longer-time lurker.
First of all-- the story's hilarity/facedesckery (is that a word?) stands on its own, regardless of the gender identification of the perpetrator.
Second-- the transphobia in the article is apparent in two ways. First, it makes the perpetrator's identity relevant. Second, said perp identifies as male, and it is transphobic to disregard their stated identification. If someone is FTM, then refer to him as male and use the pronouns he, him, and his.
Third-- I don't think anyone's arguing that the perpetrator should get a pass because of his gender identity. Groping people, especially under false pretenses is wrong no matter who you are.
Fourth-- Those who say that "transgender doesn't exist"-- well, frankly, no one asked you. Sex and gender are not the same thing. You're right that chromosomal makeup can't be changed, but pretty much every outward sex characteristic (with the exception of bottom surgery for FTMs) can be changed with a high rate of success. Gender is a psychosocial characteristic, and how one feels one needs to express one's gender is not your problem. It neither "breaks your leg nor picks your pocket" (to appropriate a quote from Jefferson) The fact that you think it does indicates transphobia.
And, er. Love the blog! - November 19, 2010 at 8:01 PM
- C said...
I'm with Hildy. Didn't anyone think that "Aussieahshowna" was a weird name? Did she claim to be Welsh?
- November 19, 2010 at 10:17 PM
- SECRET PEPPER PERSON: said...
I feel like that old grandpa in Cher's Moonstruck movie where he weeps, "I'm so confused." The man became a woman and groped women? Does this make him a lesbian?
- November 20, 2010 at 12:10 AM
- Arzt4Empfaenger said...
Agreeing with Desiree, take it easy! I'm a bit peeved that people jump to attack just from reading an article that brushes the topic of transsexuality... because that's not what the post is about. Neither is posting that link in any way compromising Dr. Grumpy's competence and humour as a human, but maybe there some people were having a bad day and are on edge? I have no different explanation. And yes, I've got a transsexual friend whom I visited especially for her surgery three years ago, so the issue is close to my heart as well. However, this article and the posters intent are harmless and nothing to get so upset and personal (re. Dr.Grumpy) about! Or do you seriously want to question the character of a doc you never met by one out of hundred links he posts? Get real and move on! *eyerolls* (Sorry for the rant.)
Really, *who* accepts free breast exams in a bar? Or anywhere not in a medical office? *That* really is the crux here. If someone had told me that plan beforehand, I'd have said that'll never work. Seems I was wrong. (I guess the answer to the first question is alcohol.)
The bogus name made me snicker, too! - November 20, 2010 at 5:59 AM
- Arzt4Empfaenger said...
Alcharisi, thank you. You're right when you say "it is transphobic to disregard their stated identification" - I noticed, too, but am used to people confusing the pronouns, so I didn't pay too much attention (I do, however, rectify such errors when I talk to people face to face and they mistake the pronouns). I think there's still a lot of people who know little about transsexuality, and even more who get totally confused when they hear about people who switched back to their own gender. I'm in med school and had to explain to other students that there are in fact differences between homosexuality, transsexuality etc., and that one does not necessary mean the other applies too, and no, that drag queens again are different.
It's a matter of understanding versus thinking to understand (when actually just reaching for the next cliché).
... I hate it when a link meant to be curious or mind-blowing turns into such a serious discussion. Sigh. Will shut up now. - November 20, 2010 at 6:08 AM
At a bar on Hallowe'en weekend, a guy had a huge cardboard box over his top half... A figure-eight shape cut into the area in front of his face... And the words, "For a free Mammogram, place breasts here"...
Much snickering was done... - November 20, 2010 at 11:26 PM
Alcharisi...I will make a special effort to get my transgendered pronouns correct the first time someone with this disorder successfully reproduces as a member of their "chosen" gender instead of their biological one (the "pregnant man" leaps to mind as an example of the latter.)
Oh....and child molesters don't directly impact me as a middle aged person either, but I have trouble with their "choices" as well. Wave a disease in my face and call it "normal", and I darned well WILL have an opinion! I live in a world of science, not rainbows and unicorns.
Pattie, RN - November 22, 2010 at 7:02 AM
What? You are comparing child molesters to the transgendered? You are one weird and sick individual.
I speak as a MTF transgendered doctor. The only prejudices I've ever met has been from my own profession. My patients have no probelm.
I did not particulalry find the article transphobic though the responses on here show a certain ignorance at best. I suppose there's the morbid circus like fascination with people perceived as "different" and hencw why iw was mentioned in the article. - November 22, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Hmm. I thought it mildly offensive that the article made the woman's trans status an issue, but it actually did get her pronouns correct -- it said she is MTF, which means she was identified as male at birth but finds herself to be a woman.
Annie, RN, do you refuse to acknowledge the gender of people who are sterile, since they cannot successfully reproduce as their "chosen" gender?
If you actually did live in this world of science of which you speak and you paid attention to the science of sex characteristics you'd know that the those hormones that you find 'notwithstanding' in trans people are responsible for the whole dog and pony show of sex characteristics, primary and secondary, anyway. It is perfectly possible, and indeed happens regularly, for a person to have XY chromosomes but appear, from birth, as female, and vice-versa. (This happens often enough to become troublesome when Olympic athletes are subjected to genetic sex-tests, uncovering women who were identified as girls at birth, grew up, had normal puberty and so on and are surprised as hell, and offended, to be told that they are male. By the way, would you start calling such a woman "he" if you knew her? How about if she was your daughter?)
If you were really interested in the world of science as it pertains to the phenomenon of transgender people, you'd even be aware that there is excellent evidence of sex-differentiation in the brain, and how this occurs in utero before sex-differentiation of the body really begins. Science shows that it's spectacularly easy to mess it up, at least in rats and cows, by messing with the hormone levels in the womb at the right time during fetal development, resulting in 'female' animals that insist on behaving as males or vice-versa.
If you really want to live in the world of science, it'd be a good idea to stop the snap judgment trip and actually, y'know, INVESTIGATE things.
In the meantime, well, if you saw me you wouldn't know I'm trans, and if you found out and then insisted on using the wrong pronouns, everybody around you would think you were being ridiculous and stupid. This is, functionally, a far better proof of the truth of my gender than my baby-making abilities or technique. - November 22, 2010 at 11:47 PM
The article does get her pronouns right. It says she's MTF, meaning she was identified as male at birth but finds herself to be female. She's a woman.
Annie, RN:
Do you deny the gender of people who are sterile, or just haven't had any kids?
If you really live in the world of science you ought to know that those hormones that you find 'notwithstanding' in trans people are responsible for the whole dog and pony show of sex anyway. Various hormone-related conditions can, and do, cause people with XX chromosomes to be born with male bits and develop as males, and (more commonly) for people with XY chromosomes to be born female and develop as females. It used to come up every four years when they did genetic gender-testing for the Olympic and the women in question were inevitably shocked to find that they were "genetically male" (whatever the hell that means) and utterly offended (rightfully so) at the suggestion that they are not 'real' women. (By the way, would you start calling such a woman 'he'? Y'know, for science?)
Here in this world of science, people doing science not only know that you can change an embroyos sex regardless of its chromosomes, with hormones, they have also discovered excellent evidence that there are neurological differences in the brains of male and female mammals, and that these bits don't differentiate at the same time as the reproductive tract, and it's all got to do with some hormonal conditions in utero. With the right timing and a syringe of testosterone it is an utter cakewalk to cause 'female' mammals who insist on behaving like males to be born. No amount of pointing out their genitals to them and calling it science will make them stop being behaviorally male.
People who really live in the world of science do not dismiss phenomena that do not make sense to them as non-existent. They investigate. - November 23, 2010 at 12:10 AM
Department of Redundancy Department, may I help you??
AND, uhhh, its Pattie, Not Annie!
I teach fetal development, so I think I have a teensy clue about fetal sexual differentiation.
And when the chromosomes are not "XX" or "XY", the fetus is abnormal. Ditto if secondary sexual characteristics do not match genotype...abnormal. A high percentage of spontaneously aborted fetuses have these or other chromosomal mistakes.
You and Chastity/Chaz Bono can mutilate and chemically alter yourselves to your hearts content, thanks to modern medicine. Doesn't change your gender, just your looks.
So look, brother (or sister)....I don't buy what your are selling. And outside of the People's Republic of California....you have more issues than this forum will ever be able to address. And I am done hijacking the blog of the funniest damn doc on the internet! - November 23, 2010 at 8:09 AM
- Wormwood's Doxy said...
The blog post didn't bother me--but it terrifies me that a woman who publicly identifies as an RN can be so ignorant and judgmental...
Pattie--have you never heard of intersexed people? Some research indicates that 1 in every 1,000 babies is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn't seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. Biology is NOT destiny, and sexual dimorphism is not the only game in town.
Not all transgender people are intersexed, of course. But your gender essentialism is grounded in faulty science. If you want to read more, check out the Intersex Society of North America's FAQ page
Why is it so hard to be respectful of other people and to accept their perceptions of themselves? As someone noted above, it doesn't cost you anything--but by turning yourself into God and telling people that they cannot be who they are because YOU don't approve, you rob them of dignity and humanity.
As for "Anonymous" above--if you teach fetal development I pity your students. Gender is an assigned social category--not a biological immutable. If you are so ignorant that you don't know that, you have no business teaching anyone.
Transgender people are, without a doubt, the most vulnerable people in our society. They deserve better from healthcare "professionals," who ought to have enough intelligence to do their homework.
Doxy - November 23, 2010 at 10:04 AM
"The most vulnerable people in our society' ?? What incredible hubris and self indulgent pathos. Chilren, the elderly poor, and the mentally ill, just for starters, are far more in need of support and compassion...although in your skewed outlook, I'm sure they are sidebars to society.
There is a large parcel of real estate between "ignorance" and a total rejection of your hypothesis of the normalcy of gender reassignment.
Pattie, RN - November 23, 2010 at 12:01 PM
- Wormwood's Doxy said...
Higher rates of poverty and unemployment. Higher rates of illness. Higher rates of violence. Higher rates of homelessness. Higher rates of attempted/completed suicide.
You can find some of the numbers here.
So yes...I stand by the claim that transgendered people are the most vulnerable group in the U.S.
And why do you assume that I am not equally concerned about the poor, children, the mentally ill, and the elderly, just because I point out that transgendered people are vulnerable?
I find it interesting that you are so focused on gender binaries (and on constructing straw people) that you didn't answer my question about why you couldn't just treat people the way they wish to be treated--and with dignity. Very telling...and sad.
Doxy - November 23, 2010 at 12:38 PM
It is entirely possible to disagree with someone - no matter their gender, whether born or surgically altered - and still respect their dignity.
Accusing Patti of not respecting their dignity is to assume that in face-to-face encounters with these individuals she is discriminatory or rude. You do not have such proof.
I am tired of the intolerance of the groups screeching at the portions of society who, with researched and logical opinions, happen to disagree with them about issues of sexuality. - November 23, 2010 at 3:29 PM
Your 'research' and 'logic' say that I don't exist, but you expect me to apologize for being intolerant of your bigotry?
- November 23, 2010 at 3:45 PM
Ah. Sorry for the name error, Pattie.
(I'll not get into the tedious discussion of the meaning of "gender" vs. "sex.")
Hey, I am not saying it's normal. If my gender/sex was normal then I wouldn't need to 'mutilate' and chemically alter myself. I did it because something is wrong and I was constantly in a state of distracted uncomfortable misery because my proprioceptive sense of my sex did not match the facts of my body and my uncontrived behavioral expression of my gender did not match the expectations for people with bodies like mine, creating a mild social disaster.
I didn't do this for a fricking lark, I did it to fix something that's wrong.
Why are you, as a nurse, so unsympathetic to that?
You know enough about fetal development to say what I told you is redundant, then you know enough to know that it is quite possible that trans people are seeking treatment for a real medical problem.
So why the hell do you want to criticize people who seek/get treatment for the problem? Calling Chaz Bono "Chastity" and this criminal woman in the article "he" is socially equivalent to responding to the existence of somebody with a prosthetic hand by deliberately installing doorknobs that people with that sort of prosthetic hand can't work. You don't see somebody who's had plastic surgery for something like electrodactyly and say, "You can mutilate yourself to your heart's content, you're still a lobster-claw kid to me!"
Have a little respect. And maybe offer trans people a little benefit of the doubt. And maybe a little respect for their doctors, too. To get those surgeries and hormones you need a doctor to agree that they're a valid treatment for a valid problem. I didn't get a 'sex change' at a tattoo shop.
Look. My sense of self, which includes my sense of my gender, is as real as yours. The fact that I have had to use medical means to make it function properly in the world is not a good reason to scorn me, much less actively try to undermine my efforts.
Yes, it's a fact, I just changed my appearance. My chromosomes and some of my now-non-functional reproductive tract remain the same as ever. Whoop de do. I'm actually happy and well and functioning completely in society these days, and I stopped smoking and take care of myself and love my body and for the first time in my life I'm not depressed though I was on antidepressants long before I had a so-called sex-change. My doctors and nurses get a big old WIN. Please don't try to break that any more, okay? I really am vulnerable in that attitudes like yours can make it very difficult for me to get work and housing and medical care and avoid being the target of violence.
Department of Redundancy Department - November 23, 2010 at 3:49 PM
- Wormwood's Doxy said...
Accusing Patti of not respecting their dignity is to assume that in face-to-face encounters with these individuals she is discriminatory or rude. You do not have such proof.
I believe I do, since she wrote the following:
Alcharisi...I will make a special effort to get my transgendered pronouns correct the first time someone with this disorder successfully reproduces as a member of their "chosen" gender instead of their biological one (the "pregnant man" leaps to mind as an example of the latter.)
And then there was this one:
You and Chastity/Chaz Bono can mutilate and chemically alter yourselves to your hearts content, thanks to modern medicine.
Discriminatory AND rude.
As Anonymous (November 19, 2010 4:55 PM) pointed out, the National Transgender Discrimination Survey on Health and Health Care shows that, "out of 7,000 transgendered respondents, 19% reported being refused care, 28% were subjected to verbal harassment and a whopping 2% were victims of physical violence." (my emphasis)
Do you understand that? Transgendered people who sought medical care from people like Patti were actually denied care outright or verbally harassed because they didn't meet a healthcare provider's standard of "normal"!
That is immoral in my world. I hope it would be immoral to anyone with an ounce of compassion.
As an RN, Patti presumably has a great responsibility for the lives and well-being of her patients. The attitude she has shown here gives me little reason to believe that she would treat a transgendered person with respect (including calling them by their preferred pronoun). I'd love for her to prove me wrong...she could start by actually reading some of the info I've been posting and trying to show a little empathy for our friend in the "Department of Redundancy Department."
Doxy - November 23, 2010 at 4:44 PM
I'd suggest going with "it' then.
I hear San Franciso is lovely this time of year.
Cuz maybe the rest of us don't give a flip, buddy. Deal with it. - November 23, 2010 at 6:17 PM
If the rest of you really didn't give a flip, you wouldn't point out a person's trans status in news articles about her humorous breast-groping crimes, and you wouldn't start using gendered pronouns that don't match her gendered appearance when you find out that she's trans. If you didn't give a flip, you wouldn't bother doing that stuff.
I eagerly await the day when the rest of you really, truly, don't give a flip, and find the fact that I am a transsexual as boring as I do.
Since I'm already breaking my habit of not being bothered to talk about transsexualism...
About the 'waste of medical resources' argument. Being a transsexual is full of comedy, and one comedic element of my experience is this: My insurance was willing to pay, indefinitely, for me to have talk-therapy for depression and any kind of pricey or cheap drug for it, but, of course, they wouldn't pay for gender-related surgery or hormones. The joke in there is that the cost of the surgery was slightly less than the cost of a year and a half of talk-therapy and a year's worth of hormone therapy is about the price of a single hour. AND this cheaper treatment is the effective one; I am well rather than just coping with being miserable. I go out and hold down a job and do volunteer work and contribute to society and all that good stuff that healthy humans ought to do, instead of being a depressed shut-in. And I paid for the treatment that allowed me to do this out of my own pocket, so, kindly can it about how my well-being is a waste.
Redundancy Department - November 23, 2010 at 8:22 PM
Exactly what Redundancy said.
The reason the article was transphobic was because the writer felt it appropriate to mention that she was trans. True, the article was better than most in using proper pronouns and didn't show the dreaded before and after photo, but by discussing her medical history the author chose to privelege the gender she was assigned at birth as opposed to her lived experience. You would never see a comparable story that said "Woman assaults other women in bars, also she had an appendectomy 6 years ago." But an article about a trans person will always mention their genitals. Always.
But the original article was only part of the fail that took place in this thread. The original post by Dr. Grumpy was shockingly ignorant and the subsequent posts calling out his shit were completely justified (he has since changed the wording of the post, and at one point posted an apology, which has since been taken down). Not to mention the medical professionals that felt this the appropriate place to laugh about their mistreatment of trans people.
The sad thing was that this was completely foreseeable. The second I (and assuming any of the other trans people) read the linked article, I knew exactly what this thread would turn into. It's a simple formula: 1. Trans person is in the news (usually for being killed or needing to use a restroom) 2. The reporter decides that everybody needs to know about this person's genitals. 3. Cis commenters swarm to compete to see who can be the most vile.
Go read the comments of the original article and you can see exactly what I'm talking about. A few commenters stick to the original crime, but in no time the thread devolves into transphobic slurs, denying her gender (ie using male pronouns), denying her humanity (ie calling her "it"), joking about assaulting her, and joking about throwing her in a men's prison (which is a very real threat for trans people).
Did anyone actually think this thread would be any different just because the blog is followed by medical professionals? I sure didn't. I've had plenty of interactions with medical folk since coming out, and the last word I would use to describe them (the interactions or the people) would be 'decent'.
Instead of arguing about how an article isn't transphobic (even when there are plenty of trans people saying that it is), how about trying to educate yourselves? There are tons of resouces out there, books, articles, blogs, etc, that are written by trans people. But overall there's a lack of people in the medical profession that are willing to look at them. The sad thing is that the only people still paying attention to this thread are either the transphobes or the trans people calling them out. But that's the whole point. Cis people don't have to be knowledgeable about this stuff, so they can just pass on by and will be just as ignorant next time. - November 24, 2010 at 10:28 AM
- Wormwood's Doxy said...
Cis people don't have to be knowledgeable about this stuff, so they can just pass on by and will be just as ignorant next time.
For the record, I'm cis. :-)
(For the uninitiated, that means the gender I perceive myself to be matches the physical body I was born with. In this case, female.)
I'm adamant about standing up for trans people because I believe everyone should be treated with dignity--ESPECIALLY by people who have chosen jobs in which they are responsible for the physical and mental well-being of others. Simple as that.
Doxy - November 24, 2010 at 10:51 AM
Other Anony --
I've never had medical professionals be actively rude to me, but your experience is probably more typical for trans people. A trans friend of mine broke an ankle and had an ER doctor demand, "What makes you think you deserve health care?!"
My own experience is just full of the polite variants on, "We don't treat your kind." Never mind that my care is simple and there's no need to do anything about my trans-ness but write a script so I can continue a well-established regimen.
The trans-comedy-gold award for this thread goes to Patti, RN, talking about how trans people aren't vulnerable, "the elderly poor!" etc. Last time I changed primary care docs I had a terrible time finding somebody who would treat me. After searching for over two months I ended up at the clinic especially established to serve vulnerable populations who might otherwise be denied health care. The vast majority of my doctor's other patients are homeless. He knows, and the staff know, that my comfortably middle-class behind is at just as much risk of being turned away from a doctor as the unwashed and penniless behinds of my fellow patients. My doctor, and the whole crew there, are frickin' great.
And no, assorted ridiculous hateful people, I am not taking resources from the poor. They charge people who, like me, can afford it, a profitable price and use that profit to help subsidize those who cannot afford it. And they accept my hideous mutilated donations.
Redundancy Department. - November 24, 2010 at 3:54 PM
I have just been lurking and reading, cuz it is not normal for this blog to have not funny comments and it is humor and makes me laugh most of the time.
I am just an average middle aged man and don't think about this craziness much at all but it seems like the people who have had this surgery and shots and stuff are awfully nasty to them other people that think that they are wierd. I mean that I think it IS wierd to cut yourself up because you are messed up somehow about who you are.
Buddy, you don't really expect me and the world to think you are normal, do you? I mean, live your life, but don't be crazy enough to think that normal people are going to applaud or something. I think you have some problems for sure, and maybe if you didn't bitch at all these other people who think you are wierd they wouldn't be tickked off. It seems like you all are trying to fight with other people about the way they THINK. There are laws and stuff but you don't change peoples minds by being an ass or whining. - November 25, 2010 at 10:18 AM
Why the heck do you think I expect you to think it's not weird? It is damn weird.
Think it's weird all you want. What I want is to be treated as a full-fledged respect-worthy human being in spite of the fact that it's weird. This includes not making fun of my problem, not pretending that it's all that I am, not blaming me for it, not trying to aggravate it, not suggesting that I deserve to be murdered or raped, not saying that I don't deserve medical care, and not calling me 'it,' a dehumanizing pronoun that is likely to offend someone if you apply it to their dog.
On the lesser scale, I also want you to just stop making a big deal of it. The same way my friend with Parkinson's (which is weird) wants to be permitted to not talk about Parkinson's all the damn time. It gets really old.
Thing is, people who claim that the fact that transgenderism is weird is an excuse to treat trans people like dirty, worthless jokes believe that it is some sort of 'lifestyle choice' and that trans people do it because they want to be weird. What you are doing is mistaking the treatment for the disease, and pretending that illness is a voluntary condition.
You do not suppose that my colleague who had a knee-replacement had the surgery because she wanted a cool artificial knee and a cool scar, and that she's using a cane because she's got this crazy weird desire to be different and have a cane, and that she took pain meds because it's fun. She did that stuff so she can live with less pain.
It is for the same reason that I had a 'sex change.' I was in pain. I wanted to die. If I could have been the gender I was assigned at birth without living in unending and ever-increasing misery, I would have. I tried and I tried some more.
I didn't get a sex change to be different. I didn't do it because I thought it was a cool thing to do. Getting a sex change is not like getting a tattoo. I did it because the doctors and scientists who study this really weird condition that I've got say it is the only treatment that is effective consistently and in the long term. Guess what? They were right. To me the absolutely weirdest thing about this is discovering just how good it feels, and how freeing it is, to have so much less pain. I never imagined it would work so damn well. It's weird as hell that it does.
So. Yes. I am going to be awfully nasty to people who tell me that I ought to live with debilitating pain so I can not be weird.* I am also going to be awfully nasty to people who try to cause me to have pain and trouble in order to punish me for being weird.
*Never mind that my inability to perform by birth-assigned gender correctly made me weirder then than I am now, at least to people who don't know I am transsexual, which is most of them.
Department of Redundancy - November 25, 2010 at 5:24 PM
From a cis woman (who happens to be a lesbian): many thanks to both the trans folks and the cis folks in this comment thread who are being fantastic advocates for trans equality and doing a great job of educating cisgender folks about the reality of transgender folks' lives. Thank you for your patience and your plain speaking. You rock.
For every person who comments who doesn't get it, you will have sown a seed for at least one lurker.
Folks for whom this is a big mystery, or for whom this is acutely uncomfortable: for many cisgender people, reaching a certain level of understanding about the reality of trans people's lives is a process. It doesn't happen overnight, it doesn't happen, poof!, all of a sudden. Give yourself time to think about it. Read info at some of the links some of the transgender commenters have posted. Read about and listen to the real, lived experience of trans people, and believe that lived experience, not just what's in your head about what "ought" to be and what society has taught us all about what "ought" to be. Think about some of the other things society used to teach us that has turned out not to be true.
- Morgan - December 2, 2010 at 12:32 PM


text:
There are now reports that as many as 18 people died from injuries they received Friday when the latest in a weeks-long series of tornado-spawning storms tore through parts of Oklahoma.
Update at 8:50 p.m. ET. Death Toll Revised:
An update from Oklahoma's Department of Emergency Management Monday evening reports that 12 adults and 6 children died in Friday night's storms, NPR Southern Bureau Chief Russell Lewis tells us. Officials say that they haven't identified all of the victims. Our original post continues:
"At least 16 people are dead across the state from a vicious storm that spawned at least five tornadoes there late Friday, officials said Monday. And the death toll may rise further."
That's also what The Tulsa World is reporting:
"At least 16 people — including five children and three veteran storm chasers — were dead and the search continued Sunday for more victims of tornadoes and floodwaters that swept through the Oklahoma City area Friday night."
Reuters puts the number of confirmed deaths at 13. So does The Associated Press, which warns that seven people are still unaccounted for.
As happens during disasters, there will be conflicting information as the story develops. We'll focus on what's being reported by officials and credible news outlets. And we'll update as new information comes in. On Sunday, when Eyder wrote about the deaths of the storm chasers, the death toll had stood at 10.
Friday's storm hit 11 days after the May 20 tornado that devastated the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore — killing 24 people and wounding more than 275.
Unfortunately for those in the Oklahoma City area, the National Weather Service is warning that they're likely to be hit by some more severe weather on Monday and Tuesday. There's a "slight risk" of severe thunderstorms through that region (as well as in parts of northwest Texas, southern and eastern Kansas, southeastern Colorado and western Missouri).
The storms could also produce "perhaps a tornado or two," the weather service says.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
David Hilfiker knows what's coming. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's so early that he's had time to tell his family what he wants to happen once forgetfulness turns incapacitating.
"When it's time to put me in an institution, don't have me at home and destroy your own life," said the retired physician, who is still well enough that he blogs about the insidious progress of the disease. "Watching the Lights Go Out," it's titled.
Nearly half of all seniors who need some form of long-term care — from help at home to full-time care in a facility — have dementia, the World Alzheimer Report said Thursday. It's a staggering problem as the global population ages, placing enormous strain on families who provide the bulk of that care at least early on, and on national economies alike.
Indeed, cognitive impairment is the strongest predictor of who will move into a care facility within the next two years, 7.5 times more likely than people with cancer, heart disease or other chronic ailments of older adults, the report found.
"It's astonishing," said Marc Wortmann, executive director of Alzheimer's Disease International, which commissioned the report and focused on the problems of caregiving. "What many countries try to do is keep people away from care homes because they say that's cheaper. Yes it's cheaper for the government or the health system, but it's not always the best solution."
And dropping birth rates mean there are fewer children in families to take care of aging parents, too, said Michael Hodin of the Global Coalition on Aging.
"Very shortly there will be more of us over 60 than under 15," he noted.
Today, more than 35 million people worldwide, including 5 million in the U.S., are estimated to have Alzheimer's. Barring a medical breakthrough, those numbers are expected to more than double by 2050.
This week, the U.S. National Institutes of Health announced $45 million in new Alzheimer's research, with most of the money focused on finding ways to prevent or at least delay the devastating disease. The Obama administration had hoped to invest $100 million in new Alzheimer's research this year, a move blocked by the budget cuts known as the sequester. Overall, the nation has been investing about $400 million a year in Alzheimer's research.
But the disease's financial toll is $200 billion a year in the U.S. alone, a tab expected to pass $1 trillion by 2050 in medical and nursing home expenditures — not counting unpaid family caregiving. The world report puts the global cost at $604 billion.
Thursday, families affected by Alzheimer's and aging advocates said it's time for a global push to end the brain disease, just like the world's governments and researchers came together to turn the AIDS virus from a death sentence into a chronic disease.
"We need a war on Alzheimer's," said Sandy Halperin, 63, of Tallahassee, Fla., who was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's three years ago. He now finds himself stumbling for words, but still visits lawmakers to urge more funding.
Meanwhile, the world report focuses on caregiving, stressing how the needs of people with dementia are so different than those of other ailments of aging, such as cancer and heart disease. People with dementia begin needing some help to get through the day early on, to make sure they don't leave the stove on or get lost, for example. Eventually, patients lose the ability to do the simplest activities of daily life, and can survive that way for a decade or more. Often family members quit their jobs so they can provide round-the-clock care, and the stress can harm their own health.
The world report said families need early education about what services are available to help before they're in a crisis, plus training in how to handle the behavioral problems of the disease — such as not to argue if their loved one thinks Ronald Reagan is still president, or how to handle the agitation at dusk known as sundowning, or how to react when the patient hits someone.
Two-thirds of the calls that Home Instead Senior Care, which provides in-home personal care services, receives are from families that did no planning until the patient had a crisis, such as wandering or a fall, said its president, Jeff Huber.
Hilfiker, the blogger with early Alzheimer's, takes that education idea a step further. He tells everyone he knows that he has Alzheimer's as a way to break some of the stigma, "so when I make dumb mistakes, I don't need to be embarrassed," he said Thursday.
He urges other patients to plan their end-of-life care early, while they're still cognitively able to participate. He believes that telling his wife no extraordinary care — no feeding tubes, for example — will ease her burden.
Hilfiker's big unanswered question: "If I'm at peace with my disease, does that make it easier to care for me later?
Source: USA Today


text:
This Is the Manicure You Should Get, Based on Your Astrological Sign
10 Best Nail Art Ideas from Fashion WeekFrom hot new polish colors to elaborate techniques, we've got nail art inspiration for every aspiring DIY nail artist |
Older comments
i dont like any of these prefer to get some rockstar nails lol
by brianna121791 Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 07:44AM Report as inappropriate
Interesting ideas; some are a tad outrageous for me, but they are charming.
by GigiSD Saturday, April 13, 2013 at 11:11PM Report as inappropriate
Very much like the obmre! Bllack goes with everything and is very sleek, and if all black it too much you can always add some gold sparkels!
by allison_rodriguez Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 11:36AM Report as inappropriate
Don't care for the crystals. They might be fine for a couple hrs. but they would snag on everything. To make polka dots, I bought tools that you just dap into the polish. They were very cheap. You can also use the tip of a pencil point that is rounded. Don't use a freshly sharpened pencil. It works and is free.
by lori_testy Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 07:43PM Report as inappropriate
I loved #8, I have to say though that #3 is badly done
by Chantilly Tuesday, December 25, 2012 at 01:59PM Report as inappropriate
A lot of these are pretty!
by NillaButterfly Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 02:42PM Report as inappropriate
loooove nail art, i love doing it!
by rayshaviolet Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 02:10PM Report as inappropriate
I love nail art and my nail technician is awesome...right now my nails are sparkly and ombre!
by MizzPink Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 12:13PM Report as inappropriate


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Cryptocurrency Mining Today
Mining is one of the key concepts in the crypto world. Everyone who comes into contact with this sphere somehow wonders about the mining of coins. How profitable is mining in 2020, and what are the current trends?
Crypto mining is a process during which a computer solves mathematical problems, resulting in the release of new blocks of information. This gives its owners a certain amount of coins, which is deposited in the total pot and registered in the public "ledger", so-called blockchain. Machines in the network are also checking transactions with existing coins, adding this information to the blockchain as well.
As for the issue itself, the most well-known algorithm of mining is Proof-of-Work (PoW), used in the networks of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and many others.
During the mining process, the latest transactions are verified and compiled into blocks. It is usually a series of calculations with an iteration of parameters to find a hash with the specified properties. The node which first solves this problem receives a reward. This approach was specifically designed to encourage those who provide the computing power of their mining machines to maintain the network and mine new coins.
It is usually no need for a newcomer to know and understand all the complicated details of the mining process, just how much they can earn with certain equipment and electricity costs.
Everything is designed in such a way that the complexity of calculations is steadily increasing, which then requires a constant increase in the computing power of the network. In 2009-2010, for mining bitcoin, miners only had to download and run the software on their personal computers, but very soon the network became so complicated that even with best PCs with a powerful processor, mining became unprofitable. That's why miners started to use more effective video cards (graphics processing units or GPUs) and join them in so-called "farms".
In most systems, the number of coins is determined in advance. Also, many networks are gradually reducing rewards for miners. Such emission restrictions were built into the algorithm to prevent inflation.
Thus, the cost of mining for smaller participants no longer pays off, which makes them turn off their hardware or switch to another coin where they can still make their profit.
In particular, on the evening of May 11 2020, a halving took place in the bitcoin network, the reward for mining was halved, from 12.5 to 6.25 BTC. In June, the revenue of bitcoin miners decreased by 23%, to the lowest since March 2019.
However, in mid-June, the difficulty of bitcoin mining showed a record growth over the past 2.5 years. Mining the first cryptocurrency has become 15% more difficult. Although, by the beginning of July, the complexity had stabilized. The growing difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency indicates that new miners have joined its network. Previously, some of them turned off the equipment, as it became less profitable to mine the coin due to a decrease in its cost and halving.
Now the absolute majority of new coins are generated by industrial mining. This is done by large data centers equipped with specialized computers based on the ASIC architecture. ASICs are integrated circuits that were initially optimized for a specific task, namely the mining of cryptocurrencies. They are much more productive than CPUs and video cards, and at the same time consume much less electricity. ASIC computers are the main type of equipment for the industrial production of crypto.
So now, after the halving, BTC coin mining has become even less profitable. For beginners, mining the first cryptocurrency is unlikely to be suitable. It is more often earned by large companies that have all the necessary equipment, access to cheap rental conditions, electricity and maintenance.
Hence newbies are better off starting with mining altcoins. It is even more profitable to work in a pool, that is, together with other miners. This can help to place farms in one place and negotiate a favourable price for electricity, so you can get a small but stable income dux to the total capacity of the pool.
Therefore, it has become much more difficult for regular users who have only non-specialized equipment at their disposal to generate virtual money. However, GPU developers have significantly increased the performance of their devices in recent years, so mining on a video card is still common.
Another important event that changes the situation in the mining sphere will be the hardfork of the Ethereum network with the turn to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. For now, Ethereum is the most popular altcoin for GPU mining, but Ethereum 2.0 will not require using such powerful equipment, so then it switches to PoS, GPU owners will have to look for alternative coins to mine.
At the moment the most popular altcoins for mining on GPUs are Ethereum (ETH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Grin (GRIN), Zcoin (XZC), Dogecoin and Ravencoin (RVN). There are actually a lot of mining programs that automatically determine which coin is more profitable to mine at the moment.
In the coming years, the market is waiting for a race of technologies. Manufacturers are investing in finding ways to increase hashing speed and reduce power consumption. Mining pools will play an increasing role. The market will also be affected by applications for mining cryptocurrencies on smartphones that require low computing power, such as Dash or Litecoin.
And remember StealthEX supports more than 250 coins and constantly updating the list, so you can easily swap your crypto haul to more popular altcoins. Our service does not require registration and allows you to remain anonymous. Why don't you check it out? Just go to StealthEX and follow these easy steps:
✔ Choose the pair and the amount for your exchange. For example ETH to BTC.
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✔ Move your cryptocurrency for the exchange.
✔ Receive your coins.
Follow us on Medium, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit to get StealthEX.io updates and the latest news about the crypto world. For all requests message us via [email protected].
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.
July 28, 2020
Bitcoin Bitcoin mining crypto mining Ethereum mining mining


text:
Product Description 2013 Lyman Wakeboard:
With a completely redesigned base featuring Aerospace influenced channels and core fins, the 2013 Lyman is the latest in flex technology. Engineered to ride with or without bolt-on fins, this board combines the most powerful core available with dynamically designed base features to generate a fluid ride, stable traction on edge, and explosive pop - exactly what Keith demands from a board. With single concave between the Asymmetrical Core Channels and a subtle spine with dual concave though the center hull, it offers clean and early release off the wake, and ultra soft landings.
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WOUNDED WARRIORS PROJECT: Keith & Slingshot will donate a portion of each profit to the Wounded Warriors Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring and empowering injured service members.


text:
The Badaling Night Great Wall is expected to open next month and will launch 3 boutique two-day tours
Date: 2021-03-25
On March 24, the reporter learned from the Badaling Great Wall scenic spot that the Badaling Night Great Wall is expected to open on April 3, and the Badaling Cultural Tourism Group will also open up to the Night Great Wall, launching three boutique two-day tours, and life in the ancient city at the foot of the Great Wall. , Shixia at the foot of the Great Wall at night, Bangshuiyu, life in the ancient village of Lipao, and life at the foot of the Great Wall in the World Garden Park, and other themed two-day tour products.
In addition, the reporter also noticed that starting from March 27th, every Saturday and Sunday, the Badaling Great Wall scenic spot will launch an "official one-day tour" boutique route. It is understood that the "Official One-Day Tour" boutique route of the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area includes a single round-trip ticket for the "Great Wall Bus", a single adult ticket for the Badaling Great Wall, a single adult ticket for a dome theater, and a guided tour of the Great Wall Museum of China. Visitors can also choose to purchase package products that include one-way tickets for the Badaling Cable Car according to their own needs.
In this regard, Wang Tielin, Chairman of Badaling Cultural Tourism Group, said, "In the future, Badaling Cultural Tourism Group will further rely on the golden sign of the Badaling Great Wall, give full play to the advantages of the Great Wall, deepen the cultural tourism industry, integrate resources around the scenic spot, and link the Expo Park. Develop more distinctive travel routes, do a good job in the flow sharing of Badaling, promote the construction and development of the whole region tourism demonstration zone, and continue to meet the needs of the people for a better tourist life."


text:
Long-Range Forecasting—Roles and Methods; presented at the Conference on Forecasting the Future, Harrogate, England
Publication Date
Report Number
The difference between futures forecasting and scientific prediction is not one of rigor but of purpose. The scientist's purpose is to test a specific model about the world; anything which threatens that test must be controlled by (a) elimination, (b) experimental manipulation, or ( c) statistical manipulation. The futures researcher's goal, however, is not to test a model but to suggest ( through discovery or logic) a model which encompasses and extends our perception of reality sufficiently well to permit choices or decisions to be made.


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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
How to Fail in Spelling Without Really Trying
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Dustin G. sent in this lovely bit of irony purchased for the cast of a show called - you guessed it - "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." If you're feeling charitable, you can tell yourself the decorator misspelled "without" on purpose. If you're not, you can also nitpick the extra-wide spacing.
What's that? Taxes are due today? Grrr. Right, so, dudes: What is UP with that crazy double-spacing, eh?
55 comments | Post a Comment
It doesn't even make SENSE! - April 15, 2009 at 9:31 AM
I can see that the guy who made this cake was too "wtf"ed at the cake request to spell 'without' right.
- April 15, 2009 at 9:33 AM
- Winona said...
The logo for the show is awesome - why couldn't they have used that?!
<-- Played Rosemary in a 1998 community theatre production of How to Succeed... - April 15, 2009 at 9:34 AM
- Laksamee Putnam said...
Perhaps there with be a lucky switching of numbers in your taxes and you';; end up better off than this cake. lol
- April 15, 2009 at 9:35 AM
- Jessi said...
Just trying to fill up the cake, I guess. It is weird looking. And what a pity, it is otherwise entirely unremarkable.
WV: trastal - That's too much cake to put in the trastal - send it the way it is, they'll never notice. - April 15, 2009 at 9:43 AM
- Sara said...
All I can do is shake my head...
- April 15, 2009 at 9:44 AM
This cake is lame. Spelling mistakes aside, couldn't they have slapped a few $$dollar$$ signs on it or something?
What IS up with that spacing anyways ? ? - April 15, 2009 at 9:56 AM
- Half Assed Kitchen said...
How to look like a fool without really trying.
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com) - April 15, 2009 at 9:57 AM
- Alyssa said...
Webster is rolling over in his grave!
- April 15, 2009 at 9:57 AM
- the ginabean said...
Ya know, compared to some of your HORRIBLE wrecks, this one ain't too bad. At least the lettering is pretty...even if all of it's not quite right.
Cruel irony indeed... - April 15, 2009 at 10:08 AM
- Chris said...
I definitely thought that the "how" looked like Hour.... Which makes it even more wrecky.
- April 15, 2009 at 10:11 AM
How To Fail At Cake Decorating Without Really Trying.
- April 15, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Just gotta say...I'm playing Rosemary in this cast and I read this blog EVERY day...This is such a great way to start my Wednesday!
- April 15, 2009 at 10:24 AM
- Erin said...
The cheese! The extra space is for the cheese slices that hand is about to add...
- April 15, 2009 at 10:27 AM
- joyce said...
Maybe it was a test---you know, the one where they misspell words but because our minds somehow right the wrong, we can read it anyway.
WV: untsome: like reading word verification words and thinking they are real words, and can I get away with using them in Scrabble - April 15, 2009 at 10:39 AM
- Doublebanker said...
Now it all makes sense!
- April 15, 2009 at 10:46 AM
- Wayward Son said...
Maybe it had been a long, been a long, been a long day for the wreckerator.
<--- got his nickname from the Venezuela-bound executive he played - April 15, 2009 at 10:46 AM
- Kami said...
I've seen the most typos in my Business classes, so this makes sense! =p
- April 15, 2009 at 10:49 AM
"How two Fial Speeling Wihtout Reelly Tring" is the working title of the play this wreckarator is working on.
- April 15, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I believe in you....
- April 15, 2009 at 10:55 AM
How do you spell succeed and business
correctly, then mess up without?
But I guess they weren't really trying!
WV-inwinci: This the cake inwinci messed up the spelling. - April 15, 2009 at 11:08 AM
- Carrie Snider said...
You gotta admit, the baselines are super straight. I think they put a ruler in between each line!
- April 15, 2009 at 11:11 AM
- SB said...
at least the writing is relatively straight, in spite of the double spacing...maybe they didn't want it to look cramped?
- April 15, 2009 at 11:15 AM
- Pickyknitter said...
I'm with DangGina here, it's not that bad. Not that good, but... I make that error all the time, but when I type! Maybe s/he was trying out a new icing linotype machine.
- April 15, 2009 at 11:16 AM
It looks as though the "Wihtout" was first spelled "Wihout" the T, which was squeezed in later in the wrong place.
- April 15, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Wow, I was surprised to see which word was misspelled! I thought for sure it would be "succeed" or "business." Who spells "without" wrong?!
- April 15, 2009 at 11:58 AM
- Bilby P. Dalgyte said...
This is an example of how to make a cake without really trying.
- April 15, 2009 at 12:15 PM
- Barb said...
How to fix spelling without really trying!
The spacing doesn't bother me nearly as much as they botched correction job.
Mind you, I'd still eat it... - April 15, 2009 at 12:28 PM
WV: Vachness -- in such a vachness of space, any mistake can be fatal
- April 15, 2009 at 12:33 PM
- Glory von Hathor said...
I'm with hj. After succeed and business, without should be plain sailing. So, what's the story? I think our wreckerator obviously got too confident, too cocky. Or went out for a few quick halves at dinnertime.
- April 15, 2009 at 12:36 PM
- Melissa (& Billy) said...
Nice lettering, though. Someone's got a good hand.
Argh. Now I want cake, misspelled or otherwise!
wv: Warkin--I'll just warkin to the nearest bakery and get me some misspelled cake. Maybe they'll give me a discount? XD - April 15, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Did this wreck come from Richmond, VA? I know people who are in this very play performing here right now.
- April 15, 2009 at 1:00 PM
- Scritzy said...
I think your title sums it up quite nicely.
Word verfication: harstink. These cakes — they harstink. - April 15, 2009 at 1:19 PM
- HorribleLicensePlates said...
It goes wihtout saying
- April 15, 2009 at 1:32 PM
- Amelia Antwiler said...
I'm trying to figure out the point of the whole cake.
Do you succeed by eating cake??
If that's the case, then I'm golden!!! - April 15, 2009 at 1:35 PM
- StuffCooksWant said...
Spelling "without" correctly would be trying way to hard, and they were wanting to convey how to succeed without really trying. you know, like apathetic cool, like yeah, we just happened upon this successful cake. isn't it great?
- April 15, 2009 at 1:36 PM
- Unknown said...
Or, "how to succeed in wrecking a cake without really trying".
That's triple-spacing, mind you.:o)
~Amy B. - April 15, 2009 at 3:16 PM
- Diane - DB Impressions said...
Eh, thank goodness the rest of it isn't TOO horrible. I can't believe how many people CAN succeed in business without knowing how to spell though.
- April 15, 2009 at 3:23 PM
solution: cut the cake quickly at the error and no one will know.
- April 15, 2009 at 3:51 PM
I love how they navigated "succeed" and "business", then just murdered "without".
I think it damn well may be intentional. The whole cake seems half-assed. A TV show celebratory cake from a grocery store with unrelated red flowers? - April 15, 2009 at 4:53 PM
I wonder if there is something we are supposed to read between the lines? LOL
The cake really isn't all that bad except for the spelling mistake. A simple error in word spacing!! But seriously...Don't people LOOK at their cakes when they pick them up and check for errors that can be easily fixed on the spot?? Oh yeah..they did.. - April 15, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Would it have been better if the post had started with "How to Fail in Spelling Wihtout Really Trying"
- April 15, 2009 at 7:14 PM
he just needs the time to think
it out - April 15, 2009 at 9:06 PM
- katrina.rue said...
Maybe it's time for a new category: "Phoning It In".
It's like the decorator took one look at the order, sighed, and grumbled, "I hope they like rosettes, because that's what they're getting!!" - April 15, 2009 at 9:29 PM
- Mandi said...
That's bad... you can tell they forgot the "T" and THEN put it in the wrong spot! tsk tsk tsk...
- April 15, 2009 at 9:31 PM
- sendingtheclowns said...
Why, Miss Jen, you seem to have read my mind (er...were you especially bored today?)!
Until now, I'd been wondering WHY there had been absolutely NO sort of reference, allusion or nod to the TAX SEASON via wreck! I really expected SOME little SOMEthing, like maybe a cake baked with a file inside for incarcerated tax evaders, or at the very least, a green and white cake.
It's like trying to ignore flying-insect season--sooner or later you're gonna get bit in the ass anyway. May as well have cake.
Okay, so there WAS no cake.
Never mind. =^u.u^= - April 15, 2009 at 10:11 PM
- Kimbra Kasch said...
She's obviously a writer - it's ingrained in us - double space, dobule space, duoble space. . .
:P - April 16, 2009 at 1:35 AM
The spelling is stupid of the cake maker, but seriously, what's wrong with the spacing?!
- April 16, 2009 at 9:28 AM
I think that the Wreckerator was set on the wrong "Justify" setting and that is why the writing is spaced so weirdly. Hopefully the hit the re-set button before the next cake!
- April 16, 2009 at 11:55 AM
- Cindy said...
Ya gotta give the decorator credit for filling up every inch of cake space with something!
- April 16, 2009 at 12:54 PM
I was listening to an NPR blurb about SpongeBob this morning. Apparently it's his ten year anniversary and 18 million adults watch him per month!
- April 17, 2009 at 12:02 PM
- baldouting.blogspot.com said...
no spell check for cakes!
- April 18, 2009 at 1:02 AM
high school near me did how to succeed 6 months ago. decorator also spelled without wihtout
- April 21, 2009 at 5:36 PM
- FelixAndAva said...
I know, this one's old (currently prowling the archives). I've discovered an oddity I have the cake decorator may share: when handwriting something, I tend to duplicate my most common typos for the words in question, and "wihtout" is a very easy typo to make for "without".
- July 25, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Hey! That play has HARRY POTTER in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- May 31, 2011 at 6:49 PM
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What's a Wreck?
What's a Wreck?
A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.
Now, don't you have a photo you want to send me? ;)
- Fan Faves
- The Classics
The Classics
Praise for the Book
- "Will have you laughing so hard you'll forget to eat!"— Washington Post
- "a hilarious winner" — The Oregonian
- "a fantastically gut-busting book"— NPR
- "It's all here, each wreck a disaster of hilarity." — BookPage.com
- "Hysterically funny!"— Epinions.com
- "laugh-out-loud funny"— The Times
- "Yates' sharp humor makes the funny even funnier." — The Dallas Morning News
- "an amazing laugh-out-loud book"— The Book Triblog
What the fans are saying
- "I was laughing so hard, I couldn't catch my breath."
- "As funny as the blog that started it."
- "WAY better than I expected!"
- "Cake Wreckery at its best!"
- "Wrecktastic!"
- American Mensa:Top 50 Websites of 2010
- Amazon: Top 10 gift books of 2009
- The Orlando Sentinal "Orbbies": Winner Humor
- 2009 BlogLuxe Awards: Funniest Blog
- 2009 Bloggies: Best Writing of a Weblog, Best New Weblog, Best Food Blog
- The 2008 Weblog Awards: Best Food Blog
- Blogger's Choice 2008 Awards: Best Humor Blog
Where's the book?
We don't have any copies of Cake Wrecks for sale here, autographed or otherwise. We decided the shipping and handling costs would be too high to make it worth your while. So instead, buy your copies locally or online and then order personalized bookplates: it's cheaper, easier, and I think even looks a bit nicer.
Ordering Info
Payments must be made through Paypal, which accepts all major credit cards. Sorry, but that means no checks or MOs or barter-based chickens.
We ship everything first class USPS, and will do our best to have your package in the mail within 2 days of your order.
Popular This Month
Popular This Month
- Jen Pipes Down
- Happy Earth Day to You...
- Happy Day, Earth!
- The Twilight of Our Discontent
- Cake Wrecks, a Role Model?!?
- Sunday Sweets: James' Sweet Safari
- Professionally Administrated Wrecks
- That Personal Touch
- Wrecks Rerun
- Well, Cake IS My Drug of Choice...
- Belly Cakes, Continued
- Return of the Belly Cake
- Sunday Sweets: Game On!
- Magic Eye
- These Cakes Are Not Wrecks (But They Play Them on TV)
- More Sponge Cake!
- How to Fail in Spelling Without Really Trying
- What About Spongebob?
- Easter Update
- Passover these Wrecks
- Easter Sunday Sweets
- Easter Wreck Round Up
- Easter Potpourri
- Lamb-entations
- Chick Chicky Boom
- Yahoo!
- An Easterly Wind is Blowing
- Sunday Sweets: Geeky Goodness
- Gee, Ya Think?
- Fear Factor, CW Style
- The Nose "No"s
- In Honor of the Rick Roll
- Botched Balloons


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By Elizabeth B. Pryor,
CSCE Senior Advisor
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) once again demonstrated its ability to promote candid political discussion and take prescient decisions when the Eleventh OSCE Ministerial Council met December 1-2, 2003. The meeting took place in Maastricht, the Netherlands, capping the Dutch chairmanship of the OSCE, under the leadership of Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Ministers and other senior officials from the 55 OSCE states engaged in extensive consultations and approved an impressive array of action programs and strategic initiatives. Members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, including Helsinki Commissioner Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), and representatives of OSCE partner states and other affiliated organizations joined them. Secretary of State Colin Powell led the United States delegation.
The Ministerial meeting was historic, not only for the quantity and quality of the decisions it took, but because it signaled a move away from defining the organization solely on the basis of broad formalized statements. The flexibility of the organization was also on display. When one participating state threatened a veto on jointly agreed political positions, the Chairman and other members turned it into an opportunity to forcefully reiterate their determination to see conflicts resolved through the standards set in OSCE agreements. They also intensified the pressure to fulfill previously taken commitments. The result was a stronger expression of collective political will than might have been made in a compromise document. By moving beyond the predictable rhetoric of a communiqué, the OSCE underscored its own political vitality and the unique platform it offers for frank debate and creative political action.
The Maastricht Ministerial took place in the wake of Georgia's "Revolution of the Roses" and was attended by the Acting President of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze. That situation, and growing concern over disputes in the Transdniestria region of Moldova, produced frank comments from the Ministers, opening the way for real dialogue on the issues and an expression of international concern that was impossible to ignore.
Secretary Powell was among those who used the unconstrained OSCE stage to address issues directly. He cautioned that no support would "be given to breakaway elements seeking to weaken Georgia's territorial integrity" and called for international support for the new elections to be held January 4, 2004. The European Union, and Dutch OSCE Chairman echoed this, voicing their own warnings against interference in Georgia's democratic development. The Chairman also strongly reasserted the OSCE's role in deliberations over the political future of Transdniestria. He was joined by many of the Ministers, who took exception to Russian efforts to broker an inequitable accord outside of the internationally coordinated mediation process. While applauding some progress on arms reductions by Russia in Transdniestria, the U.S. delegation, as well as many others, spoke forthrightly of the need to fulfill all provisions of the 1999 Istanbul agreement which called for the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Moldova. Even when given an extension to withdraw by December 31, 2003, no progress has been made. The exchange also gave Russia the opportunity to express its viewpoint: that ratification of the revised Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was being held up over the implementation of the Istanbul commitments and that the collapse of its diplomatic initiative in Moldova would delay any chance of reaching a settlement.
The initiatives unanimously agreed by the Ministers reflect the OSCE's dedication to strong standard setting and innovative yet practical solutions for entrenched problems. The decisions taken on security issues continue OSCE's long tradition of crafting action-oriented agreements with low political cost and long-term stabilizing effects. The development of more secure travel documents, export controls on portable air defense systems, "best practices" for the transfer of small arms and new measures for the destruction of stockpiles of ammunition are among the most robust set of security decisions taken in recent years by any international organization. The United States welcomed these decisions and praised the OSCE's work as an example of effective multilateralism.
These concrete action programs were coupled with a comprehensive strategy for addressing the changing security environment of the 21st century. The holistic OSCE approach to stability is evident in this document, which encompasses everything from arms control to environmental concerns and fighting corruption. "The [Helsinki] Final Act tells us that lasting security requires not just respect for the sovereignty of states, but also respect for the integrity of human beings," noted Secretary Powell in Maastricht.
In keeping with this integrated approach to security, the OSCE agreed to a strategic roadmap for tackling the difficult problem of trafficking in human beings. The OSCE Action Plan is the most detailed blueprint devised by any international organization; in Maastricht Ministers decided to appoint a Special Representative to ensure that its provisions are carried out. In addition, the OSCE approved a comprehensive policy for improving the situation of Roma and Sinti, the first of its kind in the region. They also strengthened their commitment to an enhanced economic and environmental work plan.
In a matter of particular interest to numerous Helsinki Commissioners, the Maastricht Ministerial formally welcomed the offer by Germany to host a conference on anti-Semitism in Berlin. Belgium will host a meeting on racism, xenophobia and discrimination. In a letter to Secretary Powell in the lead up to the ministerial, Commissioners urged U.S. leadership in securing agreement on the German proposal as well as other areas of particular concern, including disturbing developments in Turkmenistan, Chechnya, Belarus and severe limitations placed on minority religious communities in some parts of the region. "The United States' leadership is essential to secure consensus on initiatives on combating anti-Semitism and racism; human trafficking; internally displaced persons; corruption and international crime; cooperation with the ICTY; withdrawal of foreign forces from Moldova; and the Annual Security Review Conference," Commissioners wrote.
Ministers also addressed the wider sharing of OSCE norms, principles and commitments with others, pledging to identify additional fields of cooperation and interaction with OSCE Mediterranean and Asian Partners for Cooperation.
The United States Helsinki Commission, an independent federal agency, by law monitors and encourages progress in implementing provisions of the Helsinki Accords. The Commission, created in 1976, is composed of nine Senators, nine Representatives and one official each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.


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The data relating to real estate on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange program of the MLS of the Monmouth County Association of REALTORS®, and is updated as of June 17th, 2024 at 5:30am EDT (date/time). IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.


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15 Different Types of Technology in our World
15 Different Types of Technology in our World Technology of modern times has seeped into every little crevice of life. Every second people are using some form of technology, bposty.com whether it is the humble fluorescent light to help illuminate a room or the complex little computer we hold every day (called the smartphone). Information Technology Information Technology, or I.T in short, is the most popular type of technology nowadays. I.T is a way of storing, compiling and processing electronic data for information purposes.Data retrieval, transmission and networking are also a part of IT. onektech.com The primary usage of IT is in businesses and the corporate world, although all aspects of life enjoy the benefits of I.T. Medical Technology Medical technology is the usage of science to develop equipment and solutions to improve quality of life by helping with common health issues or for defeating hard and deadly diseases. earhtech.com From eye-glasses and bandages t


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Skoudis' Annual Xmas Hacking Challenge - The Nightmare Before Charlie Brown's Christmas
Ed Skoudis presents his annual Christmas challenge, here are the details, enjoy!.
"Happy Holidays, challenge fans! Ed Skoudis here, with this year's holiday
hacking challenge.
Have you ever seen the classic video "A Charlie Brown
Christmas," and pondered why Charlie Brown is so upset at the start of the
video? Also, have you ever wondered why the rest of the Peanuts gang is so
focused on the materialism of the Christmas season? Well, this year's
hacking challenge answers these questions. In our tale, you'll discover that
something happened before the start of the Charlie Brown Christmas video
that put these characters into such a state. That something is what we like
to call...
The Nightmare Before Charlie Brown's Christmas
These challenges, which are an annual tradition here at EthicalHacker.net,
are designed to help people develop their skills, show off their abilities,
and have some fun. During past holiday seasons, you got to tangle with the
Grinch, Rudolph, that Messy Marvin kid, Frosty, and even Santa himself. And
who can forget last year's Miracle on Thirty-Hack Street. Read this
challenge, answer the questions, and send your responses in by January 3,
2011. We'll choose three winners, each of whom will get an autographed copy
of my Counter Hack Reloaded book. One prize will go to the best technical
answer, another to the most creative answer that is technically correct, and
the final prize is based on a random draw from every person who submits an
answer. Even if you have no idea whatsoever for how to answer the questions,
send in your best shot to be entered in the random draw. And now, without
further adieu, the curtain rises on our story...
Enjoy and happy holidays.
Mark H
Can't wait to drill into this year's VOIP fun!!
Thanks for keeping these going Mr. Skoudis =)


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It's important that you fill out all fields, especially the asterisk-marked (*) ones like Need Parts By and Quantity (ea) carefully and completely. Your response to these fields will determine the bulk of your quote.
Would like to request a quote for 162-000-925-000 part, feel free to call us at our toll-free number, +1-714-705-4780, or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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We Hope You Choose Us as Your Trusted, High-Quality Parts Distributor In The Future.
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text:
Grant D. Bosse
July 9, 2013
As originally published in the New Hampshire Union Leader
The state's Certificate of Need board, an outdated government panel that oversees hospital construction spending, was slated to go away in 2015, but supporters of government rationing slipped a provision into the state budget deal that pushes the day of reckoning back to June 30, 2016.
Officially known as the Health Services Planning and Review Board, the CON board has been around since 1979 and requires New Hampshire hospitals and clinics to get permission before building or expanding their facilities or purchasing expensive equipment. The theory is that a panel of well-intentioned bureaucrats could hold down health-care costs by preventing hospitals from reckless and wasteful expansion. It hasn't worked.
CON Boards have been around for nearly 50 years and have never been shown to keep costs down. But they have slowed the spread of MRI machines and other miraculous medical devices in the name of cost controls. They have also forced hospitals to navigate a lengthy and expensive maze of regulations and reports. Former Illinois governor and current federal inmate Rob Blagojevich used his state's CON Board to shake down applicants for bribes.
The deal snuck into the budget shuffles some deck chairs at the CON Board and gives supporters an extra year to keep it alive. New Hampshire would be wise to let the sun set on this costly and counterproductive bureaucracy.


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Search and rescue operations at the wreck of the Costa Concordia have resumed, after being halted for a third time, due to choppy waters and the partially submerged vessel's tendency to shift on the rocks near Italy's coast.
BBC correspondent Luisa Baldini says the search has resumed, after being called off early Friday.
Here's a roundup of recent developments in the story:
From Italy, Sylvia Poggioli report for NPR's Newscast unit:
"Sensors placed on the ship show it has shifted about an inch every two hours.
"The boat's instability forced a Dutch salvage crew to delay the pumping of half a million gallons of fuel out of the vessel's tanks.
"The shipwreck a week ago – and its tales of apparent cowardice by the captain and the courage of many crew members and islanders — has mesmerized the country.
"The grounding of the biggest passenger ship ever in the Tuscan marine sanctuary has also prompted calls that big cruise ships be banned from passing too close to islands and shorelines.
"That would eliminate one of the key selling points of Mediterranean cruises – close-up views of the Italian coast, from the Riviera to Capri and Amalfi, from Sicily to Venice."
The ship's captain decided to perform the close-in maneuver without informing anyone at the cruise liner's operating company, according Pier Luigi Foschi, chief executive of Costa Cruises.
Foschi told Italy's Corriere della Sera that sailing close to the shore is sometimes done as a favor to tourists — but that he had never heard of a captain choosing a risky course.
"Personally, I think he wasn't honest with us," Foschi said, in a translation from Italian by Reuters.
The CEO also insisted that cost concerns played no part in how the emergency was handled. Critics have accused the company of urging the crew not to abandon ship, due to the potentially high costs.
"I assure you absolutely that no one thought in financial terms. That would be a choice that would violate our ethics," Foschi says, according to Reuters' translation.
Reports emerged Thursday that musician Sandor Feher, 38, died aboard the sinking ship after helping children put on lifejackets. Feher, who had reportedly worked on the ship for about a month, was lost after he went back to his cabin for his violin.
The ship's final fate is difficult to predict, as our colleague Scott Neuman noted in a story for NPR Thursday. "Removing a massive ship that's run hard aground and incurred major damage... involves logistical and environmental issues" that complicate things, Scott wrote.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.